Trump Action Archive

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• Republican Senator Josh Hawley introduces bill to remove FDA approval of mifepristone — Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri introduced a bill in March to remove FDA approval of mifepristone, one of two medications used for abortion. The bill represents legislative effort to restrict access to the medication and reflects ongoing Republican pressure on the FDA regarding abortion-related drug approvals.

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• FDA rejects melanoma treatment from Replimune amid political pressure — The FDA rejected a melanoma treatment from drugmaker Replimune, a decision that has created "political headaches" for the White House according to Wall Street Journal reporting. Commissioner Makary defended the rejection as based on FDA scientists' assessment, stating he works for the American people, not industry. The decision has drawn criticism from Republican lawmakers and industry advocates.

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• Boeing and Toyota fund Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy's reality television show — Boeing and Toyota each donated $1 million to fund a reality television show called "The Great American Road Trip" starring Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and his family traveling across the United States. The show was produced by a nonprofit backed by major companies overseen by Duffy's agency. The companies being regulated by Duffy's department funded content featuring the secretary in a promotional capacity.
• Transportation Secretary Duffy's reality show raised ethics concerns — CNN reported that Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy filmed a five-part reality show titled "The Great American Road Trip" with his family over seven months. The show's sponsors include Boeing, Shell, Toyota, United Airlines, and Royal Caribbean—all companies that intersect with the Department of Transportation. Duffy claimed costs were paid by a nonprofit and his family received no salary or royalties. Donald Sherman of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington criticized the arrangement as ethically problematic given high gas prices and airline safety concerns.
• Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy took extended leave to film television series while in office — Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy took a seven-month road trip to film a television series called "The Great American Road Trip" while serving as secretary. He appeared on Fox & Friends on the day the national average gas price reached $4.54 per gallon, stating that "it fits any budget to do a road trip," creating a disconnect between his public messaging and his absence from his official duties.

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• Tennessee legislature changed redistricting rules to create Republican Congressional advantage — The Tennessee legislature, controlled by MAGA Republicans, changed its own laws during the week of May 9, 2026, to alter the state's Congressional redistricting in a manner designed to create a possible 9-0 Republican advantage in the state's Congressional delegation. The action prompted thousands of protesters to gather inside and outside the legislative building in opposition. Representative Gloria Johnson characterized the action as "a white power rally and a white power grab," and Representative Justin Jones burned a Confederate flag in the rotunda while protesting.

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• Republican-backed lawsuits seek to block Virginia voter-approved redistricting — Almost immediately after Virginia voters approved a congressional redistricting referendum, Republican-backed lawsuits sought to block the result. A conservative judge blocked certification of the vote, and Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones (D) appealed the decision.

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• Virginia Supreme Court strikes down voter-approved redistricting plan — The Virginia Supreme Court sided with Republican challengers and struck down the voter-approved congressional redistricting plan. The ruling restored Virginia's existing congressional map and delivered a major victory to Republicans ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones warned that the decision silenced millions of voters and struck at the heart of democracy itself, arguing the court had contorted the plain language of the Constitution to reach a politically motivated conclusion.
• Virginia Supreme Court overturned voter-approved redistricting — The Virginia Supreme Court took action that overturned the will of Virginia voters regarding redistricting or electoral boundaries. The article does not provide specific details of the ruling or its date, but characterizes it as evidence of institutional capture and anti-democratic action.

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• Fired judges file suit challenging terminations; Merit Systems Protection Board denies jurisdiction — A group of fired immigration judges filed suit against the Department of Justice challenging the administration's authority to terminate immigration judges without cause or explanation. The Merit Systems Protection Board, an independent federal agency created to protect federal employees from political termination, ruled it had no jurisdiction to review the removals. The fired judges are appealing to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, arguing the decision departs from more than a century of civil service precedent protecting judges from at-will removal.

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• Illinois Democrats shelve constitutional amendment on redistricting protections after Callais ruling — Following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Louisiana v. Callais, which weakened federal voting-rights protections, Illinois Senate President Don Harmon (D) announced that Democrats would not advance a proposed constitutional amendment to the November 2026 ballot. The measure, which had passed the Illinois House, would have written Voting Rights Act-style safeguards into the state constitution to ensure equal opportunity in the political process regardless of race. Harmon cited the need to avoid "unintended consequences" in light of the Court's ruling, effectively preventing voters from weighing in on the measure in 2026.

