Trump Action Archive

Supporting reports

• Trump administration establishes NIH grant-veto board aligned with presidential agenda — The Trump administration is establishing an executive order creating an external board to approve National Institutes of Health grant funding. The board, to include OMB Director Russell Vought and NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya, would require unanimous decisions and could veto biomedical research grants deemed misaligned with Trump's political priorities. This breaks with the NIH's traditional merit-based evaluation process. The move follows administration accusations that the NIH funds "woke" initiatives and comes amid a class-action lawsuit by researchers alleging First Amendment violations through ideological censorship of grant awards.
• Trump directed budget director to create political appointee board for NIH grants — Trump directed his budget director Russ Vought to draft an executive order creating a board of political appointees to decide which grants the National Institutes of Health should fund. This represents another attempt to cut Harvard's funding and place political control over the nation's $48 billion in congressionally-appropriated biomedical research funding. Congress this month signaled disapproval of an earlier Vought plan to give political appointees control of health grants by including a provision in a stopgap funding bill that temporarily blocks the administration from implementing that earlier plan. Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins personally rejected Vought's plan.

Supporting reports

• Pentagon undisclosed military fatalities in Iran war — According to six U.S. officials familiar with Department of Defense internal casualty accounting data, more American service members have died in the Middle East during the ongoing Iran war than the Pentagon has publicly disclosed. Five officials reported at least 22 military fatalities—four more than the Pentagon's public database shows. A sixth official stated 23 service members have died. The discrepancy indicates incomplete public reporting of war casualties.

Supporting reports

• Severe undisclosed damage to U.S. bases from Iranian attacks — Satellite imagery and recently obtained images show severe damage to U.S. military bases in the Middle East from Iranian attacks. Bases in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman, and Jordan have sustained significant structural damage. The Pentagon has not publicly disclosed the extent of damage. A senior U.S. service member stated that bases have been "irreparably damaged" and that rebuilding would require "years and years of construction," not months. MeidasTouch obtained exclusive images showing complete destruction of several structures at a U.S. base in Kuwait.

Supporting reports

• Trump administration vaccine-skeptical policies linked to measles deaths; CDC autism page altered — Senator Bill Cassidy, Republican chair of the US Senate health committee, publicly blamed the Trump administration's vaccine-skeptical approach for three confirmed measles deaths in Pennsylvania (with a fourth under review) during the worst US measles outbreak in over three decades. Cassidy challenged Trump's surgeon general nominee Nicole Saphier to directly state that vaccines do not cause autism. The article also reveals that after Robert F. Kennedy Jr. became health secretary, the CDC's "Autism and Vaccines" webpage was altered—an asterisk was added to the headline "Vaccines do not cause Autism," undermining scientific consensus despite Kennedy's prior assurance to Cassidy that the CDC would maintain clear statements refuting the vaccine-autism link.

Supporting reports

• Trump claims gas prices will drop "like a rocket ship in reverse" — Trump stated that spiking gas prices caused by his tariff policies and Iran war are "a very inexpensive price to pay" and claimed prices "are going to come tumbling down like a rocket ship in reverse," without providing a timeline or mechanism for the claimed price reduction.

Supporting reports

• Trump promises "$5,000 Trump dividend" if Republicans win Congress — Trump promised that if Republicans win control of the House and Senate, he will issue a "Trump dividend" of $5,000 to every adult in America. He claimed "We can do it and the Democrats can't because they don't do the tariffs," attributing the funding mechanism to tariff revenue.

Supporting reports

• ACLU and researchers file class-action lawsuit challenging Trump administration's use of keyword list to block NIH grants — Researchers and civil-rights groups filed a class-action lawsuit in San Francisco federal court on September 16, 2026, challenging the Trump administration's use of a 235-keyword list (including terms like "gender" and "racist") to block and cancel National Institutes of Health grants. The suit argues the administration is violating the First Amendment by censoring scientific research on topics including health equity and climate change. The administration had canceled thousands of grants in 2025; more than 4,500 have since been restored. The lawsuit seeks to cover all researchers whose grants remain disrupted or who faced delays, denials, or forced renegotiations.

