Trump Action Archive

Supporting reports

• U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan criticized ICE for inhumane detention conditions — U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan criticized Immigration and Customs Enforcement for ignoring his previous orders and continuing to hold people in "inhumane and unconstitutional" conditions at Manhattan's 26 Federal Plaza. The judge found detainees were deprived of "sleep, sanitary living conditions, basic personal hygiene needs, sufficient food and water, and adequate medical care." Kaplan required ICE to provide adequate space and humane conditions for detainees.

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• Trump administration petitions Supreme Court to overturn third-country deportation ban — Attorney General Todd Blanche announced that the Department of Justice filed a petition with the US Supreme Court on Thursday, September 25, 2026, seeking to overturn a federal appeals court ruling that blocked the Trump administration's policy of deporting immigrants to countries other than their own. The administration has already deported over 25,000 migrants to at least 29 third countries, including dangerous locations such as the Central African Republic and South Sudan. The lower court had declared the Department of Homeland Security's policy unlawful, and the appeals court upheld that decision in a class-action lawsuit brought by migrants subject to deportation orders.

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• California Supreme Court orders sheriff to return confiscated ballots — California's Supreme Court ruled that Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco unlawfully confiscated over 650,000 ballots during an inquiry into unsubstantiated fraud claims following a November 2025 special election. Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero found the seizure violated election law and created substantial risk to election integrity. Attorney General Rob Bonta had ordered Bianco to return the ballots; Bianco refused. The court rejected Bianco's argument that the AG could not direct a sheriff's investigation, affirming state authority over election materials. Governor Newsom signed legislation preventing future ballot seizures.
• California Supreme Court ordered sheriff to return confiscated ballots — The California Supreme Court ordered Sheriff Chad Bianco to return the confiscated ballots, ruling that it was Bianco, not voters, who was endangering elections. The court stated: "Allowing law enforcement unfettered access to ballots, or the ability to handle and count them in secret, based on unregulated protocols, itself creates a substantial risk to election integrity."

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• Texas Supreme Court lets stand acquittal in Crystal Mason voting case — Texas's highest criminal court declined to hear an appeal by the Tarrant County district attorney in the case of Crystal Mason, a Black woman convicted in 2018 of casting a provisional ballot while on supervised release for a federal tax felony. A lower court had acquitted her in 2024; the state's highest criminal court voted 5-4 on Thursday to let that acquittal stand without explanation, ending nearly a decade of litigation. Mason had maintained the ballot-casting was an innocent mistake and that she was never informed of her ineligibility.

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• DHS whistleblower alleges voter impersonation by federal agents — A Department of Homeland Security whistleblower alleged that DHS, as part of its "Unlawful Voter Initiative," directed federal agents to impersonate voters in violation of state laws, using Social Security numbers and other information to look up voter history on state websites. The allegation prompted US Senators Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff to request an investigation by California's attorney general, citing concerns about how DHS obtained and used voter data and whether it complied with law.

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• Senate Republicans block war powers resolution to end US-Iran conflict — Senate Republicans voted down a House-passed war powers resolution on Thursday, September 25, 2026, that sought to end the US military conflict with Iran. The measure failed 49-50, despite bipartisan House passage and support from four Republican senators (Tillis, Murkowski, Paul, Collins). The conflict had reached 200 days with 19 US service members killed and over 750 injured. Democrats, led by Chuck Schumer and Andy Kim, invoked the War Powers Resolution to force the vote. The defeat marks the latest in a series of failed Democratic attempts to end the war since Trump ordered military strikes in late February 2026.

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• Government Accountability Office report found ICE wasted tens of millions on detention plans — A nonpartisan Government Accountability Office report found that ICE had no strategic plan for spending the unprecedented $45 billion Congress appropriated in Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act, and has wasted tens of millions of taxpayer dollars on slapdash detention plans. The report documented nearly $3 million spent on tents at Guantanamo Bay that were never used, $20 million for maintaining warehouses never used to house detainees and now being sold, and excessive rates to lock people up. The Department of Homeland Security told the GAO it would have a plan by August 31, 2027.

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• Ketanji Brown Jackson criticizes Supreme Court's emergency docket practices in public speech — Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson delivered remarks at the University of the District of Columbia's law school, expressing concern that the Supreme Court's use of the "shadow docket" or emergency docket undermines public faith in the judiciary. She stated the practice risks becoming "an end-run around the standard review process" and noted that while the Court has begun providing more explanation for emergency rulings, it still falls short of full merit-docket review. Her comments came hours after the Trump administration filed another emergency request seeking to allow deportations to countries other than immigrants' home nations.

