2,044 events on record Subscribe September 10, 2026
Standing Record home The Standing Record A non-partisan record of US democratic norms —
and the events that erode them.

Timeline › 2025 › March

March 2025

69 entries from March 2025.

Mar 31

Idaho Gov. Little signed HB 352 banning K-12 classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity

On March 31, 2025, Idaho Governor Brad Little signed House Bill 352 into law, adding a provision that prohibits public-school classroom instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity from kindergarten through grade 12. Enacted as Session Law Chapter 223, the measure also expanded parental-rights provisions including records access, opt-outs, notification requirements, and a private cause of action. Its instructional restriction took effect July 1, 2025.

Idaho Gov. Little signed HB 239, requiring parental opt-in permission before schools may teach any content on sexual orientation or gender identity

Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed House Bill 239 on March 31, 2025, barring public schools from providing any instruction on "human sexuality" unless a parent or legal guardian submits advance signed written permission. The law defines "human sexuality" to include sexual orientation, gender identity, gender ideology, and gender conversion, and creates a private right of action allowing parents to sue districts for $250 in statutory damages plus actual damages per violation. It took effect as Session Law Chapter 234 on July 1, 2025.

Ohio Gov. DeWine signed transportation-budget rider requiring BMV proof of citizenship to register to vote

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed House Bill 54, the state's two-year transportation budget, on March 31, 2025, without vetoing a Senate-added provision requiring Bureau of Motor Vehicles applicants to provide documented proof of U.S. citizenship before BMV staff may offer them the opportunity to register to vote. The requirement, which took effect that June, applies only to BMV registrations and adds a paperwork burden on top of the sworn citizenship attestation Ohio already requires of every registrant regardless of channel.

Mar 30

Elon Musk gave two Wisconsin voters $1 million checks two days before the 2025 state Supreme Court election

Two days before Wisconsin's April 1, 2025 state Supreme Court election, Elon Musk personally handed $1 million checks to two voters, Nicholas Jacobs and Ekaterina Diestler, at a Green Bay rally, after his political action committee America PAC designated them "spokesmen" for a petition opposing "activist judges." Musk and groups he funded spent more than $20 million backing conservative candidate Brad Schimel, who lost to Susan Crawford in the country's most expensive judicial election; Wisconsin's Attorney General had sued unsuccessfully to block the payments beforehand.

Mar 28

Education Secretary McMahon rescinded states' extensions to spend COVID-relief education funds, cutting billions including $137M for Mississippi

On March 28, 2025, U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon notified state education agencies that previously approved extensions to spend remaining COVID-19 pandemic relief funds were rescinded effective immediately, reversing deadlines that had run through March 2026. The abrupt cancellation put billions of dollars nationwide at risk, including roughly $137 million Mississippi was using for literacy, mental health, school construction, and rural technology programs. States and districts said the reversal disrupted programs already underway.

Ohio Gov. DeWine signed SB1, banning college DEI programs and forcing closure of LGBTQ campus centers

On March 28, 2025, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine signed Senate Bill 1, the "Advance Ohio Higher Education Act," into law, banning diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, offices, and staff positions at Ohio's public colleges and universities. The law does not name LGBTQ programs directly, but its DEI-infrastructure ban forced Ohio University to close its Pride Center, Women's Center, and Multicultural Center and eliminate all eight center staff positions, while Ohio State University took down its LGBTQ student-services website.

Mar 27

Trump signs EO 14251 stripping collective bargaining rights from 40+ federal agencies on pretextual national security grounds

President Trump signed Executive Order 14251 on March 27, 2025, excluding more than 40 federal agencies and subdivisions from the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute (FSLMRS), the law Congress enacted to protect most federal employees' right to collectively bargain. The order applied a sweeping "national security" rationale to agencies including the Department of Justice, FDA, CDC, and EPA — bodies with no plausible national security mission — stripping their workers of union rights through executive action rather than legislation. Affected unions including the NTEU, AFGE, and AFL-CIO filed legal challenges, and the EO became the legal authority for a cascade of agency-level de-recognition actions through August 2025.

Trump signs EO 14253 directing Smithsonian to eliminate content on Black history, women's history, and gender identity

President Trump signed Executive Order 14253, "Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History," on March 27, 2025, directing the Vice President — through his seat on the Smithsonian Board of Regents — to remove content labeled "improper, divisive, or anti-American ideology" from Smithsonian museums, education centers, and the National Zoo. The order specifically named the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, and the Smithsonian American Women's History Museum as perpetuating "divisive, race-centered ideology." The EO also directed Cabinet members to work with Congress to defund Smithsonian programs that "divide Americans based on race" or acknowledge transgender identity, and ordered reinstatement of historical statues removed from federal property over the prior five years.

