Executive overreach
Executive overreach is action by the executive branch that exceeds its constitutional or statutory authority — claiming powers that belong to Congress, to the courts, or to the states. Concrete forms include unilateral imposition of substantive policy without statutory grant, the redirection of appropriated funds to purposes Congress declined to authorize, the assertion of authority to nullify enacted law, and aggressive "inherent authority" claims that have no basis in text or precedent. Vigorous use of granted authority is not overreach; overreach is what happens when the executive acts as though limits don't apply.
Documented entries (84)
2026
Trump resumed Iran strikes defying first-ever bicameral war-powers resolution directing end to hostilities
On June 27–28, 2026, U.S. Central Command struck Iranian military sites near the Strait of Hormuz, days after Congress — for the first time in American history — passed a war-powers resolution through both chambers directing the president to remove U.S. forces from hostilities with Iran absent a declaration of war or congressional authorization. The Senate voted 50–48 on June 23 to join the House, which had passed the same measure 215–208 on June 3. Trump called the resolution "poorly timed and meaningless," said "there are no limits" to his executive power, and directed strikes that Iran met with retaliatory attacks on U.S. military sites in Kuwait and Bahrain on June 28.
Trump's Religious Liberty Commission released draft report urging DOJ to narrow Establishment Clause protections
On June 26, 2026, the Presidential Advisory Commission on Religious Liberty — a federal advisory body established by Trump executive order — released a 12-point draft report calling for a stronger government role in promoting religion and recommending that the Department of Justice issue guidance to narrow First Amendment Establishment Clause doctrine. The report proposes replacing the concept of church-state separation with government "bridges" to religion and additionally recommends eliminating the Johnson Amendment, which bars tax-exempt religious organizations from endorsing political candidates. President Trump personally met with the commission and publicly stated, "We're going to bring religion back."
CDC ordered health grantees to adopt 'parental authority' priorities and abandon harm reduction, threatening funding loss
The CDC issued a memo on June 25, 2026, to state, territorial, tribal, and local health program grantees requiring compliance with new agency priorities within five business days — by July 1 — or risk funding cancellation. The new priorities, obtained by The Guardian, included "parental authority" over children's education and required programs to move away from evidence-based harm reduction; programs covering immunizations, HIV, hepatitis, tobacco, and overdose prevention were affected. HHS confirmed the action after the story was published, and CDC program staff were reported to be unaware the memo had been sent.
Postmaster General Steiner announced USPS will refuse mail ballot delivery in states withholding voter data under Trump elections order
On June 24, 2026, U.S. Postmaster General David Steiner announced that the Postal Service would refuse to deliver mailed ballots in states that declined to submit voter lists and associated ballot barcodes to the federal government, as demanded by a proposed rule implementing President Trump's Executive Order 14399. The announcement came as all 47 Democratic senators wrote to USPS warning that such voter lists would be "ripe for abuse" and likely to contain inaccuracies that would prevent eligible voters from casting ballots. The coercive policy was announced on the same day a federal court blocked separate provisions of EO 14399 requiring documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote.
DOJ sued New York to block state law requiring ICE agents to unmask and display identification
On June 23, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice filed suit against New York State, Governor Kathy Hochul, and Attorney General Letitia James, seeking to block a New York law requiring federal law enforcement officers, including ICE agents, to unmask during operations and display individual identifying information. The law, scheduled to take effect June 26, also bars 287(g) cooperative agreements in jurisdictions that maintain mask bans. DOJ argues the law violates the Supremacy Clause and poses officer safety risks; Hochul and James filed a countersuit the same day seeking to preserve the law.
DOJ sues Philadelphia to block federal officer identification and local oversight requirements
The U.S. Department of Justice filed a 28-page lawsuit on June 18, 2026, against Philadelphia, challenging City Bill No. 260060, which requires federal law enforcement officers to display visible identification, use marked vehicles, and comply with local regulations during operations in the city. If successful, the suit would nullify a civil-rights protection that Philadelphia enacted to ensure accountability in immigration enforcement — reducing residents' ability to identify and report federal agents operating in their communities. DOJ argues that municipalities lack authority to regulate federal officers and claims the law threatens officer safety.
ICE's HSI unit obtains individual voter files from Texas and North Carolina counties to investigate alleged noncitizen voting
Election officials in Webb County, Texas, and Forsyth County, North Carolina, turned over individual voter-file records — including registration history, addresses, dates of birth, driver's-license numbers, and voting histories — to agents of ICE's Homeland Security Investigations unit as part of the Trump administration's campaign against alleged noncitizen voting, according to emails obtained by Democracy Forward and first reported by Axios on June 13, 2026. The requests reached Webb County in May 2026 and Forsyth County in November 2025, and on June 9 DHS General Counsel James Percival directed ICE to pursue stricter penalties, including deportation, for noncitizens found to have voted.
U.S. resumes Iran strikes for a second straight day, defying House war-powers resolution
On June 10–11, 2026, the United States resumed major airstrikes against Iran for a second consecutive day, collapsing a ceasefire that had held since early April and re-escalating a war the executive branch began on February 28, 2026 without congressional authorization. The strikes came barely a week after the House passed a War Powers Resolution, 215–208, directing the President to remove U.S. forces from hostilities with Iran absent a declaration of war or authorization for the use of military force. The administration continued to assert that the resolution's 60-day clock did not apply because a ceasefire had "paused" it, pressing ahead with strikes over Congress's recorded objection.
Trump blocked Gordie Howe Bridge opening, benefiting Moroun family donors who gave $1 million to Trump super PAC
President Trump refused to allow the Gordie Howe International Bridge — a completed Detroit-Windsor crossing built jointly by Canada and Michigan — to open, causing cancellation of a scheduled June 11, 2026 grand opening at the last minute. The Moroun family, which owns the competing Ambassador Bridge and donated $1 million to a Trump-aligned super PAC, stands to benefit from the new bridge remaining closed. Canadian officials, including Windsor's mayor, publicly named the Moroun family's financial ties to Trump as the likely driver of his opposition.
