Trump Action Archive

Supporting reports

• Solicitor General Sauer petitions Supreme Court to enforce USPS ballot restrictions — Solicitor General John Sauer filed an emergency petition with the U.S. Supreme Court on September 3, asking the justices to immediately allow the Trump administration to enforce the new USPS restrictions on mail-in ballots. The DOJ argued the restrictions imposed only "modest requirements" on the postal system and did not regulate state election administration, contradicting Judge Talwani's finding that the requirements were significant and likely unconstitutional.

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• Interior Secretary Burgum begins construction of Trump triumphal arch without congressional approval — Interior Secretary Doug Burgum announced that the administration is beginning construction of a 250-foot triumphal arch between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery, despite lacking required approvals. The structure falls within Area I, designated by Congress in the 1986 Commemorative Works Act, which requires congressional authorization for any commemorative work in that zone. Congress has not passed such authorization. In June, Senator Angus King and five Democratic lawmakers wrote to Burgum opposing the arch, citing multiple legal violations.

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• Trump privately discussed declaring Iran war over — According to Wall Street Journal national security reporter Alex Ward, Trump is privately having discussions with senior aides about whether to declare the Iran war over. Trump has indicated he favors the idea and believes economic pressure will force the Iranian regime to dismantle its nuclear program or collapse.

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• Senatobia police chief fired for racist text messages; investigation into toddler's death remains opaque — The city of Senatobia, Mississippi terminated police chief Harold Vanderford after reports revealed he regularly used racist slurs in text messages against Black people. The firing followed his attempted resignation on September 1, which the city's board of aldermen unanimously rejected and replaced with termination. Vanderford's departure comes amid ongoing controversy over a white officer's fatal shooting of one-year-old Kohen Wiley at a Walmart in June; the family and civil-rights attorney Ben Crump have demanded release of body-camera footage and completion of the investigation into officer Sgt Hunter Foster.

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• Congressional Democrats request GAO investigation into DHS secret surveillance using administrative summonses — Senators Ron Wyden and Representative Pramila Jayapal formally requested the Government Accountability Office investigate the Trump administration's Department of Homeland Security for using obscure administrative summonses to secretly collect records on journalists, non-profits, and unions without judicial oversight. The DHS Investigations arm obtained six months of phone records for Minneapolis journalist Georgia Fort, financial data on labor unions, and Venmo transactions for non-profits. The DHS also issued administrative subpoenas to tech companies requesting information on anonymous critics while pressuring recipients not to notify targets. Wyden and Jayapal asked the GAO to audit HSI's use of non-disclosure language and examine whether summonses were used outside their lawful customs authority.

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• DHS identifies over 250,000 potential noncitizens on voter rolls; state officials question accuracy — DHS reported identifying more than 250,000 potential noncitizens on voter rolls in California, Nevada, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. State election officials questioned the numbers and how they were produced. In Nevada, DHS initially suggested nearly 16,000 noncitizens could be registered; after further review, federal officials told Nevada they had confirmed only 185 people as noncitizens, while more than 14,000 cases still required additional review.

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• Homeland Security Investigations launches coordinated voter fraud initiative — Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) began a coordinated voter fraud investigation across nine states, directing agents to investigate leads, conduct interviews, and develop cases for federal prosecutors. USCIS investigators are also assisting with election-related work, pulling the federal immigration system into election enforcement less than two months before the midterm elections.
• HSI launches nine-state voter-fraud investigation surge — Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the investigative arm of ICE, has launched a voter-fraud investigation surge across nine states. The operation is set to start approximately two months before Election Day (November 3, 2026) and is planned to continue into the period when early and mail voting will be underway. Investigators have been instructed to follow leads and help move cases to federal prosecutors. The operation is scheduled to wind down in mid-October.

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• USCIS officers reassigned from immigration fraud to voter-data review — The Washington Post reported that hundreds of USCIS officers normally investigating fraud and security concerns in immigration applications have been reassigned to review voter data for noncitizens. DHS did not confirm the specific number, but a USCIS spokesperson confirmed the voter-data operation is underway. This reassignment diverts immigration personnel from their standard duties to support federal election enforcement efforts.

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• House oversight committee subpoenas Leon Black; survivors urge compliance — More than a dozen survivors of Jeffrey Epstein's abuse released a letter calling on billionaire Leon Black to comply with House oversight committee subpoenas and appear for a deposition on Thursday. Black, a New York private equity investor who paid Epstein tens of millions in fees, has faced accusations of delaying the panel's inquiry. The letter specifically demands Black produce all nondisclosure agreements in his possession. House oversight chairman James Comer previously threatened contempt charges if Black fails to cooperate fully.

