Trump Action Archive

Supporting reports

• Pentagon secretly hired military veterans as paid right-wing influencers to promote Pete Hegseth — The Washington Post reported that the Pentagon has secretly hired military veterans with large social media followings to act as paid right-wing influencers to push Pete Hegseth's propaganda. Although these individuals are now government employees, the Pentagon refuses to provide details on their assignments. Their taxpayer-funded job is to "amplify Pete Hegseth's" messaging.
• Pentagon hires right-wing social media influencers as government employees — The Pentagon has hired right-wing social media influencers as special government employees using taxpayer money to amplify Defense Secretary Hegseth's viewpoints and attack critics of the Trump administration. Reported hires include Rob Maness, Kurt Schlichter, and Thomas Anderson. A Pentagon spokesperson declined to comment on their job content, salaries, or employment duration.
• Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth hired right-wing social media influencers as Pentagon employees — Washington Post Pentagon reporter Dan Lamothe reported that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth hired right-wing social media influencers to work at the Department of Defense as Special Government Employees (SGEs) to promote him on social media platform X. Retired Colonels Rob Maness, Kurt Schlichter, and Tom Anderson acknowledged being SGE employees for the Pentagon after the article's publication. The Pentagon had previously declined to comment on the issue and withheld information about the SGEs' status for days, including after speculation on social media.

Supporting reports

• Trump administration secretly influences Merit Systems Protection Board ruling on presidential power — In June 2026, the New York Times reported that the Trump administration secretly swayed the Merit Systems Protection Board to rule in its favor on a constitutional argument regarding presidential power—a position that contradicts the agency's statutory mission to protect merit-based civil service from partisan interference. The report illustrates how the removal ruling enables direct White House interference in agency decisions without transparency or adversarial process.

Supporting reports

• Stephen Miller accused Democrats of siding with terrorists — White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller responded to the Democratic Party's social media post calling for ICE to leave Minneapolis by characterizing the Democrats as siding with "terrorists" and describing Pretti as a "would-be assassin" attempting to murder federal law enforcement. Miller continued this framing in responses to Senator Chris Murphy and Senator Amy Klobuchar, labeling those opposing ICE operations as supporters of "domestic terrorists" and "insurrection."
• Kristi Noem and Stephen Miller falsely label shooting victim a "domestic terrorist" — Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller publicly labeled Alex Pretti, the ICU nurse killed by Border Patrol agents, a "domestic terrorist" and spread false claims that he was holding a gun and attempting to assassinate law enforcement. The false characterization occurred hours after the fatal shooting.
• Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem characterized Pretti as having committed "domestic terrorism" and repeated false claims about his actions. — DHS Secretary Kristi Noem held a press conference repeating talking points used after the killing of Renee Good by an ICE officer. She stated Pretti "committed domestic terrorism" and claimed "this looks like a situation where an individual arrived at the scene to inflict maximum damage on individuals and to kill law enforcement." She also asserted Pretti "came to that scene and impeded a law enforcement operation which is against federal law" and "became aggressive and resisted them throughout that process." Later, when asked if deadly force was protocol after disarmament, she stated "They clearly feared for their lives" without addressing the disarmament or the six shots fired at a motionless body.
• Stephen Miller characterized Pretti as a "would-be assassin" and accused Democrats of siding with "terrorists." — Stephen Miller, a Trump administration official, posted "A would-be assassin tried to murder federal law enforcement and the official Democrat account sides with the terrorists." Miller also responded to Senator Amy Klobuchar's criticism of ICE by stating "A domestic terrorist tried to assassinate federal law enforcement and this is your response? You and the state's entire Democrat leadership team have been flaming the flames of insurrection for the singular purpose of stopping the deportation of illegals who invaded the country."
• Stephen Miller called Alex Pretti a "domestic terrorist" — Stephen Miller, the political architect of the Trump administration's mass deportation policy, called Alex Pretti a "domestic terrorist" in public statements. Pretti was a nurse without a criminal record who was fatally shot by federal agents. Miller also called Pretti an "assassin." These characterizations contradicted video evidence and were later walked back by Deputy AG Todd Blanche.
• Trump administration officials falsely characterized Alex Pretti as a domestic terrorist — Trump administration officials, including Stephen Miller and senior Department of Homeland Security officials, initially smeared Alex Pretti as a domestic terrorist who intended to massacre law enforcement. JD Vance retweeted messages containing these claims. The narrative was later contradicted by video evidence showing Pretti was lawfully armed and attempting to help an assaulted woman.
• Stephen Miller claimed Alex Pretti was a terrorist — Stephen Miller, a Trump administration official, immediately claimed that Alex Pretti, the protester killed by ICE, had been a terrorist intent on massacring ICE agents, despite video evidence showing Pretti was unarmed at the moment of shooting and had been disarmed by officers before being shot.
• Internal Trump administration conflict over responsibility for labeling murder victim as domestic terrorist — Axios reported that internal Trump administration figures are attempting to assign blame for labeling Alex Pretti as a domestic terrorist rather than treating the killing as a potential homicide. The report cites four administration sources stating that Stephen Miller dictated language to Kristi Noem characterizing Pretti as wanting to "massacre" federal agents. The conflict reflects palace intrigue over accountability for the controversial operation.