President Trump pardoned Nikola founder Trevor Milton, foreclosing restitution sought for defrauded investors

On March 27, 2025, President Trump pardoned Nikola founder Trevor Milton, who had been convicted by a jury of securities and wire fraud for misleading investors about his company's technology. Milton and his wife had given more than $1.8 million to a Trump reelection fund shortly before the 2024 election, and the pardon foreclosed hundreds of millions of dollars in restitution prosecutors were seeking for defrauded investors. At a news conference Trump said Milton was targeted for having been an early supporter.

Trump signs EO 14250 suspending WilmerHale employees' security clearances, directing federal contractors to sever ties with firm

President Trump signed Executive Order 14250 on March 27, 2025, directing federal agencies to suspend the security clearances of all WilmerHale employees and instructing federal contractors to terminate their relationships with the firm. The order cited WilmerHale's prior association with Special Counsel Robert Mueller — a former WilmerHale partner — and the firm's DEI policies as justification. It was the third in a series of retaliatory executive orders targeting law firms whose attorneys had represented parties adverse to the president or participated in legal investigations of him.

Kentucky enacted SB2 barring hormone therapy and gender-reassignment surgery for transgender state inmates

On March 27, 2025, Kentucky Senate Bill 2 became law without Gov. Andy Beshear's signature, prohibiting state correctional facilities from initiating hormone therapy for transgender inmates and banning gender-reassignment surgery outright. The Republican-controlled legislature passed the measure 31-6 in the Senate and 73-12 in the House; a floor amendment let inmates already receiving hormone therapy at admission continue it. The law made Kentucky one of several states in 2025 to restrict gender-affirming medical care for incarcerated people.

Kentucky legislature overrode Beshear's veto to enact HB4, banning DEI programs at public universities

On March 27, 2025, the Kentucky General Assembly overrode Gov. Andy Beshear's veto to enact House Bill 4, banning diversity, equity, and inclusion programs at the state's public universities and colleges. The law bars institutions from funding DEI offices, positions, or training and prohibits differential treatment in admissions, scholarships, and housing based on protected characteristics. Schools had to comply by June 30, 2025, with annual certifications beginning July 1, 2026, and the attorney general may sue non-compliant institutions.

Kentucky legislature overrode Beshear's veto to enact HB495, voiding conversion-therapy protections and barring Medicaid gender-affirming care

On March 27, 2025, the Kentucky General Assembly overrode Gov. Andy Beshear's veto to enact House Bill 495, passing it 78-20 in the House and 31-6 in the Senate. The law nullifies Beshear's 2024 executive order restricting conversion therapy and bars Kentucky Medicaid from covering gender-affirming medical care for transgender people. An emergency clause made the measure effective immediately.

Montana Gov. Gianforte signed HB300 barring transgender athletes from women's and girls' school sports

On March 27, 2025, Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte signed House Bill 300, which bars transgender women and girls from competing on female K-12 and university sports teams based on sex assigned at birth rather than gender identity. Sponsored by Rep. Kerri Seekins-Crowe, the law took effect October 1, 2025 and made Montana one of at least 25 states with such a restriction. Gianforte signed it the same day as a companion measure, House Bill 121, restricting bathroom and locker-room access by sex assigned at birth.

Montana Gov. Gianforte signed HB121, restricting bathrooms and changing rooms to sex assigned at birth

On March 27, 2025, Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte signed House Bill 121, requiring restrooms, changing rooms, and sleeping areas in public schools, correctional facilities, juvenile detention centers, domestic-violence shelters, and other public buildings to be designated for use based on a person's external genitalia present at birth. The law, sponsored by state Rep. Kerri Seekins-Crowe, took effect immediately upon signature. The ACLU of Montana sued the same day, and a state district court later blocked its enforcement with a preliminary injunction.

Utah enacted HB77, banning Pride flags from public schools and government buildings; first such state ban

On March 27, 2025, Utah enacted House Bill 77, "Flag Display Amendments," after Gov. Spencer Cox declined to sign or veto it and allowed it to become law. The measure bars government entities and public schools from displaying any flag except an approved list — the U.S. flag, Utah's state flag, and official government, military, and comparable flags — and was widely promoted as a ban on Pride flags in classrooms and public buildings. Utah became the first state to enact such a ban, enforced by the state auditor through fines.

Mar 26

Interior Department rescinded Scotts Valley Band's casino eligibility without notice, days after donor-backed rival tribe's lobbying push

On March 26, 2025, the Department of the Interior rescinded its January 10, 2025 determination that the Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians' proposed Vallejo, California casino site qualified for gaming, without giving the tribe notice or an opportunity to respond. The rescission came one week after lobbyists for the rival Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation — which donated $1 million to Trump's inauguration and later $2 million to the MAGA Inc. super PAC — asked Deputy Assistant Secretary Ken Bellmard for precisely that two-step rescission approach. A federal judge ruled on October 30, 2025 that the rescission violated the tribe's due-process rights and vacated it.