U.S. strike enforcing Iran oil blockade kills three Indian sailors aboard tanker off Oman
On June 10, 2026, U.S. forces enforcing an executive-ordered naval blockade of Iranian oil exports fired on the Palau-flagged oil tanker M/T Settebello in the Gulf of Oman, killing three of its 24 Indian crew members — deck cadet Aditya Sharma, engine fitter Shivanand Chaurasiya, and chief engineer Patnala Suresh. U.S. Central Command said it disabled the tanker for violating the blockade as it allegedly attempted to carry Iranian oil, and has described the crews of targeted vessels as having repeatedly failed to comply with U.S. directions. India confirmed the deaths and summoned a senior U.S. diplomat on June 11 to lodge a formal protest, and the U.N. International Maritime Organization called the targeting of seafarers "unacceptable."
DOJ told D.C. Circuit no court has authority to block Trump's $400m White House ballroom
At a D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals hearing on June 5, 2026, a Justice Department lawyer argued that no court — not the panel, not the Supreme Court — has the authority to halt or order the demolition of President Trump's $400m White House ballroom, contending that only Congress could intervene. Pressed by Judge Patricia Millett on whether any court could stop the construction, the government answered no, even when asked whether courts could stop the executive from bulldozing the Statue of Liberty. The administration is appealing District Judge Richard Leon's earlier ruling that Trump lacked legal authority for the project.
DOJ sends a federal prosecutor to observe the Los Angeles ballot count amid Trump's baseless fraud claims
On June 5, 2026, the U.S. Attorney's office in Los Angeles, led by Trump appointee Bill Essayli, said it had opened "multiple election fraud investigations" into California's elections and dispatched an assistant U.S. attorney to Los Angeles County's vote-counting center. The move followed days of evidence-free claims by President Trump that Democrats were "rigging" the slow primary count for governor, Los Angeles mayor, and Congress, and inserted federal pressure into a routine state-run tabulation that local officials said was proceeding normally.
Federal judge rules USCIS freeze on immigration processing for 39 travel-ban countries unlawful
U.S. District Chief Judge John J. McConnell Jr. of the District of Rhode Island ruled on June 5, 2026 that USCIS unlawfully froze asylum claims and immigration-benefit adjudications — work permits, green cards, and citizenship — for nationals of the 39 countries under the administration's travel restrictions. The 135-page ruling found the freeze exceeded the agency's statutory authority, was arbitrary and capricious, and masked anti-immigrant animus behind pretextual national-security claims, and ordered processing resumed.
Trump invokes Defense Production Act to direct ~$700M to the coal industry
On June 4, 2026, the Trump administration moved to direct roughly $700 million in federal support to the coal industry, invoking the Defense Production Act — a 1950 national-defense statute — to fund coal-fired power plants and export infrastructure. The package routes about $425 million in DPA funds to 13 existing plants across 10 states, roughly $185 million in Energy Department grants to build two new coal plants (Alaska and West Virginia) and restart a Maryland plant, and $75 million in DPA funds toward the West Gateway coal export terminal in Oakland, California. It builds on an April 20, 2026 Presidential Determination declaring coal supply chains and baseload power "essential to national defense," with the stated rationale being rising electricity demand from AI and data centers rather than a defense emergency.
Trump signs order stripping civil-service protections from ~8,000 senior federal workers
On June 3, 2026, President Trump signed an executive order implementing "Schedule Policy/Career" — a revival of the first-term "Schedule F" — that reclassifies roughly 8,000 senior career federal positions, about 97% of them at the GS-15 level or above, into a new at-will category. Affected employees lose civil-service removal protections and the right to appeal adverse actions to the Merit Systems Protection Board, letting agencies fire them without cause. The Office of Personnel Management, which finalized the underlying rule, had earlier estimated up to 50,000 positions could ultimately be covered and has not ruled out expanding the pool.
Trump reclassified ~8,000 senior career federal workers as at-will under Schedule Policy/Career
On June 3, 2026, President Trump signed an executive order formalizing the "Schedule Policy/Career" classification, converting roughly 8,000 senior career civil-service positions into at-will employment removable without the procedural protections established by the Civil Service Reform Act. The order revives the first-term "Schedule F" concept (EO 13957) and lists "subversion of Presidential directives" among the grounds for removal; about 97% of affected positions are GS-15 or Senior Level roles, including directors, chiefs of staff, senior advisers, and regulation drafters. Federal unions and good-government groups warn it strips merit-system protections from policy-influencing career staff by executive action, outside the legislative process.
Court finds Trump board unlawfully renamed Kennedy Center and 'preordained' its two-year closure
On May 29, 2026, U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper ruled in a 94-page decision that President Trump's handpicked Kennedy Center board acted unlawfully when it unilaterally added Trump's name to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, holding that only Congress can rename the congressionally chartered institution and ordering the name removed from the building and website within 14 days. The court also enjoined the board's March 2026 vote to close the center for two years, calling it an "ill-informed and seemingly preordained decision" reached through "an insufficient, one-sided presentation of information." The ruling authoritatively establishes that the Trump-chaired board overstepped its statutory authority.
U.S. Postal Service proposes rule requiring states to submit mail-ballot voter lists, implementing Trump's elections executive order
On May 29, 2026, the U.S. Postal Service issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (published in the Federal Register June 2) that would require state election officials to submit the names and ballot barcodes of voters who request mail-in or absentee ballots to a new federal "Federal Ballot Mail Portal," and would direct USPS to deliver ballots only to voters on the resulting lists. The rulemaking implements President Trump's March 31 executive order (EO 14399) asserting federal control over mail voting — authority the Constitution's Elections Clause reserves to the states and to Congress, not the president. The proposal is not final and faces legal challenge; the act recorded here is the executive directing a federal agency to claim that authority, not the (contingent) disenfranchisement that would follow if it takes effect.
JTF Southern Spear killed 3 aboard suspected narcotics vessel in eastern Pacific; 61st strike, ~202 campaign deaths
On May 29, 2026, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted a lethal kinetic strike on an alleged drug-trafficking vessel in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing three people. The Trump administration released no public evidence that the victims were engaged in drug trafficking, provided no names or nationalities, and offered no legal proceedings. The strike was the 61st in Operation Southern Spear, bringing the campaign's total to approximately 202 deaths since September 2025.