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• Trump administration denies White House access to CNN and MS Now journalists despite federal court order — On Thursday evening, the Trump administration barred journalists from CNN and MS Now from covering a White House state dinner honoring Chinese President Xi Jinping, hours after U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly issued an overnight order requiring the administration to restore press credentials to the three banned outlets (CNN, MS Now, Politico). CNN was permitted only a photojournalist and audio technician, excluding editorial staff. MS Now reporter Laura Barrón-López was denied credentials entirely. The administration had revoked the outlets' hard passes on Saturday, citing "fake news," but Kelly ruled the revocation violated due process and likely breached First Amendment protections.
• White House blocked CNN and MS NOW from state dinner with Chinese leader Xi Jinping — On the evening of September 25, CNN and MS NOW were blocked from full access to the White House state dinner with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. The White House told CNN it could send only an audio producer and a cameraman, not a reporter or producer. CNN senior White House correspondent Kristen Holmes stated the outlet was "specifically denied access" and that the White House was "not letting in the CNN editorial presence."

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• Trump posted digitally altered image on social media showing him with Xi Jinping — Trump posted an image on his social media account showing himself and Xi Jinping standing together on a red carpet in front of an airplane labeled Air China, with a military aircraft flying over a circle of stars and "Only Trump" superimposed in blackletter font. Journalist Aaron Rupar of Public Notice identified the image as digitally altered, with the chief officer of protocol Monica Crowley's image replaced by what appears to be Trump aide Natalie Harp.

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• ICE stopped publicly revealing locations of detainees subject to deportation orders — Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has stopped publicly revealing where it is holding thousands of detainees who are subject to final deportation orders, according to the Associated Press. The policy change makes it harder for families and lawyers to locate detainees or file additional legal challenges.

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• Trump housing chief investigated Attorney General Todd Blanche's mortgage to pressure him into investigating Trump opponents — In 2025, Trump administration housing chief Bill Pulte looked into the mortgages of prominent Trump opponents including New York Attorney General Letitia James. According to officials who spoke to the Wall Street Journal, Pulte also investigated Attorney General Todd Blanche's mortgage while Blanche was deputy AG, in order to pressure him into more aggressively investigating Trump's opponents.

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• ICE rapidly hired 10,000 agents with minimal vetting — The Department of Homeland Security added 10,000 new ICE agents after Congress provided billions of dollars to double the ICE workforce. ICE ramped up hiring by offering $50,000 signing bonuses and cutting normal vetting procedures, sometimes not even checking fingerprints, identities, or conducting job interviews. David Brouillette, an ICE officer with a volatile history who killed Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero in Biddeford, Maine, in July, was also a recent hire. ICE has been quietly firing some of those hastily hired agents.

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• Solicitor General D. John Sauer asked Supreme Court to permit third-country deportations — Solicitor General D. John Sauer filed an emergency petition with the Supreme Court asking the Court to permit the Trump administration to resume sending migrants to third countries. The request came after a federal appeals court stopped the practice, finding that the short timeline for renditions stripped deportees of their right to due process. Sauer argued that disruption of the administration's "plans…imposes massive costs on the government and invariably requires new rounds of diplomatic engagement."

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• Nevada secretary of state rejected DHS noncitizen voter list — On Tuesday, Nevada Secretary of State Francisco Aguilar stated that the 185 people on the DHS list of alleged noncitizens are all citizens according to Nevada's records. Aguilar said: "Our records do not support DHS's claims, and DHS has still not provided evidence to change that. Instead, DHS officials continue their attempts to intimidate election officials into compliance and deter voters with huge claims of fraud with no evidence."

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• RFK Jr. funded personal security from Office of Minority Health — The Wall Street Journal reported that Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. funded enhanced personal security by taking funds from the department's Office of Minority Health, an office created by the Reagan administration after research showed disparities in Black life expectancy and infant mortality. Kennedy also accepted $4 million in book advances and more than $270,000 in gifts from allies connected to the "Make American Healthy Again" movement interested in policy changes, and his wife accepted $210,000 in consulting fees from a MAHA advocacy group.