Idaho Gov. Little signed HB 270 expanding the indecent-exposure law in a change advocates say targets transgender people

Idaho Governor Brad Little signed House Bill 270 into law on March 26, 2025, taking effect immediately as Session Law Chapter 173. The measure amended the state's indecent-exposure statute to broaden the definition of prohibited exposure — including exposure of the female breast — a change that LGBTQ+ advocates identified as targeting transgender people, particularly transgender women. The bill cleared the Idaho House 59-8 and the Senate 28-6 before enactment.

Utah enacted H.B. 424 tightening the commission that bars transgender students from sex-designated school sports

On March 26, 2025, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox signed H.B. 424, "School Activity Eligibility Commission Amendments," strengthening the state commission that decides eligibility for sex-designated interscholastic sports based on an unamended birth certificate. The law broadens who may be appointed to the commission, modifies its quorum, sets a standard of proof for eligibility determinations, and makes each determination specific to a single school year. It also bars public schools from participating with any athletic association that does not provide administrative staff support to the commission.

Mar 25

Trump pardoned Devon Archer, a Hunter Biden associate, remitting $43M restitution for his tribal-bond fraud conviction

On March 25, 2025, President Trump granted a full and unconditional pardon to Devon Archer, a former business associate of Hunter Biden, remitting $43 million in restitution and $15 million in asset forfeiture ordered after Archer's conviction for diverting roughly $60 million raised through bonds issued by the Oglala Sioux Nation's Wakpamni Lake Community Corporation. Archer, sentenced to one year and one day, never served time before the pardon. Trump tied the clemency to Archer's 2023 congressional testimony about Hunter Biden.

Trump signed EO 14246 suspending Jenner & Block security clearances, pressuring contractors to cut ties with firm

On March 25, 2025, President Trump signed Executive Order 14246, "Addressing Risks From Jenner & Block," directing the immediate suspension of security clearances for all firm employees and requiring federal contractors to certify no business relationships with the firm under threat of contract termination. The order cited the firm's prior employment of Andrew Weissmann—who participated in the Mueller investigation—and its representation of transgender and immigrant clients as justification. A federal court permanently enjoined the order in May 2025, finding it violated the First Amendment through viewpoint discrimination.

HHS issued interim final rule permitting ICE and CBP to access sponsors' immigration status, reinstating first-term enforcement arrangement

On March 25, 2025, the Department of Health and Human Services published an interim final rule (90 Fed. Reg. 13554) that rescinded a Biden-era prohibition on sharing the immigration status of unaccompanied children's sponsors with ICE and CBP for enforcement purposes. The rule, effective immediately, also removed the prohibition on disqualifying potential sponsors based solely on their immigration status. The IFR reinstated a memorandum of agreement from Trump's first term under which approximately 170 undocumented sponsors who came forward to claim children in federal custody had been arrested by ICE.

DHS Secretary Noem terminated CHNV parole programs, stripping lawful status from 532,000 noncitizens without individualized review

On March 25, 2025, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem published Federal Register Notice 2025-05128 (90 FR 13611) formally terminating the Biden-era categorical parole programs for inadmissible noncitizens from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. The termination took effect immediately; the approximately 532,000 current parolees were given until April 24, 2025 to depart the United States. Each had been individually vetted and admitted under 8 U.S.C. § 1182(d)(5), but their status was revoked through a single blanket notice with no individualized review of reliance interests or changed circumstances.

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.

Kansas Legislature overrode Gov. Kelly's veto to enact SB4, ending the three-day mail-ballot grace period

On March 25, 2025, the Republican-controlled Kansas Legislature overrode Gov. Laura Kelly's veto to enact Senate Bill 4, eliminating the state's three-day grace period for advance mail ballots. The law requires rejection of any mail ballot not received by county election officers by 7 p.m. on Election Day, replacing a rule that had counted ballots postmarked by Election Day and received within three days.

Utah enacted S.B. 74 barring people in state custody from legal name and birth-certificate sex-designation changes

On March 25, 2025, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox signed S.B. 74, "Corrections Modifications," which prohibits an individual in the custody of the Department of Corrections from filing a district-court petition to legally change their name and broadens the class barred from a court-ordered birth-certificate sex-designation change from those on probation or parole to any "offender" as defined in state law. The practical effect is to deny incarcerated and supervised transgender people the ability to change their legal name or correct the gender marker on their birth certificate.