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• Federal judge dismisses Trump DOJ lawsuit challenging California's trans-inclusive school sports policy — On September 2, 2026, US District Judge Cynthia Valenzuela issued a final order dismissing the Trump administration's lawsuit against California over its policy allowing transgender youth to play on sports teams matching their gender identity. The DOJ had sued in July 2025, arguing California's trans-inclusive sports policy violated Title IX. Judge Valenzuela ruled the federal government failed to provide adequate notice that federal funding was contingent on banning trans girls from girls' teams, and noted the government had repeatedly shifted its guidelines on the issue over a decade.

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• Trump administration considers escalating Iran conflict after midterm elections — Trump's top aides are attempting to keep events in Iran quiet before the midterm elections to avoid further angering voters, but are already considering ramping up attacks after the election is over. The strategy reflects concern that an active conflict could harm Republican electoral prospects in November.

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• Homeland Security Secretary says ICE agents could be deployed to polling places — Markwayne Mullin, US homeland security secretary, stated on Tuesday that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers could be deployed to polling sites if there is a threat or an active warrant being served. Democrats and voting rights groups have warned for months that the Trump administration might attempt to deploy federal agents to polling locations to intimidate voters ahead of November midterm elections. Federal law prohibits armed agents from being at election sites. The DHS later clarified ICE is not planning operations targeting polling locations but may arrest individuals as part of targeted enforcement.
• Homeland Security Secretary Mullin declined to rule out ICE presence at polling places — Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told reporters on September 2, 2026, that he is not ruling out sending ICE agents to polling places, stating they would be present only if there is a threat or to serve a warrant. However, federal law explicitly prohibits armed agents from being present at polling locations during elections, making Mullin's statement a threat to violate federal law and suppress voting.

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• ICE detains 76-year-old permanent resident with stage 4 cancer based on undisclosed 1970s Philippine conviction — Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained Loreto Javar, a 76-year-old Filipino national with permanent US residency since 1995, during a citizenship interview in June 2026. ICE cited his failure to disclose a 1970s altercation conviction in the Philippines when he originally applied for a visa in 1995, claiming this made him retroactively ineligible for entry. Javar, a retired hotel worker with no US criminal history who has renewed his green card multiple times without issue, is being held at the Northwest ICE processing center in Tacoma despite advanced prostate cancer diagnosis and interrupted cancer treatment.

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• Detainee mortality rate in ICE custody nearly four times higher than Biden administration — A report by Human Rights Watch and Physicians for Human Rights found that 52 people died in ICE custody between January 20, 2025 and June 4, 2026—a mortality rate nearly four times that of the Biden administration and more than two and a half times that of the first Trump administration. Medical experts had high suspicion of inadequate or delayed healthcare in 39 of those deaths during the first year of the current administration, raising serious concerns that deaths may have been preventable. The inability to pay for outside medical care, including emergency services, may be a contributing factor.

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• Los Angeles County sues State Farm for false advertising and underpaying wildfire victims — Los Angeles County filed a 107-page lawsuit against State Farm on behalf of California residents, seeking at least $160 million in restitution plus civil penalties of up to $2,500 per violation. The complaint alleges State Farm systematically failed to pay benefits to 2025 LA wildfire victims, refused to authorize environmental testing for contamination, and delayed or denied claims until policyholders contacted the press or EPA representatives. The lawsuit also cites State Farm's "Halfway There" Super Bowl advertising campaign as false advertising, arguing the company marketed complete claims service while delivering inadequate coverage to its own California policyholders.
• California Department of Insurance found State Farm violated state law in majority of wildfire claims reviewed — The California Department of Insurance (CDI) concluded that State Farm "delayed, underpaid, and buried policyholders in red tape at the worst moment of their lives." CDI found that in more than half of the claims it reviewed related to the 2025 LA wildfires, State Farm violated state law. The agency's findings are cited as evidence in the Los Angeles County lawsuit and document systematic violations of insurance regulations affecting disaster victims.
• Los Angeles County sues State Farm for wildfire benefits denial — Los Angeles County filed a lawsuit against State Farm alleging that the insurance company failed to pay benefits to victims of the 2025 LA wildfires. The lawsuit cites State Farm's Super Bowl advertisement claiming comprehensive coverage and seeks at least $160 million in restitution for the alleged failure to honor claims.