USCIS memo requires most green-card applicants to leave the U.S. and apply abroad
On May 21, 2026, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services issued Policy Memorandum PM-602-0199, reclassifying adjustment of status — the process by which eligible immigrants obtain a green card without leaving the country — as an "extraordinary" form of relief and an act of "administrative grace" rather than a routine pathway. The memo directs officers to treat an applicant's choice to pursue adjustment of status inside the United States, instead of consular processing abroad, as an adverse factor weighing against approval, a change that would force most green-card seekers — including spouses of U.S. citizens, students, and employer-sponsored workers — to leave the country and apply through a U.S. consulate. The restructuring affects an estimated half-million cases a year and was made by internal agency memorandum, without legislation or notice-and-comment rulemaking; USCIS says it implements existing law, while former officials of both parties call it largely unprecedented.
DOJ opinion declares Presidential Records Act unconstitutional; court orders White House to comply
In April 2026, the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel issued a memorandum opinion declaring the Presidential Records Act — the post-Watergate law that makes presidential records public property and requires their preservation — unconstitutional, and advised that President Trump need not comply with it. On May 20, 2026, U.S. District Judge John Bates granted a preliminary injunction in American Historical Association v. Trump, holding the Act "likely constitutional," finding a substantial risk that covered records were not being preserved, and ordering most Executive Office of the President staff to comply. The injunction takes effect at 9 a.m. on May 26, 2026; it binds White House staff but not the President or Vice President directly.
Federal court bars ICE from arresting immigrants at three Manhattan federal courthouses after finding the agency lacked internal legal authority for the year-plus practice
On May 18, 2026, U.S. District Judge P. Kevin Castel (Southern District of New York) issued a 15-page stay barring U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement from arresting most immigrants inside or around three federal courthouses in lower Manhattan — 26 Federal Plaza, 201 Varick Street, and 290 Broadway — except in narrow circumstances involving imminent national-security or public-safety threats. The court's findings document the underlying abuse this entry records: ICE had conducted courthouse arrests at substantial scale for over a year despite, as federal prosecutors admitted in March 2026, having no internal agency rules establishing the legal authority for the practice, and the agency had continued the arrests after conceding this to prosecutors. A masked-agent arrest was witnessed at 26 Federal Plaza on the morning of May 18, hours before the stay took effect.
Trump administration runs 67M+ voter registrations through DHS SAVE database for federal noncitizen/deceased checks; voting-rights advocates warn of pre-midterm purge
Associated Press reporting on May 17, 2026 (carried by PBS NewsHour, the Philadelphia Inquirer, HuffPost, and ABC News) documented that the Trump administration has run at least 67 million voter registrations — predominantly from Republican-controlled states — through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's expanded SAVE (Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements) database since August 2025. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services confirmed about 60 million registrations checked in a roughly one-year window, with about 24,000 flagged as potential noncitizens; the DOJ Civil Rights Division separately said about 350,000 records were flagged as possibly deceased. The SAVE program was statutorily designed to prevent improper benefit payments to noncitizens — its use for voter- roll administration is an executive-driven expansion without a corresponding statutory mandate.
Colorado Gov. Polis commutes Tina Peters' election-tampering sentence after Trump pressure campaign
On May 15, 2026, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis commuted the nine-year prison sentence of former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters, convicted in 2024 of tampering with the county's election equipment, ordering her release on parole June 1, 2026 -- roughly halving her sentence. The commutation followed a months-long public pressure campaign by President Donald Trump that combined personal insults of Polis ("Scumbag Governor"), threats to federal disaster aid and federal program placements in Colorado, and repeated demands on Truth Social to "FREE TINA!" Peters's conviction was a state offense and so sat outside Trump's federal pardon power; clemency could come only from Polis.
Pentagon plans to rename Iran war 'Sledgehammer' to restart the War Powers 60-day clock
On May 12, 2026, NBC News reported — citing two U.S. officials and a White House official — that the Pentagon is preparing to officially rename the U.S. war with Iran from "Operation Epic Fury" to "Operation Sledgehammer" if the current ceasefire collapses and President Trump orders the resumption of major combat operations. The White House official told NBC that any renewed campaign would be conducted under a new name and that, from the administration's perspective, this would effectively restart the 60-day clock under the 1973 War Powers Resolution that requires congressional authorization for sustained hostilities. The maneuver layers onto the administration's existing position that the early-April ceasefire paused the statutory clock — which expired May 1 by Antiwar.com's count — even as the United States has continued to enforce a blockade of Iran.
JTF Southern Spear killed 2 aboard suspected narcotics vessel in Caribbean; ~57th strike, ~191 campaign deaths
On May 4, 2026, Joint Task Force Southern Spear struck a vessel in the Caribbean Sea, killing two people. The strike was carried out under Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth's Operation Southern Spear mandate with no prior judicial process or public evidence regarding the victims.
JTF Southern Spear killed 3 aboard suspected narcotics vessel in eastern Pacific; ~56th strike, ~189 campaign deaths
On May 4, 2026, Joint Task Force Southern Spear struck a vessel in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing three people. The strike was carried out under Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth's Operation Southern Spear mandate at the direction of SOUTHCOM commander Gen. Francis L. Donovan, with no prior judicial process or public evidence regarding the victims.
State Department orders consular officers to deny visas to applicants who fear returning home
On April 28, 2026, the U.S. State Department sent a worldwide diplomatic cable ordering consular officers to ask every nonimmigrant visa applicant two new verbal questions -- whether they have suffered harm or mistreatment at home and whether they fear harm if returned -- and to deny the visa to anyone who answers "yes" or refuses to answer. The directive, which covers tourist, student, and temporary-worker visas, converts an expression of protection-need into an automatic disqualifier and is part of a broader effort to screen out applicants who might later seek asylum.
Trump fires all 22 members of the National Science Board overseeing the NSF
On April 24, 2026, the Trump White House emailed all 22 seated members of the National Science Board — the statutory body Congress created in 1950 to set National Science Foundation policy, submit its budget, and approve its programs and awards — informing them their positions were "terminated, effective immediately." The mass dismissal removed the NSF's entire congressionally-created oversight body in a single morning, without legislative action and without replacement appointments in hand, leaving the agency's roughly $9 billion in research funding without its governing board.