Mar 21

South Dakota Gov. Rhoden signed HB1259 restricting multi-occupancy bathrooms and changing rooms to sex assigned at birth

On March 21, 2025, South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden signed House Bill 1259, requiring people to use multi-occupancy restrooms, changing rooms, and locker rooms in public facilities — including public schools, courthouses, and libraries — that correspond to their sex assigned at birth rather than their gender identity. The measure, sponsored by Rep. Brandei Schaefbauer, passed the House 58-9 and the Senate 27-6. It functionally bars transgender people from using covered public facilities consistent with their gender identity.

TDCJ staff falsified Stiles Unit prison heat logs during federal lawsuit; investigation found leadership likely knew or consented

An internal investigation by the Texas Board of Criminal Justice, made public on March 21, 2025, found that Texas Department of Criminal Justice staff at the Mark W. Stiles Unit in Beaumont falsified temperature logs during summer 2022, in the middle of federal litigation over unconstitutional prison heat conditions. The investigation concluded the Stiles Unit warden and other unit leadership "likely knew about or even consented to the falsification," corroborating a federal judge's own August 2022 characterization of one log as "a fabricated document." TDCJ's attorneys acknowledged the logs were inaccurate but denied any intent to mislead the court.

Mar 20

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 EO 14242 directing closure of the Department of Education, ordering Secretary McMahon to facilitate shutdown

President Trump signed Executive Order 14242 on March 20, 2025, directing the Secretary of Education to "take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return authority over education to the States and local communities." The order also directed Secretary McMahon to condition all federal education funds on compliance with the administration's anti-DEI directives. The Department of Education was established by Congress under Pub. L. 96-88 in 1979; its formal abolition requires an act of Congress, not an executive order.

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.

Mar 19

Commerce Secretary Lutnick urged Fox News viewers to buy Tesla stock as Musk led DOGE

During a March 19, 2025 Fox News appearance, in which he was identified on screen by his official title, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick urged viewers to buy Tesla stock as the company's shares slid amid backlash over CEO Elon Musk's role leading the Department of Government Efficiency. Federal ethics rules bar executive-branch officials from using their office or title to endorse a product or company. Within 48 hours, a House Oversight Committee ranking member opened an investigation and the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center filed a complaint, each citing the same rule.

Florida Capitol Police arrested a transgender woman for using the women's restroom under HB 1521

On March 19, 2025, Florida Capitol Police arrested Marcy Rheintgen, a 20-year-old transgender college student, for using the women's restroom at the Florida Capitol in Tallahassee, in a planned act of civil disobedience against HB 1521's facility-access ban. She was charged with misdemeanor trespassing and held for 24 hours in the men's ward before her release. Advocates said it was the first known arrest under any state's criminal ban on transgender bathroom use; the case was dismissed in June 2025 after prosecutors missed the deadline to file charging documents.

Idaho Gov. Little signed HB 345 barring Medicaid coverage of gender-affirming care for transgender residents

Idaho Governor Brad Little signed House Bill 345, the Medicaid Reform and Cost Containment Act, into law on March 19, 2025, taking effect immediately as Session Law Chapter 118. Alongside its Medicaid managed-care and work-requirement provisions, the law prohibits the state's Medicaid program from covering gender-transition surgeries or hormone treatments for both minors and adults, extending Idaho's existing ban on public funding for gender-affirming care. The bill passed the Idaho House 61-9 and the Senate 29-6.

Idaho Gov. Little signed HB 59, the Medical Ethics Defense Act, letting providers refuse care on conscience grounds

On March 19, 2025, Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed House Bill 59, the "Medical Ethics Defense Act," which gives health care providers and institutions a right of conscience to refuse to participate in or pay for nonemergency medical procedures, treatments, or services that violate their religious, moral, or ethical beliefs. The measure passed the Legislature on party lines and took immediate effect through an emergency clause. Reporting and opponents, including Planned Parenthood, warned the exemption could be used to deny care to LGBTQ+ patients and to refuse gender-affirming services, with no standard separating a conscience objection from discrimination.

Idaho Gov. Little signed HB 41, restricting public schools to an approved list of flags and banners and barring LGBTQ+ pride flags from classrooms

On March 19, 2025, Idaho Governor Brad Little signed House Bill 41, which restricts the flags and banners that may be displayed in Idaho public schools to an enumerated list and prohibits the display of any flag or banner representing a political, religious, or ideological viewpoint. The law, effective July 1, 2025, is catalogued by the Anti-LGBTQ+ Legislation Tracker as a "Pride Flag Ban" because its viewpoint-based language operates to bar LGBTQ+ pride flags from classrooms.