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• Florida Governor DeSantis signs new congressional gerrymander — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed a new congressional redistricting map that packs Democratic voters into fewer districts, potentially giving Republicans an advantage in four additional races in the 2026 midterm elections. The map weakens several Democratic-held seats. Voting rights groups immediately sued, arguing the map violates Florida's voter-approved Fair Districts Amendments (2010), which prohibit maps that favor one political party. DeSantis's office has argued that the Callais ruling effectively invalidated Florida's entire voter-approved amendment.

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• Fired judges file suit challenging terminations; Merit Systems Protection Board denies jurisdiction — A group of fired immigration judges filed suit against the Department of Justice challenging the administration's authority to terminate immigration judges without cause or explanation. The Merit Systems Protection Board, an independent federal agency created to protect federal employees from political termination, ruled it had no jurisdiction to review the removals. The fired judges are appealing to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, arguing the decision departs from more than a century of civil service precedent protecting judges from at-will removal.

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• FDA approves fruit-flavored vapes after Trump pressure overrides agency scientists — The FDA approved fruit-flavored vapes for the first time after Trump pressured Commissioner Makary to override agency scientists who had halted the approval. Trump made calls over the weekend to pressure the decision. The approval occurred on Tuesday, with the news release attributing the decision to "President Trump's leadership" rather than standard regulatory processes, marking direct political interference in drug approval.
• FDA limits Covid vaccines and refuses Moderna flu vaccine consideration — Vinay Prasad, head of the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER), overruled center scientists to limit Covid vaccines and refused to consider Moderna's new mRNA-based flu vaccine. The flu vaccine decision was quickly reversed after public outcry. Prasad worked with Commissioner Makary to create a new vaccine approval framework announced through a journal article rather than standard agency processes.
• Trump administration pressures FDA commissioner over fruit-flavored vape approval — Trump signed off on a plan to fire FDA Commissioner Marty Makary in early May 2026 after scolding him for not approving fruit-flavored vapes, according to the Wall Street Journal. Makary had initially overridden agency scientists to halt approval of the first fruit-flavored vapes before the FDA announced the approval would move forward. The dispute exemplifies broader tensions between Trump and Makary over regulatory independence.

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• FEMA denied disaster aid to Democratic-led states while accelerating aid to Republican states — Under Trump, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which helps people prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters, has been denying aid to states with Democratic-led governments while speeding aid to Republican-dominated states. The pattern represents a weaponization of federal disaster relief based on partisan political alignment rather than need or merit.

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• DOJ prosecutors demoted after Comey indictment push — The Washington Post reported that prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia have been demoted or pushed out following the push to prosecute former FBI Director James Comey. The fallout has disrupted major cases, including one involving a deadly attack in Afghanistan. The action reflects apparent retaliation against prosecutors perceived as insufficiently loyal to the Trump administration's priorities.

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• Trump awarded no-bid contract for Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool repairs — Trump awarded a $6.9 million no-bid contract to Atlantic Industrial Coatings to reseal joints, waterproof, and paint the Reflecting Pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial. The company had never won a federal contract before but had worked at one of Trump's golf clubs. Trump bypassed the required competitive bidding and review process by invoking an exemption designed for emergencies, citing the need to complete work before the July 4, 2026 Declaration of Independence anniversary. The contract price is more than triple the $1.8 million Trump initially promised, and officials estimate the repairs will last 7–10 years rather than the 50 years Trump claimed.
• Cost of Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool project increased 88 percent to $13.1 million — According to New York Times reporting, the cost of Trump's plan to repair the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool jumped 88 percent to $13.1 million. Government records showed the price appeared to include a 20 percent profit margin for Trump's handpicked contractor, who received the job via no-bid contract.