Supporting reports

• Complaint filed — Salles v. National Institutes of Health — Seventeen individual researchers filed a class action complaint in the Northern District of California challenging Trump administration executive orders affecting federal grantmaking. The orders terminated DEI programs, barred funds for "gender ideology," required DEI certifications, directed agencies to terminate or modify grants to advance administration priorities, and made peer-review recommendations advisory rather than binding. Plaintiffs allege NIH implemented these policies through internal directives that screened grants and applications, imposing "government-wide ideological litmus tests." The complaint names NIH, NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya, HHS, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and the DOGE Service as defendants, and seeks class certification, declaratory judgment, injunctive relief restoring terminated grants, and vacatur of the challenged policies.

Supporting reports

• Federal Reserve raised interest rates by quarter percentage point — The Federal Reserve's board voted unanimously to raise interest rates by a quarter percentage point to a target range of 3.75% to 4%, the first rate increase since July 2023. The decision came amid rising diesel and gasoline prices driven by Houthi threats to the Bab el-Mandeb strait and Iranian strikes on U.S. military bases. Trump had previously threatened to cut off trade with countries unless the Fed lowered rates.
• Trump calls Federal Reserve rate increase politically motivated against him — Trump claimed the Federal Reserve raised interest rates to harm his political standing, stating "they're doing it to make Trump do as bad as possible." The bulletin notes that every Trump nominee to the Federal Reserve voted to raise rates, contradicting Trump's assertion that the decision was politically motivated against him rather than based on economic policy.
• Federal Reserve raises interest rates, increasing borrowing costs — The Federal Reserve raised interest rates on Wednesday, increasing the cost of borrowing for mortgages, auto loans, and credit card debt at a time when many voters are already paying high rates. The rate increase is expected to negatively impact Republican electoral prospects in the midterms, as voter anger over high prices and economic conditions is cited as a major factor in GOP electoral decline.
• Federal Reserve raises interest rates despite Trump opposition — The Federal Reserve, chaired by Trump appointee Kevin Warsh, raised its benchmark interest rate by 0.25 percentage points to 3.75%–4%, marking the first rate hike in three years. Warsh described the decision as "sober," "serious," and "responsible." Trump lashed out, telling reporters the board was "very hostile" and "very political," though he avoided directly blaming Warsh, instead attributing the decision to board hostility.
• Mortgage rates and gas prices surge before midterms — The Wall Street Journal reported that mortgage rates have climbed close to 7%, gas prices are near their highest levels since 2022, and the Federal Reserve raised interest rates for the first time in three years. These increases have made buying a house and filling a gas tank more expensive than a week prior, putting affordability back in the spotlight before midterm elections. For five months, wage gains have not kept pace with inflation, and with sharp recent increases in gas prices, wages are unlikely to keep pace in the current month. A veteran Republican strategist noted that despite some wage increases, voters have not concluded they are in a better position to handle current prices.

Supporting reports

• Amazon under Carney's direction responded to labor criticism with coordinated social media campaign — In 2022, the Wall Street Journal reported that Jay Carney was directly involved in crafting Amazon's official social media responses to political criticism about labor practices. When Representative Mark Pocan (D-WI) posted that "Paying workers $15/hr doesn't make you a 'progressive workplace' when you union-bust & make workers urinate in water bottles," Amazon's official account responded: "You don't really believe the peeing in bottles thing, do you? If that were true, nobody would work for us." According to the Wall Street Journal, these tweets were "crafted by executives including Mr. Bezos and Mr. Carney," unlike most tweets from Amazon's news account. Amazon later apologized and acknowledged that "drivers can and do have trouble finding restrooms."
• Jay Carney attacked whistleblower and dismissed Amazon workplace concerns — In 2015, after the New York Times published an article documenting poor working conditions at Amazon, including an account from employee Bo Olson who said "nearly every person I worked with, I saw cry at their desk," Jay Carney posted a rebuttal on Medium. To discredit Olson's account, Carney included additional personal details about Olson, revealing that his tenure at Amazon had ended after an investigation into alleged vendor fraud and falsification of business records. Olson denied the allegation. Carney's response was designed to undermine the credibility of the Times' reporting by attacking the source rather than addressing the substantive workplace conditions described in the article.