Utah Gov. Cox signed HB283 shielding foster parents who refuse children and limiting care for youth in custody

Utah Governor Spencer Cox signed House Bill 283, "Child and Family Services Amendments," into law on March 19, 2025. Among its child-welfare provisions, the law bars the Division of Child and Family Services from placing a child with, or taking adverse action against, a foster parent who expresses discomfort caring for a child; prohibits the division from initiating certain medical treatment for a child in its custody without parental consent; and forbids courts from basing custody or reunification decisions on a parent's disagreement with a child's sexual orientation or gender identity. It passed the House 69-0 and the Senate 25-0.

Utah Gov. Cox signed HB252, barring gender-affirming care for transgender people in state custody

On March 19, 2025, Utah Governor Spencer Cox signed House Bill 252, "State Custody Amendments," which bars government entities from providing gender-affirming medical care — including hormone therapy — to transgender people held in state prisons and juvenile detention. Sponsored by Rep. Karianne Lisonbee and carried in the Senate by Sen. Derrin Owens, the measure was enacted while the federal government was suing Utah over inadequate care for transgender prisoners.

Wyoming Gov. Gordon signed HB 164 excluding gender-affirming care for minors from new off-label prescribing protections

On March 19, 2025, Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon signed House Bill 164 (Enrolled Act No. 74) into law, authorizing prescribers and pharmacists to prescribe and dispense FDA-approved drugs for off-label uses and granting them immunity from health-licensing-board discipline. The act expressly withholds that authorization and immunity from any prescription intended to transition a minor's biological sex or affirm a gender identity inconsistent with birth sex, placing gender-affirming care for transgender minors in the same excluded category as Schedule I and II controlled substances and abortion-inducing drugs.

Mar 18

Trump fired FTC Commissioners Slaughter and Bedoya without cause, asserting Article II removal power the statute does not grant

On March 18, 2025, President Trump fired the two Democratic members of the Federal Trade Commission — Commissioners Rebecca Kelly Slaughter and Álvaro Bedoya — by email, citing no statutory cause. Trump's removal letters stated only that their continued service was "inconsistent with my Administration's policies," invoking Article II authority; the FTC Act permits removal only for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office. Both commissioners publicly declared the firings illegal, and the terminations left the FTC as a 3-0 Republican commission for the first time in the agency's history.

Mississippi Gov. Reeves signed HB 188 mandating correctional-facility housing and restroom segregation by sex assigned at birth

On March 18, 2025, Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves signed House Bill 188, the "Dignity and Safety for Incarcerated Women Act," after it passed the House 103-4 on February 10, 2025 and the Senate 48-0 on March 7, 2025. The law defines "sex" in state corrections law as biological sex observed or verified at birth and requires restrooms, changing rooms, and sleeping quarters in Mississippi correctional facilities to be segregated on that basis rather than gender identity. It also creates a private civil cause of action letting an incarcerated person sue a facility for declaratory and injunctive relief if they encounter someone of the opposite biological sex in those spaces.

Mar 17

ICE arrested Georgetown postdoctoral researcher Badar Khan Suri over pro-Palestinian speech and associations, without filing charges

On March 17, 2025, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested Badar Khan Suri, an Indian national and postdoctoral research fellow at Georgetown University's Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, as he walked toward his Virginia home. ICE moved Suri to a federal detention facility in Texas without filing any criminal charges; the Trump administration cited his pro-Palestinian social media posts and his wife's family connection to a former Hamas adviser as justification, without presenting evidence to the court. A federal judge found his release was in the public interest to prevent the chilling of constitutionally protected speech.

Mar 15

Trump invoked Alien Enemies Act for CECOT transfer bundled with secret Bukele prisoner exchange, defying court order

On March 15, 2025, President Trump invoked the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to fly more than 250 Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador's CECOT prison without individualized hearings, defying a federal judge's same-day order to turn the planes around. A diplomatic note later declassified shows the operation was bundled with a separate request: El Salvador President Nayib Bukele personally asked for the return of MS-13 leader César Antonio Lopez Larios, and El Salvador agreed to also hold up to 500 Tren de Aragua members for a year, in exchange for undisclosed U.S. financial and in-kind support.

Hegseth shared classified Yemen strike plans in a Signal chat that inadvertently included a journalist

On March 15, 2025, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared detailed Yemen strike operational details — aircraft types, weapons packages, and attack timing — in a Signal group chat roughly two hours before the strikes began. National Security Advisor Michael Waltz had created the chat on March 11 and inadvertently added Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg on March 13, who published his account on March 24-25 after the administration disputed his description of the content.

ICE agent fatally shot U.S. citizen Ruben Ray Martinez at a South Padre Island traffic stop; federal role concealed for nearly a year

On March 15, 2025, ICE agent Jack C. Stevens fatally shot Ruben Ray Martinez, a 23-year-old U.S. citizen, during a traffic stop near an accident scene on South Padre Island, Texas. Agents said Martinez accelerated his vehicle toward an officer, but the sole eyewitness said the car was stopping and Martinez "never hit the gas" when the shots were fired, and no agent present wore a body camera. Authorities described the killing only as an "officer-involved shooting" and concealed for nearly a year that a federal immigration officer fired the fatal shots, a fact that emerged in 2026 through a public-records lawsuit rather than government disclosure.