DOJ refers 384 naturalized Americans for denaturalization in record-volume push
On April 23, 2026, The New York Times first reported that the U.S. Department of Justice had identified 384 foreign-born, naturalized U.S. citizens as a "first wave" of denaturalization targets, with cases being distributed to federal prosecutors in 39 U.S. Attorney's offices across the country. A DOJ spokesperson, citing the leadership of President Trump and Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, called it "the highest volume of denaturalization referrals in history." The push follows a June 2025 directive from Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate ordering the Civil Division to "prioritize and maximally pursue" denaturalization, with an internal cadence of roughly 100–200 referrals per month — against a 1990–2017 baseline of about 11 cases per year and a total of 120 cases attempted between 2017 and the end of 2025.
DOJ demands Wayne County, Michigan turn over all ~865,000 ballots from the 2024 election
On April 14, 2026, U.S. Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon sent a demand letter to Wayne County Clerk Cathy Garrett invoking the Civil Rights Act of 1960 to require turnover of all ballots, receipts, and envelopes — roughly 865,000 — cast in the November 2024 federal election in Michigan's most populous county, where Kamala Harris won by a margin of about a quarter-million votes. The letter cited a long-dismissed 2020 civil suit and three 2020-era voter-fraud convictions as its predicate, gave the clerk 14 days to comply, and threatened a court order. Michigan's governor, secretary of state, and attorney general publicly rejected the demand and refused to comply.
Trump signs second federal-elections executive order asserting presidential control over voter eligibility and mail voting
On March 31, 2026, President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 14399, "Ensuring Citizenship Verification and Integrity in Federal Elections," directing the Department of Homeland Security and Social Security Administration to compile federal "citizenship verification" lists and instructing the U.S. Postal Service to deliver mail ballots only to voters on those lists. Constitutional law experts, federal courts, and 24 state attorneys general have stated that the president has no authority under the Elections Clause (Art. I, Sec. 4) to set federal voting procedures — a position that already produced a 2025 injunction against substantial portions of Trump's first elections executive order.
JTF Southern Spear killed 4 aboard suspected narcotics vessel in Caribbean Sea; 47th strike, ~163 campaign deaths
On March 25, 2026, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted its 47th lethal kinetic strike on an alleged drug-trafficking vessel in the Caribbean Sea, killing four people. SOUTHCOM identified the vessel as engaged in narco-trafficking but provided no public evidence against those killed and no identification of the victims. The strike drew international condemnation — UN special rapporteur Ben Saul had 13 days earlier called the campaign "serial extrajudicial killings" with "no justification under international law."
State Department declares wartime emergency to bypass Congress on $23B in Mideast arms sales
On March 20, 2026, the State Department declared a national-security "wartime emergency" to bypass Congress and force through more than $23 billion in arms sales to the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Jordan. Secretary of State Marco Rubio invoked emergency-certification authority under the Arms Export Control Act to waive the statutory congressional-review window across 11 weapons packages — some still under review on Capitol Hill, others never formally submitted to Congress. Coverage described it as the administration's second use of emergency authority to circumvent congressional approval of arms transfers since the war with Iran began.
Wright invokes Defense Production Act to override California, restart Sable oil pipelines
On March 13, 2026, President Trump signed an executive order delegating his Defense Production Act authority to Energy Secretary Chris Wright, who that same day ordered Sable Offshore Corp. to restart the Santa Ynez Unit and its offshore pipeline system along the California coast. The lines had been shut since the 2015 Refugio oil spill and remained subject to California regulatory approval; invoking the 1950 national-defense statute let the administration override the state hold, and oil resumed flowing on March 14. California Attorney General Rob Bonta sued days later, calling the order executive overreach that purported to authorize illegal oil transportation through state-regulated pipelines.
State Department declares emergency to bypass Congress on $151.8M Israel bomb sale
On March 6, 2026, the U.S. Department of State approved an emergency Foreign Military Sale to Israel of 12,000 BLU-110A/B 1,000-pound bomb bodies and related support, valued at about $151.8 million. Secretary of State Marco Rubio formally determined that an emergency existed requiring the immediate sale, invoking Section 36(b) of the Arms Export Control Act to waive the statutory congressional-review period. It was the administration's first AECA emergency declaration to bypass Congress on an arms sale to Israel, coming roughly a week into the joint U.S.-Israel air war against Iran.
DOJ proposes rule letting the Attorney General halt state bar discipline of its attorneys
On March 5, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice published a proposed rule (RIN 1105-AB82; 28 CFR Part 77) granting the Attorney General authority to review any state, territorial, or D.C. bar disciplinary complaint against a current or former DOJ attorney for conduct in their federal duties, and to demand that the bar suspend its investigation pending that review. The rule states that if a bar refuses, "the Department shall take appropriate action to prevent the bar disciplinary authorities from interfering." It followed bar inquiries into DOJ lawyers such as Lindsey Halligan, whose prosecutions of James Comey and Letitia James were dismissed after a judge found her appointment unlawful.
DOJ sues five more states for full voter rolls, bringing nationwide campaign to 29 states
On February 26, 2026, the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division announced federal lawsuits against Utah, Oklahoma, Kentucky, West Virginia, and New Jersey for failing to produce their full statewide voter registration lists, bringing the Department's nationwide total to 29 states and the District of Columbia. DOJ asserted authority under the Civil Rights Act of 1960 to compel production, inspection, and analysis of complete voter rolls — data that can include names, addresses, dates of birth, and partial Social Security or driver's license numbers — to cross-check for "improper registrations." The filings came after federal courts had dismissed several earlier DOJ voter-roll suits.
Trump administration halts $259.5M in Medicaid reimbursements to Minnesota
On February 25, 2026, Vice President JD Vance announced that the Trump administration would temporarily halt $259.5 million in federal Medicaid reimbursements to Minnesota, citing alleged fraud in the state's social programs and giving the state 60 days to overhaul its systems. Vance said Minnesota — where roughly 1.3 million residents rely on Medicaid — was the first of several states the administration expected to target this way. Minnesota sued, with Attorney General Keith Ellison arguing the withholding violates Fifth Amendment due process and the Administrative Procedure Act's bar on arbitrary and capricious agency action.