Supporting reports

• DHS officers instructed to conduct potentially illegal voter database searches without personal liability protection — Department of Homeland Security lawyers told officers investigating voter fraud they would not face personal liability for violating state laws when accessing voter registration databases, according to a whistleblower disclosure. Officers were instructed to search state voter databases and create federal records on suspected non-citizen voters despite concerns about data reliability and the legality of misrepresenting themselves on state websites. The effort, part of the Trump administration's ramped-up investigation into non-citizen voting ahead of midterm elections, has produced only a handful of cases despite non-citizen voting being extremely rare.

Supporting reports

• DHS overstated non-citizen voter identifications in Nevada by more than 85 times initial count — The Department of Homeland Security initially claimed to have identified as many as 15,903 non-citizens on Nevada's voter rolls by comparing July 2025 public voter data against DHS records. However, when DHS began reviewing the data, they had only firmly identified 185 non-citizens, representing a discrepancy of over 15,700 individuals. The massive gap between the initial claim and verified findings raises questions about data reliability and the basis for the administration's voter fraud investigation.

Supporting reports

• Trump made public statements dismissing AI safety concerns as a hoax — The president made multiple social media posts characterizing concerns about artificial intelligence as a "hoax" perpetrated by Democrats, comparing AI safety warnings to climate change denial and the Russia investigation. He stated he is the "Hoax Buster" and called for complete deregulation of the AI industry.

Supporting reports

• Trump dismisses AI safety warnings and prioritizes competition with China — When asked today about industry calls to slow AI development, Trump dismissed the warnings, stating the U.S. needed to stay ahead of China. He characterized the safety concerns as "negative forces" bringing up "things that won't happen," rejecting the industry leaders' calls for measured development in favor of rapid advancement for competitive advantage.
• Trump dismissed AI safety concerns and rejected tech CEO regulation proposals — Trump posted on Truth Social that the only "control or guardrails" AI needs is a "strong and smart president," rejecting calls from large-cap tech CEOs for AI regulation. He accused AI safety advocates of conspiracy and treason, naming Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei as a target. Trump stated his administration had "stopped AI people from doing bad things" and warned "conspiracy theorists, treasonists, traitors, and leakers" to beware. The post dismissed concerns about catastrophic AI risks raised by technology leaders.

Supporting reports

• Trump claims record growth rate despite actual 1.9% growth — Trump told Fox News Channel that the U.S. would "take care of the 40 trillion over a period of time through growth" and claimed "We're growing at a faster rate than we've ever grown before." However, actual growth during Trump's second term has been 1.9%, contradicting his public statements about record growth rates.

Supporting reports

• Trump claimed Ukraine-Russia energy infrastructure agreement without confirmation — While returning from a golf weekend in Ireland, Trump stated on Air Force One that he had asked President Zelenskyy not to strike Russian refineries, citing diesel price concerns. Later, Trump posted on Truth Social that Ukraine and Russia had agreed to halt strikes on each other's energy infrastructure. Zelenskyy subsequently posted that no such agreement existed, stating Ukraine had only proposed that partners secure an agreement with Russia and that Russia had not committed to anything. The claim appeared designed to shift blame for rising oil prices from Russian actions to the Ukraine-Russia conflict.

Supporting reports

• Palo Alto cybersecurity company disclosed AI-driven WeChat worm — A Palo Alto-based cybersecurity company disclosed an AI-developed computer worm capable of compromising over one billion WeChat accounts, demonstrating the capability of AI to create large-scale cyberattacks. The company posted a video demonstration showing how the exploit could read and send messages and act on victims' behalf, though the company did not specify which AI model was used.

Supporting reports

• Bo French posts racist image and anti-Indian rhetoric on social media — Bo French, GOP nominee for Texas Railroad Commissioner, posted a photo of Indian American students celebrating at a University of Texas football game alongside alarmist anti-Indian rhetoric, claiming "UT graduation this year looked like this" and suggesting demographic replacement. The tweet garnered 47 million views. French has a history of similar posts and has previously called for deportation of 100 million people, a number exceeding the total foreign-born population of the United States.