Mar 14

Rubio issued APA determination exempting all immigration and border regulations from notice-and-comment rulemaking

On March 14, 2025, Secretary of State Marco Rubio published a determination in the Federal Register declaring that all federal efforts to control the entry and exit of people and goods at U.S. borders constitute a "foreign affairs function" under the Administrative Procedure Act. The determination invoked a narrow APA exception — historically limited to diplomatic agreements — to categorically exempt all immigration and border-control rulemaking by any federal agency from notice-and-comment requirements. The action eliminated the public's statutory right to review and challenge a broad category of federal regulations before they took effect.

Trump signed EO 14238 directing elimination of USAGM, IMLS, and five other congressionally-created agencies

On March 14, 2025, President Trump signed Executive Order 14238, "Continuing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy," directing seven congressionally-created federal agencies — including the United States Agency for Global Media (parent of Voice of America), the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and the CDFI Fund — to eliminate all non-statutory functions and reduce statutory functions to the legal minimum. Each agency head was required to submit a compliance report to the Office of Management and Budget within seven days, and OMB was directed to reject funding requests inconsistent with the elimination mandate. Courts subsequently ruled that several of the closures exceeded executive authority, as only Congress can abolish agencies established by statute.

Trump signed EO 14237 suspending security clearances and barring federal contracts for Paul Weiss law firm

On March 14, 2025, President Trump signed Executive Order 14237, "Addressing Risks From Paul Weiss," targeting the Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison law firm. The order suspended security clearances for Paul Weiss employees, directed agencies to terminate existing federal contracts with the firm, and barred its lawyers from accessing federal buildings. The administration cited the firm's past employment of lawyers who had participated in prosecutions of Trump's allies and its representation of clients in litigation adverse to Trump.

Wyoming Legislature enacted the "What Is a Woman Act," defining sex by biology at birth and requiring birth-sex-based accommodations

On March 14, 2025, the "What Is a Woman Act" (HB0032) became Wyoming law without Governor Mark Gordon's signature after the Legislature passed it 50-9 in the House and 28-3 in the Senate. The law creates a statutory definition of sex, man, woman, mother, and father based on reproductive biology at birth and states that sex-distinction laws governing athletics, prisons, domestic-violence shelters, rape-crisis centers, locker rooms, and restrooms satisfy intermediate scrutiny. It also requires schools and agencies that collect sex-based vital statistics to record sex assigned at birth.

Mar 13

Homeland Security under Secretary Noem polygraphed employees and forcibly reassigned senior staff to identify leakers

Beginning in March 2025, the Department of Homeland Security under Secretary Kristi Noem subjected employees to polygraph examinations - some reported to last up to roughly six hours - to identify the sources of leaks, and forcibly reassigned senior career staff. Employees and journalists described the measures as a "campaign of fear" that deterred internal dissent and lawful disclosure.

Wyoming Gov. Gordon signed SF0044 barring transgender college athletes from women's sports teams

On March 13, 2025, Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon signed SF0044, "Fairness in sports-intercollegiate athletics," into law as Senate Enrolled Act No. 94 (Chapter 144, Session Laws of Wyoming 2025). The law creates W.S. 21-25-301, requiring University of Wyoming and Wyoming community college students to compete in intercollegiate athletics according to a "biological sex" defined by reproductive function, barring them from teams designated for the opposite sex. The effect is to exclude transgender student-athletes from competing consistent with their gender identity.

Mar 12

West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey signed SB456, defining sex by birth and barring transgender people from single-sex spaces

On March 12, 2025, West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey signed Senate Bill 456, the "Riley Gaines Act," into law, adding a new article to state code that defines "man" and "woman" by sex assigned at birth. The law requires bathrooms, locker rooms, domestic-violence shelters, rape crisis centers, dormitories, and correctional facilities to be designated by that birth-sex definition. The Legislature passed it by wide margins and it took effect June 9, 2025.

Mar 11

Trump administration halted CISA's election security support to states, ending the agency's congressionally mandated protection of voting systems

On March 11, 2025, a U.S. official confirmed to Votebeat that CISA had ceased all election security support to state and local officials, ending programs the agency had run since its creation following the 2016 Russian interference campaign. The halt followed the placement of CISA election security and disinformation staff on administrative leave in February 2025. State election officials said they were left without federal cybersecurity assistance to protect voting systems and infrastructure from foreign threats.