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• DoorDash sued NYC in federal court to block tipping regulation — In 2025, DoorDash and Uber Eats sued New York City in federal court to prevent enforcement of a regulation requiring an up-front tipping option for customers. The apps had switched from allowing tips at checkout to only allowing tips after delivery, which the city found significantly reduced driver tips. DoorDash and Uber Eats argued the regulation would cause loss of customer "goodwill." A federal judge refused to block the regulation in a January 2026 ruling, allowing the city's tipping requirement to stand.
• DoorDash sued NYC to block 2023 minimum pay rule for delivery workers — In 2023, DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub sued New York City to overturn the minimum pay rule requiring $22.13 per hour multiplied by delivery and waiting time. The delivery apps argued the rule would force price increases and reduce driver availability. A judge initially blocked the rule, but ultimately allowed it to proceed in September 2023. A New York state appeals court denied the companies' appeal, and the rule took effect in December 2023. DoorDash subsequently violated this rule, which it had challenged in court.
• DoorDash admits systematic underpayment and commits to compliance monitoring — In a statement, DoorDash acknowledged it "screwed up" and that its mistakes resulted in underpayment or late payment to workers, attributing errors to technical problems and complicated situations. The company stated it calculated on-call time differently than the city required but chose to settle rather than litigate. As part of the settlement, DoorDash agreed to submit monthly data reports for three years, make software updates, create internal controls to prevent violations, and work with worker advocacy groups to develop software allowing workers to share trip and pay data with the city.
• DoorDash settled $100 million misclassification lawsuit in Massachusetts and California — In 2021, DoorDash settled claims in Massachusetts and California that it had misclassified drivers as independent contractors rather than employees, hindering their ability to receive minimum wage, overtime pay, and compensation for costs like fuel and mileage. The settlement totaled $100 million. The misclassification allowed DoorDash to avoid providing employee protections and benefits.
• DoorDash settled healthcare and sick leave benefit violations in San Francisco and Seattle — DoorDash settled investigations in San Francisco and Seattle over allegations that the company failed to provide mandatory healthcare and sick leave benefits to drivers. DoorDash paid $5.3 million in the San Francisco case and $1.6 million in the Seattle case. These settlements address violations of local requirements for driver benefits.
• DoorDash settled multi-state lawsuits over tip-credit practices (2020–2025) — Between 2020 and 2025, DoorDash reached settlements with Washington, D.C., Illinois, New York state, and Chicago over allegations that the company used customer tips to cover baseline driver pay rather than providing tips in addition to guaranteed compensation. For example, if DoorDash guaranteed $10 and a customer tipped $3, DoorDash would pay only $7 instead of $10 plus the tip. DoorDash paid $2.5 million to D.C., $11.25 million to Illinois, $16.75 million to New York state, and $18 million to Chicago (which also included other allegations). The lawsuits alleged DoorDash misled customers about how tips would be used.
• New York City announced $131.5 million settlement against DoorDash for wage theft — New York City announced an enforcement action against DoorDash for underpaying or delaying payments to workers. The company will pay $131.5 million in total, with over $115 million distributed to more than 260,000 workers who were underpaid. The city characterized it as "the largest worker settlement in New York City history and the largest settlement involving food delivery workers in the United States."
• NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection announces $131.5 million enforcement action against DoorDash for wage theft — New York City's Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) announced a historic $131.5 million settlement with DoorDash for underpaying or delaying payments to over 260,000 workers. DoorDash will pay more than $115 million in restitution to workers and over $16 million in civil penalties. The investigation found that DoorDash violated a 2023 minimum pay rule requiring $22.13 per hour multiplied by delivery and waiting time, with over $83 million of the settlement covering violations of on-call time calculations. The settlement includes a three-year compliance monitoring program with monthly data reporting and software updates.

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• Senators Warren and Blumenthal demand DOJ clarification on Adani case dismissal — Senators Elizabeth Warren and Richard Blumenthal sent a letter to Attorney General Todd Blanche on September 24, 2026, demanding answers about the DOJ's decision to drop the Adani case. The senators requested information about Adani's $10 billion investment offer, the involvement of Trump associates Boris Epshteyn and Donald Trump Jr, and whether DOJ employees had contact with Trump's personal lawyers regarding the case. They demanded responses by October 5, 2026.

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• Justice Department Ends Over 50 Half-Century-Old Desegregation Cases Throughout the United States — The Department of Justice announced this on 2026-09-24 through Civil Rights Division. The recorded stage is a case dismissed. The department's own account of it reads: "The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division announced today the dismissal of more than fifty desegregation cases — from Waterbury, Connecticut, to Flagler County, Florida — ending matters that had remained on court dockets for more than half a century."