White House fires court-appointed U.S. Attorney Donald Kinsella hours after judges seated him
After a federal court found the administration's prior U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of New York was serving unlawfully, the district's judges invoked 28 U.S.C. § 546 to appoint veteran prosecutor Donald T. Kinsella, who was sworn in on February 11, 2026. Within about five hours, the White House emailed Kinsella that the president had removed him, and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche posted that "judges don't pick U.S. Attorneys, @POTUS does," telling Kinsella, "You are fired."
JTF Southern Spear killed 2 aboard suspected narcotics vessel in eastern Pacific; 36th strike, ~117 campaign deaths
On January 23, 2026, Joint Task Force Southern Spear, operating at the direction of Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, conducted a lethal strike on a vessel in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing two people and leaving one survivor. The strike was characterized by SOUTHCOM as targeting "Designated Terrorist Organizations" engaged in narco-trafficking, yet no public evidence was provided identifying the victims or their alleged activities. This was the 36th strike in the Southern Spear campaign since September 2025, resuming after a three-week gap following the January 3 capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
2025
HHS freezes all federal child-care (CCDF) funding nationwide, citing amplified fraud claims
On Dec. 31, 2025, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services froze all federal Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) money to every state, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories "effective immediately," saying it would release the funds only after each state supplied unspecified "administrative data." The freeze followed a Dec. 30 announcement by HHS Deputy Secretary Jim O'Neill and was publicly justified by unverified fraud allegations amplified from a Dec. 26 viral video targeting Somali-American-run day cares in Minnesota. Child-care advocates noted that states already run longstanding, annually updated anti-fraud controls and warned that even a month without funding could force thin-margin providers to close, harming families regardless of whether they receive subsidies.
HHS freezes all federal child-care payments to Minnesota over anti-Somali fraud claims
On December 30, 2025, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services froze all federal child-care funding to Minnesota, with Deputy Secretary Jim O'Neill announcing the move on X and crediting a viral video by conservative activist Nick Shirley that alleged fraud at Somali-run day-care centers. HHS — which sends roughly $185 million a year in child-care funds to the state, supporting day care for tens of thousands of children from low-income families — simultaneously imposed a new nationwide condition requiring states to submit a justification plus a receipt or photo evidence before receiving Administration for Children and Families payments. The freeze landed amid the administration's Operation Metro Surge ICE deployment targeting Minnesota's Somali community and was expanded the next day into a freeze of child-care funding to all 50 states.
CIA drone strike hits dock on Venezuela's coast — first known U.S. attack on Venezuelan soil
On or about December 24, 2025, the CIA carried out a drone strike on a dock on Venezuela's coast that U.S. officials said was used by the gang Tren de Aragua to load drugs onto boats; no one was reported on the dock and no one was killed. It was the first known U.S. attack inside Venezuelan territory, a sharp escalation of the administration's pressure campaign against Nicolás Maduro beyond the at-sea "drug boat" strikes. President Trump publicly claimed credit, saying the U.S. had "knocked out" a "big facility" in "the dock area where they load the boats up with drugs."
U.S. Coast Guard seizes Panama-flagged oil tanker Centuries off Venezuela as Trump's oil 'blockade' escalates
In a pre-dawn operation on Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025, the U.S. Coast Guard seized a Panama-flagged oil tanker named Centuries off Venezuela, the second sanctioned tanker the United States took within roughly ten days, as part of President Trump's declared "total and complete blockade" of sanctioned oil vessels entering or leaving Venezuela. The White House called Centuries a "falsely flagged vessel operating as part of the Venezuelan shadow fleet," while Venezuela condemned the seizure as "a serious act of piracy" and said it would complain to the U.N. Security Council.
Trump orders unilateral "complete blockade" of sanctioned oil tankers off Venezuela
On December 16, 2025, President Trump announced via Truth Social that he had ordered a "complete blockade" of all U.S.-sanctioned oil tankers going to and from Venezuela, declaring the country "completely surrounded by the largest Armada ever assembled in the History of South America." The unilateral order — issued without congressional authorization — became the operational basis for a wave of Coast Guard tanker seizures and interdictions off Venezuela in the days and weeks that followed.
Trump directed DOJ to sue states over AI laws and threatened to withhold federal funds, bypassing Congress on AI regulation
On December 11, 2025, President Trump signed Executive Order 14365, "Ensuring a National Policy Framework for Artificial Intelligence," directing the Justice Department to establish an AI Litigation Task Force to sue states over AI laws the administration considers excessive. The order also instructs the Commerce Department to identify conflicting state laws and to condition states' access to federal broadband (BEAD) funds on compliance, and directs all federal agencies to weigh conditioning discretionary grants on states not enacting conflicting AI legislation — achieving through executive action what Congress had not enacted.
Trump directed U.S. forces to seize oil tanker Skipper off Venezuela, opening blockade campaign without congressional authorization
On December 10, 2025, U.S. forces seized the crude-oil tanker Skipper off the coast of Venezuela in a pre-dawn operation launched from the USS Gerald R. Ford, boarding the vessel with Coast Guard and Marine personnel under a DOJ civil-forfeiture warrant. President Trump announced the seizure at a White House event, declaring the U.S. would keep the roughly 1–2 million barrels of Venezuelan crude on board. The action — the first vessel seizure of a broader oil-blockade campaign — was carried out without congressional authorization; Venezuela condemned it as "an act of international piracy."
EPA used litigation to circumvent Clean Air Act rulemaking, seeking to vacate Biden PM2.5 soot standard
On November 25, 2025, the Trump EPA filed a brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit asking the court to vacate the Biden-era National Ambient Air Quality Standard for fine particulate matter (PM2.5)—tightened from 12 to 9 micrograms per cubic meter—by "confessing error" rather than following the Clean Air Act's required notice-and-comment rulemaking process. The move would eliminate a standard projected to prevent 4,500 annual premature deaths, 2,000 hospital visits, and 800,000 asthma cases by 2032. By requesting court vacatur instead of formal rulemaking, the EPA avoids the statutory requirement to publish reasoned explanations and allow public comment on the rollback.
Defense Secretary Hegseth formally named Operation Southern Spear, launching large-scale military campaign without congressional authorization
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth formally announced "Operation Southern Spear" on November 13, 2025, after approximately 20 U.S. strikes on vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific had killed roughly 80 people without congressional authorization. The announcement coincided with deployment orders for the USS Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group, bringing roughly 12,000 U.S. sailors and Marines to the region in what officials described as the largest U.S. military buildup in Latin America in generations. Trump publicly stated he would not seek a war declaration from Congress.