Secretary McMahon eliminated nearly half the Department of Education workforce, cutting ~1,950 positions across all major divisions

On March 11, 2025, Secretary of Education Linda McMahon announced a reduction in force eliminating nearly half the Department of Education workforce, cutting from approximately 4,133 to about 2,183 employees. The cuts eliminated staff across all major divisions including the Office for Civil Rights, the Institute of Education Sciences, Federal Student Aid, and the Office of Special Education Programs. The Department of Education's Inspector General subsequently found that some reductions appeared to impair the department's ability to carry out its statutory responsibilities.

EPA terminated $20B Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund green-bank grants after unexplained Citibank account freeze

On March 11, 2025, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin terminated grant agreements for all eight recipients of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund's green-bank programs, canceling roughly $20 billion in clean-energy financing, including $7 billion to Climate United Fund and $5 billion to the Coalition for Green Capital. The termination followed a February 18, 2025 freeze of the funds' Citibank accounts, directed by the EPA, its inspector general, the FBI, and the Treasury Department without prior notice to recipients. Zeldin cited "programmatic fraud, waste, and abuse" but did not publicly produce supporting evidence.

Trump bought and publicly endorsed a Tesla from the White House lawn amid Musk's DOGE-tied stock boycott

On March 11, 2025, President Trump held a White House South Lawn event where he inspected and announced the purchase of a red Tesla Model S alongside Tesla CEO and DOGE lead Elon Musk, amid a Tesla stock decline tied to consumer boycotts over Musk's government role. Former White House chief ethics lawyer Richard Painter said Trump's on-camera endorsement of a specific consumer product from federal grounds appeared to violate rules against using public office for private gain.

Mar 10

United States and Honduras signed Asylum Cooperative Agreement capped at 240 transfers

The United States and Honduras signed an Asylum Cooperative Agreement at Washington on March 10, 2025, which entered into force June 25, 2025 and caps transfers at 10 people per month, 240 over its first two years. A Center for Gender and Refugee Studies fact-finding trip found Honduras meets neither of the legal standards — safety from persecution or access to full and fair asylum procedure — the agreement is supposed to guarantee, and documented a transferred Salvadoran man forced to flee the same gang he had escaped originally.

Secretary Rubio cancelled 83% of USAID programs, eliminating 5,200 congressionally-appropriated contracts

On March 10, 2025, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the Trump administration had completed a DOGE-led six-week review and was cancelling 83% of USAID's programs — 5,200 of approximately 6,200 contracts — that had been congressionally appropriated. The remaining roughly 1,000 programs were to be folded into the State Department. The affected programs included HIV/AIDS treatment, malaria prevention, TB care, humanitarian food aid, and democratic governance work across dozens of countries.

South Dakota Legislature referred Amendment L, raising constitutional-amendment threshold to 60%, a bar past citizen wins wouldn't have cleared

On March 10, 2025, the South Dakota State Senate voted 29-4 to give final passage to House Joint Resolution 5003, referring Constitutional Amendment L to the November 2026 ballot; the measure would raise the threshold to approve any constitutional amendment from a simple majority to 60%. All four constitutional amendments South Dakota voters have approved since 2020 -- including a 2022 Medicaid-expansion measure that passed with 56% support over opposition from the Republican-controlled Legislature, which holds 97 of 105 seats -- would have failed under the proposed threshold.

Mar 8

ICE detains Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil over pro-Palestinian activism; no criminal charges filed

On March 8, 2025, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detained Mahmoud Khalil — a lawful permanent resident and Columbia University graduate student who had been a prominent organizer of pro-Palestinian campus protests — with no criminal charges filed against him. Secretary of State Marco Rubio invoked 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(4)(C), a rarely-used statute permitting deportation on foreign-policy grounds, as the basis for removal. Khalil was transferred to an ICE detention facility in Jena, Louisiana, where he was held for approximately three months while his attorneys argued the government was retaliating against him for constitutionally protected political speech.

Mar 7

DOJ fired pardon attorney Liz Oyer after she refused to restore Mel Gibson's gun rights

On March 7, 2025, then-Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche's office fired Justice Department Pardon Attorney Liz Oyer via a three-sentence memo, hours after she declined to recommend restoring the firearm rights of actor Mel Gibson, a Trump ally with a 2011 domestic-violence conviction. Attorney General Pam Bondi's office restored Gibson's gun rights the following month. Oyer has since testified publicly, including before the Senate Judiciary Committee in July 2026, that she was fired for refusing to carry out the favor.

Mar 6

Trump signed EO 14230 suspending security clearances and barring federal contracts for Perkins Coie over its 2016 Clinton campaign work

On March 6, 2025, President Trump signed Executive Order 14230, "Addressing Risks from Perkins Coie LLP," suspending security clearances for all firm employees, directing agencies to bar its attorneys from federal buildings, and ordering termination of all federal contracts with the firm or entities doing business with it. The order explicitly cited Perkins Coie's 2016 representation of Hillary Clinton's campaign and its hiring of Fusion GPS as justification. On May 2, 2025, U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell permanently struck down the order, calling it an "unprecedented attack" on the legal system.