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• Jury finds LAPD officer not liable in wrongful death of 14-year-old killed by stray bullet — A Los Angeles County jury found Officer William Dorsey Jones Jr. not liable in the wrongful death of Valentina Orellana-Peralta, 14, who was fatally struck by a stray bullet on December 23, 2021, while hiding in a store dressing room during a police confrontation with a suspect armed with a bike lock. The jury's decision on May 8, 2026, concluded a wrongful death trial that began in April 2026. The family's attorneys argued Jones was negligent; Jones testified he believed the bike lock was a gun and acted in a life-or-death situation. California's attorney general had declined to pursue criminal charges.

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• JD Vance threatens to withhold federal Medicaid and Medicare funding from states refusing anti-fraud compliance — Vice President JD Vance announced that the Trump administration will threaten to "turn off" federal Medicaid and Medicare funding to states that do not comply with the administration's fraud investigation efforts. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services simultaneously halted new enrollments for hospices and home health agencies for six months pending fraud investigation. The HHS Inspector General sent letters to all 50 state attorneys general warning that non-compliance with fraud audits of Medicaid Fraud Control Units puts "all of your state's Medicaid funds in jeopardy," despite legal experts noting the HHS lacks statutory authority to withhold all state Medicaid funds.

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• National Trust for Historic Preservation accused DOJ of lying to court — The National Trust for Historic Preservation, which is seeking to halt construction of Trump's ballroom, filed a scathing rebuke to a DOJ motion accusing the government of making false statements to the court. The National Trust specifically refuted three claims: that it had been shown detailed non-public plans (it had not), that the military had requested it not file the suit due to classified nature (the military made no such request), and that the lawsuit endangered presidential security (calling the claim "utterly unprofessional" and "reckless"). The filing noted that construction has continued unabated with no pause despite the pending injunction.

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• Virginia Supreme Court strikes down voter-approved congressional redistricting maps — Virginia's Supreme Court ruled 4-3 on May 8 that the state cannot use new congressional maps approved by voters in an April referendum. The court found that the Democratic-controlled state legislature violated the state constitution by passing the amendment creating the maps before early voting began in the 2025 general election, rather than following the required two-session approval process. The maps would have helped Democrats gain up to four House seats. The ruling nullifies the referendum result and restores the previous maps, benefiting Republicans ahead of November's midterm elections.
• Virginia Supreme Court struck down redistricting referendum — The Virginia Supreme Court issued a 4-3 decision invalidating a voter-approved redistricting referendum that had taken place on April 21, 2026. The court ruled that the legislature had not satisfied the constitutional requirement of passing the amendment through two consecutive legislative sessions with an election in between, finding that the first passage occurred while early voting was already underway in the 2025 statewide elections. The decision overturned the will of approximately 3 million Virginians who voted in the referendum.
• Virginia Supreme Court struck down new congressional maps — The Virginia Supreme Court struck down the state's new congressional maps, which had been narrowly approved by voters in an April referendum, ruling that the constitutional amendment was submitted by the legislature "in an unprecedented manner." The new map would have paved the way for Democrats to win as many as four additional House seats in the midterm elections. The court's decision blocked a voter-approved redistricting reform.
• Virginia Supreme Court struck down voter-approved redistricting referendum — The Virginia state supreme court, voting 4–3 along partisan lines, struck down a referendum approved by Virginia voters on April 21, 2026, that would have created a temporary new congressional district map to gain four additional seats for Democrats and counter Republican gerrymandering. Voters had approved the measure in response to gerrymandering imposed by Republican legislators in Texas, Ohio, Tennessee, Missouri, North Carolina, and Florida, which is expected to gain Republicans an additional 14 seats nationally. The court ruled that the process of passing the referendum violated the state constitution. The decision occurred in the context of Trump's low job approval ratings (low 30s), public anger over rising prices, frustration with the Iran war, and dislike of the administration's attacks on immigrants. Trump posted on social media celebrating the decision as a "huge win for the Republican Party."

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• Chief Justice Roberts defends Supreme Court impartiality amid Trump-aligned rulings — Chief Justice John Roberts addressed a judges and lawyers conference in Hershey, Pennsylvania, asserting that the Supreme Court is not composed of "political actors" and operates outside the political process. His remarks came amid public criticism of recent court decisions, including one undermining the Voting Rights Act and others benefiting Trump's policies. Roberts acknowledged that some decisions may be unpopular but insisted the court makes legal, not policy, determinations. The statement reflects ongoing tension within the court, with Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissenting sharply on the Voting Rights Act ruling.

