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Timeline › 2025 › April › 24

April 24, 2025

5 entries on this date.

Trump signed EO 14284 requiring political appointees to certify retention of all probationary federal employees

On April 24, 2025, President Trump signed Executive Order 14284 requiring political appointees to affirmatively certify the retention of all probationary and trial-period federal employees before they receive career tenure. Under the prior framework established by the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978, new career employees automatically received tenure upon completing their probationary period without adverse action. The order made automatic separation the default in the absence of political-appointee certification, inserting a political approval gate over tenure for all competitive and excepted service employees across the executive branch.

Trump directed AG Bondi to investigate ActBlue while applying no scrutiny to Republican equivalent WinRed

On April 24, 2025, President Trump signed a Presidential Memorandum directing Attorney General Pamela Bondi, in consultation with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, to investigate alleged straw-donor and foreign-contribution violations at ActBlue, the dominant Democratic online fundraising platform. The directive cited a partisan House Republican investigation that examined only ActBlue and not WinRed, the structurally identical Republican equivalent. Democratic party leaders called the memo "designed to undermine democratic participation."

Indiana Gov. Braun signed SB143, barring schools from withholding student information from parents and enabling forced outing of LGBTQ students

On April 24, 2025, Indiana Governor Mike Braun signed Senate Bill 143, the "Parental rights" law, taking effect July 1, 2025. The law bars government entities — including public schools and the Department of Child Services — from advising, directing, or coercing a child to withhold information from a parent, or from denying a parent access to information about their child, absent a compelling interest. The ACLU of Indiana warned the measure can compel the forced outing of transgender and gender-nonconforming students to their parents.

Oak Ridge, Tenn. police officer misused Flock cameras and law enforcement databases for personal use, fired

Oak Ridge, Tennessee Police Department officer Zachary Gauthier was fired on April 24, 2025, after an internal investigation found he had used his mobile data terminal and the department's Accurint, State Link System, and Flock Safety license-plate-reader access for personal, non-law-enforcement purposes in March and early April 2025. An Anderson County grand jury later indicted Gauthier on 23 counts of official misconduct, and he pleaded guilty to all 23 counts and was sentenced to a term including 48 hours of incarceration and supervised probation.

Tennessee Gov. Lee signed the Medical Ethics Defense Act, letting providers refuse care on conscience grounds

On April 24, 2025, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed the "Medical Ethics Defense Act" (SB0955/HB1044) into law as Public Chapter 266, giving health care providers, institutions, and payers a right of conscience to refuse to participate in or pay for any procedure, treatment, or service that violates their religious, moral, or ethical beliefs. The law took immediate effect and was enacted primarily to shield providers who object to abortion, contraception, and gender-affirming care. Opponents warned it keys refusal to conscience rather than a specific procedure, opening the door to care denials aimed at LGBTQ and transgender patients.