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March 26, 2026

4 entries on this date.

Trump signs EO 14398 exposing federal contractors' DEI programs to False Claims Act liability

On March 26, 2026, President Trump signed Executive Order 14398, "Addressing DEI Discrimination by Federal Contractors," directing agencies to insert a mandatory clause — flowing down to subcontractors at every tier — that bars "racially discriminatory" diversity, equity, and inclusion practices and makes compliance material to government payment decisions, exposing contractors to False Claims Act liability and to cancellation, suspension, or debarment. The order directs the Attorney General to prioritize False Claims Act enforcement against violators and defines covered "program participation" expansively to include training, mentoring, leadership-development programs, clubs, and associations. A legal challenge was filed within days, and the new clause was set to take effect April 24, 2026.

DOJ opened civil-rights investigations into California and Maine for housing transgender women with female inmates

The U.S. Department of Justice announced on March 26, 2026 that it is investigating whether California and Maine violate female inmates' constitutional rights by housing transgender women with them at three correctional facilities. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon framed the action as protecting incarcerated women, while Maine's governor's spokesman called it "a politically motivated, predetermined investigation designed to target states that stand up to the Trump Administration."

Deputy AG Blanche boasts every DOJ and FBI employee who investigated Trump is gone

At a CPAC fireside chat on March 26, 2026, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche declared that every Justice Department and FBI employee who worked on the criminal investigations into President Trump had been fired, resigned, or taken early retirement — "not a single man or woman" remained — putting the DOJ figure at "over 200." His public confirmation marked the completion of a systematic purge of the career personnel who had investigated the president, with termination letters citing employees' prosecution work as the reason they could not be "trusted."

South Dakota Gov. Rhoden signed SB 175 requiring proof of citizenship for new voter registrations

On March 26, 2026, South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden signed Senate Bill 175, requiring documentary proof of citizenship — a birth certificate, passport, driver's license, or similar document — from anyone registering to vote in the state for the first time, effective immediately under an emergency clause ahead of the June 2 primary. Voters who don't provide such documentation are still registered but receive a "federal-only" ballot excluding them from state and local races, and the law separately requires a physical South Dakota address, barring mail-forwarding services or P.O. boxes, for state and local registration. By May 2026, roughly 1,500 South Dakota voters had been registered as federal-only under the law.