Mar 5

Arizona Republican Risa Lombardo filed as a Green Party candidate for governor, misrepresenting her affiliation to split the Democratic vote

Risa Lombardo, an elected Republican precinct committeewoman in Arizona's Legislative District 2, filed a statement of interest to run for governor as a Green Party candidate on March 5, 2025, days after leaving her GOP post. The Arizona Green Party disavowed her within months as a GOP-planted "sham" candidate meant to siphon left-leaning votes from Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs. Lombardo went on to receive $1.1 million in public Clean Elections funds and paid 78% of it to a Nevada shell company incorporated 13 days before her first payment, with no disclosed subcontractors and no other clients.

Mar 4

VA Chief of Staff Syrek issued internal memo ordering elimination of ~83,000 positions to return to pre-PACT Act staffing levels

On March 4, 2025, Department of Veterans Affairs Chief of Staff Christopher Syrek issued an internal memo directing the VA to return to 2019 staffing levels of approximately 399,957 employees — roughly 83,000 fewer than its current workforce. The memo, developed in coordination with DOGE, set a May 9 internal review deadline, a June reorganization plan, and layoffs beginning in August. The planned reduction would functionally reverse the VA's congressionally-directed hiring expansion undertaken to implement the PACT Act, the 2022 law expanding healthcare and benefits for veterans exposed to toxic substances.

Mar 3

MPD Chief Pamela Smith reinstated two officers convicted of murder and cover-up, overruling her department's recommendation to fire them

On March 3, 2025, D.C.'s Metropolitan Police Department reinstated officers Terence Sutton and Andrew Zabavsky, both convicted in the 2020 death of Karon Hylton-Brown and pardoned by President Trump that January, restoring them to the force with back pay retroactive to 2021. MPD Chief Pamela Smith overruled her department's own Disciplinary Review Division, which had recommended termination for both officers based on a 172-page internal investigation; Sutton received a 25-day suspension and Zabavsky a $2,500 fine and pension-eligible retirement. The D.C. Auditor later found the discipline "grossly inadequate" and said Chief Smith never personally reviewed the investigative file, relying instead on MPD legal counsel.

Wyoming Gov. Gordon signed HB 72 requiring birth-sex use of public restrooms, prison sleeping quarters, and college facilities

On March 3, 2025, Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon signed House Bill 72, the "Protecting Privacy in Public Spaces Act" (Enrolled Act No. 48), requiring multi-occupancy restrooms, changing areas, and sleeping quarters in government buildings, state correctional facilities, and public universities to be designated and used according to reproductive sex at birth. The act creates civil causes of action against public entities that permit cross-sex access, with a $5,000 statutory-damages remedy for violations at the University of Wyoming and community colleges. It took effect July 1, 2025.

Wyoming Gov. Gordon signed SF0062 requiring K-12 students to use restrooms and facilities matching sex assigned at birth

On March 3, 2025, Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon signed Senate File 0062 (Enrolled Act No. 53) into law, creating W.S. 21-3-137 and requiring every public school district in the state, from pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade, to designate multiple-occupancy restrooms, changing rooms, and school-activity sleeping quarters for the exclusive use of one sex defined by reproductive biology at birth. The law permits only single-occupancy "reasonable accommodations," directs school boards to discipline noncompliance, bars boards from adopting contrary policy, and creates a parental right of action against noncompliant districts. It took effect immediately upon signing.

Mar 1

Trump signed EO 14224 designating English as the official U.S. language, revoking the federal multilingual access requirement

On March 1, 2025, President Trump signed Executive Order 14224, designating English as the official language of the United States. The order rescinded Executive Order 13166, which since 2000 had required federal agencies to provide meaningful language access to individuals with limited English proficiency. The change eliminates a 25-year multilingual services framework affecting millions of non-English speakers who rely on federally funded programs, without any act of Congress.

ICE deported a cooperating federal witness before a cartel-linked trial, and his co-defendants were acquitted

ICE agents detained Javier Hernandez, a cooperating witness in a Los Angeles federal drug-trafficking prosecution, in Fontana, California in February 2025 and deported him to Tijuana, Mexico in March 2025, without consulting the U.S. Attorney's office prosecuting the case, according to a federal judge's on-the-record account and Los Angeles Times reporting. Deprived of Hernandez's testimony, his two co-defendants were acquitted of all charges; former ICE and Justice Department officials said prior administrations coordinated to keep cooperating witnesses and defendants in the country pending trial, while a DHS spokesperson defended the removal, calling Hernandez a "clear and present threat to public safety."