Supporting reports

• DOJ social media account insulted reporter over Epstein files — The Department of Justice's official social media account responded to reporter Jamie Dupree's question about why the DOJ released documents it now claims are fabricated by calling him a "dope" and mocking critics who accused the department of breaking the law. The exchanges were described as unprofessional and unprecedented in prior administrations.

Supporting reports

• Department of Education employees' email accounts manipulated with partisan talking points — NBC News reported that Department of Education employees who were furloughed discovered their email out-of-office messages had been altered to include partisan talking points blaming Democrats for the government shutdown. Five civil servants provided copies of their manipulated messages, which had been rewritten in the first person without their consent. Employees stated the alterations violated the Hatch Act, which prohibits federal employees from engaging in partisan political activity.
• Department of Education changed furloughed employees' out-of-office messages to blame Democrats — During the government shutdown, the Department of Education changed automated out-of-office email replies for furloughed employees from generic messages to ones blaming Democrats for the shutdown. When employees changed the messages back to neutral language, the Department changed them again to blame Democrats. This represents use of government communications infrastructure to advance partisan messaging during a shutdown.

Supporting reports

• Trump administration defunds US Agency for Global Media — On 14 March, Donald Trump issued an executive order to defund the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which oversees Voice of America and provides grants to Radio Free Asia and other international news agencies. The agency employed approximately 3,500 staff with an $886m annual budget. Foreign workers on visas face deportation to authoritarian countries where they risk imprisonment or death. Two VoA contributors are imprisoned in Myanmar and Vietnam; four Radio Free Asia contributors are imprisoned in Vietnam. Federal workers, journalists, and labor unions filed a lawsuit seeking to reverse the shutdown.
• Trump signed executive order rescinding 17 additional Biden-era executive actions and memoranda — President Trump signed an executive order on March 14, 2025, rescinding 17 additional executive actions, memoranda, and determinations issued by the Biden administration. The rescissions include orders on COVID-19 response, federal contractor minimum wage, LGBTQ+ human rights abroad, apprenticeships, worker empowerment, tribal self-determination, biotechnology innovation, and various Defense Production Act determinations related to infant formula, solar modules, insulation, electrolyzers, and heat pumps. The order states the rescissions are necessary to "restore common sense to the Federal Government and unleash the potential of American citizens."
• White House issued executive order directing elimination of seven federal agencies and components — The White House issued an executive order on March 14, 2025, directing the elimination of non-statutory components and functions of seven federal entities: the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, the United States Agency for Global Media, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, and the Minority Business Development Agency. The order requires each entity to reduce to minimum statutory functions within 7 days and directs OMB to reject funding requests inconsistent with the order.

Supporting reports

• Trump orders review of FEMA — Trump ordered a review of Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the disaster response agency, and suggested there is "political bias" in the agency. Trump previously criticized the agency's response to Hurricane Helene. The order states "Despite obligating nearly $30 billion in disaster aid each of the past three years, Fema has managed to leave vulnerable Americans without the resources or support they need when they need it most." A review council – which includes the secretaries of defense and homeland security, Pete Hegseth and Kristi Noem – will report to Trump within 180 days.
• White House issued memorandum directing FAA and Transportation Secretary to review hiring decisions and safety protocols from prior four years — The White House issued a presidential memorandum on January 30, 2025, directing the Secretary of Transportation and FAA Administrator to review all hiring decisions and safety protocol changes made during the prior four years and take corrective action including replacement of individuals who do not meet qualification standards. The memorandum attributes a January 29 aircraft-helicopter collision near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport to prior administrations' hiring practices, specifically citing diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. It orders a return to merit-based recruitment and a systematic assessment of hiring and safety standard deterioration.
• Trump signed executive order on aviation safety — President Trump signed an executive order on aviation safety that rolls back diversity initiatives. This action was taken following a tragic plane crash involving a mid-air collision between a commercial flight and a US military helicopter. Trump claimed, without evidence, that diversity initiatives contributed to the crash. The executive order aims to reverse changes made under the Biden administration regarding air traffic controller hiring standards, which Trump criticized as part of diversity programs.
• Trump fires TSA chief — President Trump fired Transportation Security Administration (TSA) chief David Pekoske as part of a broader effort to reshape leadership within federal transportation agencies following the air disaster.
• Trump freezes federal hiring — The Trump administration implemented a freeze on the hiring of all federal employees, including air traffic controllers, despite warnings from the Department of Transportation about staffing shortages at critical air traffic control facilities.
• Trump signs executive order on FAA staffing — President Trump signed an executive order that blames previous administrations for "problematic and likely illegal decisions" regarding staffing and diversity initiatives at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The order emphasizes a return to "merit-based recruitment" to ensure aviation safety.
• — President Trump signed an executive order that blames previous administrations for "problematic and likely illegal decisions" that he claims minimized merit and competence in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The order emphasizes a return to "merit-based recruitment, hiring, and promotion" within the FAA.