Supporting reports

• Right-wing media figures and politicians defend French and attack Republican critics — Following the official Republican condemnations, right-wing journalists, activists, and GOP politicians publicly defended French and attacked Republican critics. Representative Nico Rios, Sean Davis, Auron MacIntyre, and Jack Posobiec posted messages supporting French and attacking Senator Cornyn as an "anti-American loser" and "traitorous catamite." Representative Dustin Burrows called for French to delete the tweet, but the broader right-wing response was supportive.

Supporting reports

• Trump and Hegseth use 9/11 memorial ceremony to defend unpopular Iran war — At a Pentagon ceremony marking the 25th anniversary of 9/11, President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth used memorial remarks to defend the US-Israel war on Iran launched six months prior. Trump linked the Iran conflict to the 9/11 legacy, stating "That's why we fight today." Hegseth delivered a bellicose speech claiming Iran's defenses "are gone" despite contrary evidence, and warned of threats from "Islamic terrorists abroad and at home." The remarks repurposed a solemn commemoration of 2,606 victims to justify an unpopular military campaign.

Supporting reports

• Trump claimed Iran war will end after midterm elections — Trump told reporters that Iran is prolonging the war to influence U.S. midterm elections and that he expects the conflict to end and gas prices to decline once the elections conclude. He stated, "They can't hold out any longer" and characterized Iran as "desperate to try and affect the election." However, Wall Street Journal reporting revealed that Trump's top advisors, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, have warned him the Iran war could continue through the remainder of his term. Hegseth has already extended troop deployments in the Middle East and planned additional extensions.

Supporting reports

• Nobel Prize scientist warns DOGE actions resemble election corruption scheme — Nobel Prize-winning scientist Geoffrey Hinton, known as "the godfather of AI," commented in the Musk documentary that "It's fairly clear to me that Trump is hell-bent on corrupting the midterm elections." Hinton stated that if one wanted to corrupt midterm elections using AI, "all you needed to do was get detailed information on U.S. citizens. And what DOGE did looked like just what you would do."

Supporting reports

• AFL-CIO releases report warning electronic shelf labels will cost jobs and enable surveillance pricing — The AFL-CIO Tech Institute released a policy brief analyzing electronic shelf label (ESL) manufacturers' marketing materials, concluding that universal adoption could eliminate 44,223 to 191,633 jobs and cost workers $1.6 billion to $6.9 billion annually in lost wages. The report warns ESLs enable algorithmic "surveillance pricing" that changes prices based on personal data, potentially raising grocery costs further. The AFL-CIO calls for a federal ban on electronic labels and surveillance pricing to protect workers and consumers.

Supporting reports

• Trump delivers lengthy speech at Republican midterm convention in Dallas — President Trump spoke for 1 hour 44 minutes at the Republican midterm convention in Dallas on September 10, 2026, making numerous false claims including that he won three presidential elections, that Democrats are "admitting" he won, and that he had equal crowds outside the arena. He promised $5,000 to every adult US citizen if Republicans retain control of both chambers of Congress, proposed renaming geographic features (Gulf of America, Lake America, New Mexico to New America, Strait of Hormuz to Trump Strait), and made disparaging remarks about Democratic candidates and Iran.
• White House correspondent fact-checks Trump's convention attendance claims — Nandita Bose, White House correspondent for Reuters, fact-checked Trump's claims about the convention arena being full. She reported that the upper decks were empty, large stretches of side sections remained sparsely filled, and even with Trump onstage the arena was clearly not at capacity, contradicting Trump's repeated statements about the crowd size.

Supporting reports

• DOGE accessed and shared sensitive Social Security Administration data — A documentary about Elon Musk by filmmaker Alex Gibney reports that under Musk, DOGE had access to federal IT systems. A whistleblower warned that members of DOGE accessed and shared sensitive data from the Social Security Administration, representing a breach of federal data security and privacy protections.