JTF Southern Spear killed 3 aboard suspected narcotics vessel in Caribbean; 15th strike, ~50 campaign deaths
On November 1, 2025, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted a lethal strike against an alleged drug-trafficking vessel in the Caribbean Sea, killing three crew members. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced the strike via social media, claiming the vessel was operated by a "Designated Terrorist Organization" involved in narcotics smuggling; no evidence was presented and no judicial process preceded the killings.
JTF Southern Spear killed 3 aboard suspected narcotics vessel in eastern Pacific; 9th strike, ~16 campaign deaths
On October 22, 2025, U.S. forces conducted the ninth strike of Operation Southern Spear, killing three people aboard an alleged drug-trafficking vessel in the eastern Pacific Ocean. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the strike on social media and characterized the targeted organizations as "the 'al-Qaida' of our hemisphere." The administration provided no public evidence that the vessel or crew engaged in drug trafficking. The strike continued despite Congressional War Powers resolutions attempting to limit the campaign.
JTF Southern Spear killed 2 aboard suspected narcotics vessel in eastern Pacific; 8th strike, ~14 campaign deaths
On October 21, 2025, a U.S. military strike in the Eastern Pacific Ocean off the Colombian coast killed two people aboard an alleged drug smuggling vessel. This marked the first Southern Spear operation in the Eastern Pacific, expanding the campaign beyond the Caribbean where strikes had begun in September 2025. UN human rights experts characterized the strike as "extrajudicial executions," asserting it lacked proper legal authority under international law.
JTF Southern Spear killed 3 aboard suspected narcotics vessel in Caribbean; 7th strike, ~18 campaign deaths
On October 17, 2025, U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) conducted a military strike in the Caribbean Sea targeting a vessel that the U.S. claimed was affiliated with the Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN), Colombia's largest remaining guerrilla organization. The strike killed three people. The ELN publicly denied that the targeted vessel was engaged in drug-boat trafficking in international waters. No survivors were reported.
JTF Southern Spear killed 3 aboard suspected narcotics vessel in Caribbean; 7th strike, ~14 campaign deaths
On October 17, 2025, the U.S. military conducted a lethal strike on an alleged drug-smuggling vessel in international waters in the Caribbean Sea, killing three men. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced the operation on October 19, characterizing the men as "narco-terrorists" and stating they were transported "substantial amounts of narcotics." The strike was directed by President Donald Trump as part of Operation Southern Spear, an ongoing military campaign launched without congressional authorization.
U.S. military killed 2 in Caribbean narco-submarine strike; survivors released without charges after Trump called them 'terrorists'
On October 16, 2025, U.S. Southern Command forces struck a narco-submarine in the Caribbean Sea, killing two people and leaving two survivors—one Colombian and one Ecuadorian. President Trump publicly called the survivors "terrorists" and said they would be detained and prosecuted. Both were repatriated and released without charges on November 6, contradicting Trump's terrorism designation.
JTF Southern Spear killed 2 aboard suspected narcotics vessel in Caribbean; 8th strike, ~18 campaign deaths
On October 16, 2025, U.S. military forces under U.S. Southern Command conducted a lethal strike on a semi-submersible vessel in the Caribbean Sea, killing two people and wounding two survivors. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the strike, alleging narcotics trafficking, but provided no independent evidence. President Trump publicly labeled the survivors "terrorists"; both were later repatriated and released without charges.
JTF Southern Spear killed 6 aboard suspected narcotics vessel in Caribbean; 5th strike, ~17 campaign deaths
On October 14, 2025, the U.S. military conducted an airstrike on a small vessel in the Caribbean Sea off the Venezuelan coast, killing six people. Trump claimed the vessel was affiliated with a terrorist organization and the victims were drug traffickers, but families identified them as civilian fishermen and farm workers. The strike was conducted without congressional authorization or military adjudication of combatant status.
OMB deletes GEFTA back-pay guarantee from shutdown guidance, claiming furloughed workers not entitled to statutory protection
On October 7, 2025, the Office of Management and Budget stripped the reference to the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019 from its shutdown guidance, and the White House drafted legal arguments claiming GEFTA does not mandate back pay for furloughed workers. Congress enacted GEFTA in 2019 specifically to guarantee pay for roughly 900,000 furloughed employees during any government shutdown — a protection Trump himself had signed into law.
Trump federalizes 300 Illinois National Guard troops over Gov. Pritzker's objection, deploying state forces for immigration enforcement
On October 4, 2025, the Trump administration federalized 300 Illinois National Guard troops after Governor JB Pritzker refused a White House ultimatum to voluntarily mobilize them for immigration enforcement at the Broadview ICE facility near Chicago. Pritzker called the demand "absolutely outrageous and un-American."
Trump administration forces 15+ federal agencies to replace employees' out-of-office emails with partisan shutdown messaging without worker consent
On October 1, 2025, the first day of the FY2026 government shutdown, the Trump administration directed more than 15 federal agencies to replace furloughed employees' personal out-of-office email auto-replies with partisan messaging blaming Democratic senators for the shutdown, without employee knowledge or consent. At the Education Department, the deputy chief of staff for operations directly overrode personal messages with text reading "Democrat Senators are blocking passage of H.R. 5371 in the Senate."
Trump federalizes Oregon National Guard over Gov. Kotek's explicit objection, orders 200 troops to Portland ICE facility
On September 27, 2025, President Trump invoked Title 10 to federalize 200 Oregon National Guard members, placing them under Pentagon command and ordering them to Portland to protect an ICE detention facility under protest — over the explicit objection of Governor Tina Kotek. Trump announced the action on social media, calling Portland "war-ravaged" and authorizing troops to use "full force" against protesters he called domestic terrorists.
DOJ sued six states including Pennsylvania to force disclosure of sensitive voter data
On September 25, 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice sued six states — California, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania — demanding they turn over sensitive personal voter data including full names, dates of birth, driver's license numbers, and the last four digits of Social Security numbers. The DOJ invoked the National Voter Registration Act, the Help America Vote Act, and the Civil Rights Act of 1960, claiming the states were violating federal law by refusing to produce unredacted voter registration rolls. Pennsylvania Secretary of State Al Schmidt, a Republican, characterized the demand as a "concerning attempt" to consolidate federal control over state election administration, emphasizing that "in the United States of America, it's the states who run elections, not the federal government."