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• House Republicans open investigation into labor unions' political spending — House Republicans on the education and workforce committee launched an investigation this summer into six major labor unions (AFT, UAW, United Steelworkers, Smart-TD, BLET, BMWED), alleging they illegally use member dues to fund Democratic causes. The inquiry was prompted by reports from conservative nonprofits including the American Accountability Foundation and Freedom Foundation. Investigators also targeted AFT president Randi Weingarten over claims union dues funded her 2025 book. Union representatives deny wrongdoing and cite strict legal disclosure requirements.

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• Multiple House Democrats called for impeachment of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth — Meidas reporter Pablo Manriquez asked several House Democrats whether Hegseth should be impeached. Oversight ranking member Robert Garcia stated Hegseth "has committed multiple offenses" and cited corruption at DOD, reports of pay-to-play, treatment of soldiers, and an illegal war. Rep. Adelita Grijalva said it is "past time" for impeachment, citing Hegseth's disregard for military personnel and unwillingness to work with qualified individuals. Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove called for impeachment and jail time. Rep. Becca Balint cited lack of confidence from Vermont Guard members and their families. Rep. Sarah McBride stated Hegseth has fomented culture wars and started forever wars, pursuing ideology at the cost of national security.

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• Trump administration announces plan to rescind the Roadless Area Conservation Rule — The Trump administration announced plans to rescind the 25-year-old Roadless Area Conservation Rule, which protects approximately 45 million acres of national forest from road construction, drilling, and logging. Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz, a former timber industry lobbyist and executive, championed the rollback as necessary for wildfire management and "active forest management." Environmental advocates warn the change could endanger 400 threatened and endangered species and primarily benefits timber companies Schultz previously represented.

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• Trump ordered airstrikes on Iranian targets near the Strait of Hormuz — Trump announced via social media that the U.S. was conducting strikes against Iranian targets near the Strait of Hormuz. He threatened that if Iran retaliates, the U.S. will strike "much harder and higher," and warned of an even larger attack "waiting in the wings." Fox correspondent Trey Yingst reported Trump told him a third Iranian response would result in Iran being "totally wiped out as a country." Iranian officials reported the strike hit a wedding in Kuhestak, Sirik County, Hormozgan, killing at least 2 people and injuring 50, with potential for higher death toll.

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• DHS redirects immigration officers to examine voter registration data for noncitizens — The Department of Homeland Security redirected hundreds of USCIS fraud and national security officers from immigration case work to examine voter information for possible noncitizen registrations. DHS claimed that nearly 250,000 noncitizens may be registered across four states, but the agency has not publicly substantiated the figure. State election officials examining the data have questioned its reliability. Pennsylvania Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt, a Republican, reported that federal officials acknowledged they lacked high confidence that thousands of Pennsylvania names DHS identified actually represented improperly registered noncitizens.

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• Tarrant County, Texas proposes reducing polling locations by 92 ahead of midterm elections — Tarrant County, Texas—the state's third-largest county with over 2 million residents and a key battleground in the U.S. Senate race between Democratic state Rep. James Talarico and Republican AG Ken Paxton—proposed reducing polling locations by 92 compared to the 2022 midterms. The proposal was set for a vote on Tuesday. Democratic state Rep. James Talarico urged the county to reject the proposal, stating: "The most powerful people in this county, the most powerful people in this country, don't want us to be able vote easily." Democrats protested the reductions, warning they could create confusion in the midterm elections.

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• USPS whistleblower reports flawed ballot mail system designed to disrupt mail-in voting — Senator Richard Blumenthal released a whistleblower complaint alleging that the U.S. Postal Service has developed a new, untested IT system for handling federal election ballot mail that is "secretive, rushed, chaotic, and fundamentally flawed." The whistleblower warns that a single barcode scanning failure in a batch of 10,000 ballots will reject the entire batch, potentially preventing millions of voters from receiving mail-in ballots. The system was developed despite a federal court injunction ordering work to stop. The whistleblower questions whether "catastrophic failure would be a feature rather than a bug."
• Federal whistleblower disclosed flaws in USPS mail-voting verification system — An anonymous federal worker filed a whistleblower disclosure with Senator Blumenthal warning that the U.S. Postal Service's new system to regulate mail voting for the midterms has been "rushed, chaotic, and fundamentally flawed." The USPS issued the rule last week, and it is currently blocked by federal court. The whistleblower alleges workers were forced to create the system in weeks when it should have taken 9 months, and that work continued on implementation even after being ordered to stop. The disclosure warns the Trump administration "has hidden the high likelihood that the new ballot mail verification processes will result in major disruptions in mail ballots ever getting delivered to voters." Specific concerns include rejection of entire batches of thousands of ballots when a problem with one voter is found, and no planning for inevitable errors. The whistleblower called one portion of internal software "garbage."
• USPS whistleblower reports catastrophic flaws in new ballot-handling system — A whistleblower disclosed to Congress that the new USPS system for handling federal election ballot mail contains "potentially catastrophic problems." The system rejects entire batches of ballots if even a single barcode fails to scan during verification, preventing thousands of ballots from reaching voters. The disclosure was made public on September 2, four days before Massachusetts began sending mail-in ballots.
• Senator Blumenthal demands USPS Postmaster General cease ballot mail project and provide records — Senator Richard Blumenthal, top-ranking Democrat on the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, issued formal demands to Postmaster General David Steiner to abandon the ballot mail IT project, cease work ordered halted by federal court, and provide by September 8 all records related to the project, including names and dates of personnel involved. Blumenthal characterized the system as designed to "disenfranchise millions of Americans," noting that one-third of all Americans cast ballots by mail.