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• Federal judge blocks Trump administration sanctions against UN expert Francesca Albanese — US District Judge Richard Leon temporarily blocked sanctions imposed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio against Francesca Albanese, a UN special rapporteur on Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories. Rubio had sanctioned Albanese in July 2025 following a Trump executive order targeting individuals involved with ICC investigations of Israel's Gaza actions. Judge Leon found the Trump administration likely violated Albanese's First Amendment free speech rights by imposing measures in retaliation for her criticism of Israel and her ICC recommendations. The sanctions had barred her from US entry and banking.

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• Samuel Alito's Voting Rights Act ruling cited misleading DoJ data on voter turnout — Justice Samuel Alito's majority opinion gutting Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act relied on voter turnout data from a Department of Justice friend-of-the-court brief that used a non-standard, misleading methodology. The DoJ calculated Black and white voter turnout as a proportion of total population over 18, including non-citizens and ineligible voters, rather than the standard citizen voting age population measure. When recalculated using standard methodology, Black voter turnout in Louisiana exceeded white turnout in only one of five recent elections, not two as Alito claimed. Experts identified the approach as deliberately manipulative.

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• Southern Poverty Law Center indicted on fraud and money laundering charges — The Southern Poverty Law Center, an Alabama-based non-profit focused on dismantling white supremacy, was indicted on May 7, 2026, on charges of conspiracy to launder money and commit fraud. The DOJ alleged the SPLC defrauded donors by using funds to pay informants inside white supremacist groups. The SPLC pleaded not guilty. Legal experts characterized the indictment as weak, noting that paying informants to dismantle extremist organizations is a standard law enforcement tactic.
• Southern Poverty Law Center pleads not guilty to federal fraud and money laundering charges — The Southern Poverty Law Center entered a not guilty plea on Thursday to an 11-count federal indictment alleging fraud and money laundering conspiracy. Prosecutors claim SPLC funneled over $3 million to confidential sources within extremist groups between 2014 and 2023, and lied to donors and banks about the use of funds. SPLC leadership denies the charges, stating the informant program successfully prevented threats and attacks. Legal experts have characterized the case as weak.

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• U.S. Attorney's Office (Northern District of Texas) subpoenas NYU Langone Health for transgender youth healthcare records — The U.S. Attorney's Office in the Northern District of Texas issued a subpoena on May 7, 2026, to NYU Langone Health, a major New York City hospital network, demanding information about minor patients who received gender-affirming care between 2020 and 2026, including names of medical providers involved. NYU Langone must notify affected patients and the New York Attorney General within 30 days before disclosing protected health information under state shield law. The subpoena is part of the Trump administration's broader effort to track and regulate gender-affirming care for minors nationwide.

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• Zachary Alam sentenced to seven years for burglary — Zachary Alam, a Capitol attacker pardoned by Trump in January 2025, was sentenced on May 7, 2026, to seven years in prison after a jury convicted him of committing a burglary in Virginia. Alam is one of at least four pardoned Capitol attackers who have faced criminal charges for crimes committed after receiving Trump's pardon.
• Zachary Alam sentenced to seven years for Virginia burglary after Trump pardon — Zachary Alam, a January 6 Capitol rioter pardoned by Trump in January 2025 after serving nearly four years of an eight-year sentence, was convicted in October 2025 of breaking and entering and grand larceny in Henrico County, Virginia. A jury found him guilty of burglarizing a home on May 8, 2025, stealing electronics and jewelry. On May 8, 2026, a circuit court judge sentenced him to seven years in prison (20 years on each charge with 13 years suspended on the breaking-and-entering count and the entire grand larceny sentence suspended). He was also ordered to serve 20 years' probation on each conviction.

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• Alabama attorney general files emergency petition to revert to struck-down map — Alabama's Republican attorney general Steve Marshall filed an emergency petition with the U.S. Supreme Court seeking permission for the state to revert to a congressional map that was struck down in 2023 for racial gerrymandering. The petition was filed as part of the post-Louisiana v. Callais wave of Republican redistricting efforts.