Trump designates Antifa a domestic terrorist organization by executive order, directing all federal agencies to investigate and disrupt the movement
President Trump signed a presidential order on September 22, 2025, formally designating "Antifa" as a domestic terrorist organization and directing all executive departments and agencies to use all applicable authorities to investigate, disrupt, and dismantle operations by anyone claiming to act on behalf of Antifa. The order describes Antifa as a domestic terrorist organization engaged in political violence to suppress lawful political activity, despite Antifa being a decentralized political stance rather than a formal membership organization. The U.S. has no statute authorizing domestic terrorist organization designations equivalent to the foreign terrorist organization framework, making the order a purely executive — and constitutionally contested — designation.
DOJ filed emergency SCOTUS petition to remove Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, challenging independent-agency firing protections
On September 18, 2025, Solicitor General D. John Sauer filed an emergency application with the U.S. Supreme Court seeking to lift lower-court injunctions blocking President Trump's August 25 firing of Federal Reserve Board Governor Lisa Cook. Two courts had found Cook likely to succeed on the merits, ruling that the Federal Reserve Act's "for cause" removal protection shielded her position. The DOJ argued the injunctions were "untenable" and asked the Court to intervene before the Federal Open Market Committee's scheduled September meeting.
JTF Southern Spear killed 3 aboard suspected narcotics vessel in Caribbean; 2nd strike, ~[N] campaign deaths
On September 15, 2025, President Trump announced a U.S. military strike in the Caribbean killing three men aboard a vessel he alleged was trafficking drugs. Colombian President Gustavo Petro subsequently alleged that one of the three was a Colombian fisherman and that the boat was in Colombian territorial waters, not international waters as Trump claimed. Trump dismissed the allegation as "baseless."
Trump signed EO 14347 directing Pentagon to adopt 'Department of War' name; DoD website rebranded to war.gov
President Trump signed Executive Order 14347 on September 5, 2025, directing the Department of Defense to use the title "Department of War" in all non-statutory communications, correspondence, and ceremonies. The DoD website was immediately rebranded to war.gov. Implementation was estimated to cost approximately $2 billion, covering new signage and letterhead across the defense establishment — all without congressional authorization to rename the department as required by the National Security Act of 1947.
DHS final rule granted USCIS arrest authority and deadly force, transforming civilian benefits agency into armed law enforcement arm
On September 4, 2025, the Department of Homeland Security published a final rule giving U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services sweeping new law enforcement powers, including the authority to carry firearms, use deadly force, make arrests, and execute warrants. USCIS will employ 1811-classified special agents — the same designation as FBI and DEA agents — despite being created by Congress exclusively as a civilian benefits-processing agency. The rule takes effect 30 days from publication, creating parallel enforcement infrastructure alongside ICE and CBP without congressional authorization.
Trump fired Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, citing FHFA director's pretextual mortgage fraud allegation
President Trump removed Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook on August 25, 2025, posting a termination letter to Truth Social citing his Article II authority and a "criminal referral" by Federal Housing Finance Agency Director William Pulte alleging Cook committed mortgage fraud before joining the Fed. The Federal Reserve Act permits removal of Board governors only "for cause," a provision designed to protect the central bank's independence from short-term political pressure. A federal court subsequently found Cook had made a strong showing that the removal violated the statute's cause requirement.
Rubio halted all new worker visas for commercial truck drivers via social media post, citing undocumented driver accident
Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on August 21, 2025, via a post on X that the State Department was immediately pausing all new worker visa issuances for commercial truck drivers across all nationalities and visa categories, including H-2B, E-2, and EB-3. Rubio cited the August 12 fatal crash on Florida's Turnpike, in which the driver accused of causing three deaths was identified as undocumented — not a visa holder — as justification for suspending the legal immigration pathway. The pause was announced with no advance notice, no rulemaking, and no defined end date, affecting an industry already experiencing a significant labor shortage.
AG Bondi installed DEA administrator as DC 'emergency police commissioner' with authority over MPD chief; administration retreated after lawsuit
On August 14, 2025, Attorney General Pam Bondi issued a directive naming DEA Administrator Terry Cole as Washington D.C.'s "emergency police commissioner," ordering that the Metropolitan Police Department must receive Cole's approval before issuing any operational orders—effectively placing a federal official with no local jurisdiction above the elected city government's police chief. The DC Attorney General filed suit, and within 24 hours the Trump administration backed down, revising Cole's role to Bondi's "designee" and restoring the MPD chief's operational authority. No statute authorizes the U.S. Attorney General to appoint a police commissioner for the District of Columbia.
Trump signed EO 14333 federalizing DC Metropolitan Police under Home Rule Act; deploys 800 National Guard to city at 30-year crime low
On August 11, 2025, President Trump signed Executive Order 14333, invoking Section 740 of the D.C. Home Rule Act for the first time in the law's nearly 50-year history to transfer operational control of the Metropolitan Police Department from the elected D.C. government to federal authority. Simultaneously, Trump deployed 800 D.C. National Guard troops and redirected FBI, DEA, ATF, ICE, and HSI agents to patrol under U.S. Park Police authority, despite D.C. recording its lowest crime levels in 30 years.
Trump exempts 180+ facilities from Clean Air Act air-toxics rules via an EPA email inbox
Across 2025, President Trump signed seven proclamations invoking Clean Air Act Section 112(i)(4) — a provision unused in the statute's 55-year history — to grant more than 180 industrial facilities in 38 states and Puerto Rico a two-year exemption from federal hazardous-air-pollutant standards. A May 2026 ProPublica investigation found that facilities qualified by emailing an EPA-run inbox, with no rigorous application and no meaningful role for the agency's air-quality experts. The statute permits such exemptions only where compliance technology is "not available" and the exemption is "in the national security interests of the United States."