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• Trump promotes data center development and criticizes anti-data-center sentiment — Trump posted on social media that communities opposing data centers would "end up being backwards and poor," and urged them to "let Data Reign" to achieve success, lower taxes, and job creation. He warned that killing "the Golden Goose" would be self-destructive. The bulletin notes that some of Trump's largest campaign donors, PACs, and construction project funders are AI and data center companies, and that none of these facilities are being constructed near Trump's properties. The post appears designed to pressure communities into accepting data center development.

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• US Supreme Court permits Trump White House ballroom construction to continue — The US Supreme Court issued a 5-4 ruling permitting the Trump administration to block a lower court order that had halted above-ground construction of a controversial $400 million White House ballroom. The conservative majority found that the National Trust for Historic Preservation lacked standing to challenge the project, sidestepping the question of whether Congress had authorized the demolition of the historic East Wing. Chief Justice Roberts and three liberal justices dissented, arguing the project likely violated separation of powers and congressional authority over federal property.
• Supreme Court allows Trump White House ballroom construction to proceed — By a 5–4 vote, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the National Trust for Historic Preservation lacked legal standing to challenge Trump's construction of a ballroom at the White House. The majority cited national security considerations as favoring construction. Chief Justice Roberts dissented, writing that the project is "likely unlawful" and that the White House's iconic status requires adherence to legal procedures for alterations. The ruling permits construction to advance before the legality question is resolved.
• Preliminary injunction ruling — National Trust for Historic Preservation in the United States v. National Park Service (D.D.C.) 1:25-cv-04316 — The Supreme Court, in a 5-4 per curiam ruling, granted the government's application for a stay of the district court's preliminary injunction pending disposition of the government's forthcoming petition for certiorari, holding that the government was likely to show the National Trust lacked Article III standing to challenge the East Wing construction project and the government would likely suffer irreparable harm without a stay, with the balance of equities tipping in its favor. The Court noted it did “not pass upon the legality of the government's East Wing project.” Chief Justice Roberts, joined by Justices Sotomayor, Kagan, and Jackson, dissented , arguing the National Trust has adequate standing and the construction likely violates 40 U. S. C. §8106's requirement of express congressional authorization for building new structures on federal park land in D.C., which Congress has not necessarily provided.
• Supreme Court releases opinion in National Park Service v. National Trust for Historic Preservation in the United States (26A203) — The Supreme Court released an official slip opinion in National Park Service v. National Trust for Historic Preservation in the United States. Docket number(s): 26A203.

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• Federal judge strikes down New York climate superfund law requiring oil companies to pay damages — Chief Judge Brenda Sannes of the US District Court for the Northern District of New York ruled on Monday that New York's climate superfund law is unenforceable. The law, signed by Governor Kathy Hochul in December 2024, required major oil companies to pay $75 billion over 25 years for climate mitigation and adaptation projects. Sannes sided with Republican-led states and oil interests, calling the policy "unusual and sweeping." The Trump Justice Department supported the lawsuit against the law. New York's Attorney General Tish James is considering an appeal.
• New York Judge Blocks State of New York’s Unconstitutional Climate Superfund Act — The Department of Justice announced this on 2026-08-31 through Energy and Natural Resources Division. The department's own account of it reads: "Today, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York ruled that the State of New York may not impose strict liability on energy companies for their alleged contributions to global greenhouse gas emissions. In 2024, New York enacted the 'Climate Change Superfund Act,' which purported to impose billions of dollars on domestic and foreign energy companies that extract fossil fuels or refine crude oil."