Supporting reports

• Federal judge orders Trump administration to restore White House press credentials to banned outlets — U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly issued an early-morning order on Thursday requiring the Trump administration to restore press credentials to journalists from CNN, MS Now, and Politico for a 14-day period. The judge found the administration likely violated due process and First Amendment protections when it revoked the outlets' hard passes on Saturday without advance notice or opportunity to be heard. Kelly ruled the standards cited by the White House were "so vague" as to be constitutionally inadequate and expressed skepticism that national security was the actual motivation, noting Trump's content-based statements about the ban. A hearing on a preliminary injunction was scheduled during the 14-day restoration period.
• Federal judge ordered White House to restore press credentials for CNN, MS NOW, and Politico reporters — U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly issued a 14-day restraining order requiring the White House to immediately restore press credentials for CNN, MS NOW, and Politico reporters after Trump banned them. The judge found the news organizations were likely to succeed on their claim that their passes were revoked without due process. When reporters attempted to cover Trump's event with Chinese President Xi, they were initially denied access in defiance of the court order, prompting attorneys to file an emergency motion. The White House eventually admitted the reporters after other media outlets joined a boycott.
• U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly granted media outlets' request to block Trump's White House ban on CNN, MS NOW, and Politico — After a hearing on Trump's Friday ban of CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from the White House campus, U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly (appointed by Trump in 2017) granted the media outlets' request for a temporary restraining order, finding that the administration's national security justification was pretextual. Kelly noted that the stories the White House objected to were "routine" and that one was based on a White House press call. Kelly ordered the credentials of 78 journalists restored immediately.

Supporting reports

• White House denied access to reporters in defiance of court order — Despite the federal court's overnight restraining order, White House staff denied access to CNN, MS NOW, and Politico reporters when they arrived to cover Trump's event with Chinese President Xi on the morning of September 24. The denial occurred in direct defiance of the judicial order. Attorneys for the media companies filed an emergency motion requesting an expedited hearing, which was granted and scheduled for 12:45 p.m. The White House eventually admitted the reporters just before the emergency hearing was set to begin.
• White House continued to deny CNN, Politico, and MS NOW access despite court order — Despite Judge Kelly's order restoring journalist credentials, the White House continued to deny reporters from CNN, Politico, and MS NOW access to the White House campus on the morning of September 25. The outlets' lawyers requested an emergency hearing, citing repeated violations of the court's order. After the judge ordered the administration to respond, the reporters were allowed back into the area.

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• White House justified press ban by accusing Politico of threatening national security — The White House press office dispatched a letter to Politico attempting to justify the president's ban on the news organization. In the letter, made public through a government court filing, the White House accused Politico of publishing stories that "have threatened national security and/or spread falsehoods." The White House singled out six stories, including a June 2026 article citing a "senior admin official" who assessed the odds of a U.S.-Iran deal at 80-85%. That official was identified as Vice President JD Vance speaking on a background call with reporters authorized by the White House.

Supporting reports

• White House routed ballroom project through exempt office to avoid building codes — The Washington Post reported that the Trump administration signed contracts putting the American taxpayer on the hook for more than $300 million for a White House ballroom project. James McCrery II, the first architect on the project, resigned when Trump insisted on a design that did not meet fire codes. Normally, White House construction would be managed by federal agencies required by law to comply with building safety codes, but White House officials routed the ballroom through the tiny Executive Residence office, which is exempt from rules because it is not a federal agency. McCrery warned that Trump's design lacked sufficient emergency exits and fire containment measures. When McCrery raised these concerns, Trump responded: "I am the code."

Supporting reports

• Complaint filed: DSCC v. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (D.D.C. 1:26-cv-03330) — The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Democratic Governors Association, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries filed a federal complaint against the Department of Homeland Security, ICE, and the FBI, alleging they have adopted a policy to station armed officers at polling places during the 2026 general election. Plaintiffs claim the policy violates 18 U.S.C. § 592 and Section 11(b) of the Voting Rights Act, chills voting particularly among naturalized citizens, and forces Democratic organizations to divert resources to voter protection. They seek declaratory and injunctive relief barring armed officers from polling places, drop boxes, and curbside voting locations.

Supporting reports

• California and 11 state attorneys general settled antitrust lawsuit against Paramount without requiring meaningful concessions — On September 23, California Attorney General Rob Bonta and 11 other state attorneys general settled a lawsuit to block Paramount, controlled by the Trump-supporting Ellison family, from acquiring Warner Bros. According to Popular Information, the settlement did not require Paramount to divest important assets or make any meaningful concessions, representing a capitulation by the state officials.
• California and 11 states drop antitrust lawsuit against Paramount-Warner Bros. merger without securing meaningful concessions — California Attorney General Rob Bonta and 11 other Democratic state attorneys general withdrew their antitrust lawsuit challenging Paramount's $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. on September 23, 2026. The lawsuit, filed July 13, had secured a temporary restraining order blocking the merger and placed Paramount in a weakened negotiating position. The settlement, formalized in a consent decree, required no asset divestiture and included only nominal commitments: an "Editorial Independence Board" controlled entirely by David Ellison's family (which will hold 77.5% voting shares), and a pledge to release 30 films annually—a commitment Ellison had already made voluntarily months earlier. The settlement also exempts Paramount from obligations during strikes, labor disruptions, or economic recessions.