Trump invoked § 12406 to federalize California National Guard over governor's objection, labels LA protesters 'rebellion'
On June 7, 2025, President Trump signed a presidential memorandum invoking 10 U.S.C. § 12406 to call at least 2,000 California National Guard members into federal service, transferring command from Governor Gavin Newsom — who explicitly refused consent — to the Department of Defense. The memo labeled Los Angeles anti-ICE protesters as engaged in "a form of rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States," a characterization that carried no factual or legal basis. Two days later, Trump expanded the deployment with an additional 2,000 National Guard troops and authorized 700 Marines from Twentynine Palms, the first domestic active-duty Marine deployment since the 1992 Los Angeles riots.
Trump signed Proclamation 10948 banning new Harvard international student visas, directing State to revoke existing ones
On June 4, 2025, President Trump signed Proclamation 10948, suspending entry of all new Harvard-bound international students on F, M, and J visas and directing the Secretary of State to consider revoking existing visas for current Harvard students on a case-by-case basis. The proclamation, issued under INA § 212(f), accused Harvard of jeopardizing the student visa system's integrity by refusing to surrender student records demanded by DHS and defying April 2025 demands to alter curriculum, admissions, and diversity programs. At the time of signing, Harvard enrolled approximately 6,800 international students.
ICE Acting Director Lyons issued classified memo authorizing warrantless home entry for immigration arrests
ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons issued an internal memo on May 12, 2025, directing agents to forcibly enter private homes using administrative warrants signed by ICE supervisors rather than judges, departing from longstanding Fourth Amendment practice and prior DHS policy requiring judicial warrants for home entry. The memo was classified for restricted internal distribution—agents were required to return it and take no notes—and was reportedly used to train new ICE agents. Whistleblowers disclosed the memo to Senator Blumenthal in January 2026; NBC News published the full account.
Trump signed EO 14290 directing CPB to cease all federal funding to NPR and PBS
President Trump signed Executive Order 14290 on May 1, 2025, directing the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to stop all direct and indirect federal funding to National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service, citing what the order called their "biased and partisan news coverage." The order also required every federal agency to terminate existing contracts and grants with NPR and PBS, and ordered CPB to revise its 2025 grant criteria by June 30, 2025 to bar grantees from channeling funds to either organization. CPB, NPR, and PBS each stated the order was unlawful; CPB's board declined to comply.
Trump signed EO 14287, creating 'sanctuary jurisdiction' list and ordering agencies to identify federal grants for withholding
On April 28, 2025, President Trump signed Executive Order 14287, "Protecting American Communities from Criminal Aliens," formally establishing a government-wide sanctuary jurisdiction designation-and-punishment mechanism. The order directed the Attorney General and DHS Secretary to publish a list of states and localities that obstruct federal immigration enforcement and instructed all federal department heads to identify grants and contracts flowing to listed jurisdictions "for suspension or termination." A federal court blocked the funding-withholding component within 11 days, ruling it could not be used as "an end run around" an existing preliminary injunction against earlier Trump sanctuary-city directives.
Trump signed EO 14248 requiring documentary proof of citizenship on the federal voter registration form
On March 25, 2025, President Trump signed Executive Order 14248, directing the Election Assistance Commission to add documentary proof of U.S. citizenship — including a passport or REAL ID — as a mandatory requirement on the national mail voter registration form. The order also directed DOGE and the Department of Homeland Security to cross-check all state voter rolls against federal immigration databases and instructed the Attorney General to enforce post-Election Day ballot prohibitions. Federal courts subsequently permanently enjoined the citizenship-proof mandate, finding that Trump lacked statutory authority to unilaterally alter the EAC's congressionally established voter registration form.
Trump signed EO 14243 directing all agencies to grant DOGE officials unrestricted federal database access, superseding Privacy Act
On March 20, 2025, President Trump signed Executive Order 14243, "Stopping Waste, Fraud, and Abuse by Eliminating Information Silos," directing all federal agency heads to provide DOGE-designated officials with full access to all unclassified agency records, data systems, and IT infrastructure. The order explicitly superseded Privacy Act system-of-records notices and any regulations restricting inter-agency data sharing, requiring agencies to rescind such limitations within 30 days. Legal challenges argued the order impermissibly overrode statutory Privacy Act protections that only Congress has authority to amend.
Trump signed presidential memo granting OPM authority to dismiss career civil servants based on post-appointment conduct
On March 20, 2025, President Trump signed a presidential memorandum directing the Office of Personnel Management to make final suitability determinations against career federal employees based on conduct that occurred after their initial appointment — an authority previously limited to job applicants. The memo required agency heads to remove any employee OPM found unsuitable within five business days, overriding the civil service removal protections established by the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978. OPM was further directed to propose new regulations under 5 C.F.R. Part 731 to implement the expanded authority.
OPM demanded weekly work reports from 2 million federal employees under DOGE direction; Musk threatened mass resignation for non-response
On February 22, 2025, the Office of Personnel Management sent a government-wide email to approximately 2 million federal employees directing them to submit five bullets summarizing their weekly work accomplishments and copy their managers, with a deadline of the following Monday at 11:59 PM ET. The email was sent at the direction of Elon Musk, a White House special government employee leading DOGE, who simultaneously posted on X that failure to respond would be taken as a resignation. OPM's own February 5 privacy impact assessment, published in response to ongoing litigation, had explicitly stated seven times that responses to government-wide emails are voluntary.
Trump signed EO 14215, asserting presidential control over independent regulatory agencies and requiring OMB approval of their regulations
On February 18, 2025, President Trump signed Executive Order 14215, "Ensuring Accountability for All Agencies," asserting presidential authority over independent regulatory agencies including the FEC, FTC, FCC, SEC, CFPB, and NLRB. The order required these agencies to submit significant rules to OMB's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs for review before publication, and declared that the President's and Attorney General's legal interpretations are binding on all executive branch employees. Congress deliberately shielded these agencies from direct presidential control when it established them.
Trump signed EO 14159 expanding expedited removal to US interior, eliminating immigration court hearings for non-citizens
On January 20, 2025, President Trump signed Executive Order 14159, directing DHS to expand expedited removal to the fullest extent authorized by statute. DHS implemented the order via a Federal Register designation effective January 21, 2025, extending expedited removal authority to any non-citizen anywhere in the United States who could not prove at least two years of continuous presence. Previously, the procedure had applied only to migrants apprehended at or near the border; the expansion allowed interior deportations without any hearing before an immigration judge.