June 17, 2026

3 entries on this date.

Trump cancels Jay Clayton DNI confirmation hearing, demands Senate pass SAVE America Act

At approximately 4 a.m. ET on June 17, 2026, President Trump posted on Truth Social canceling Jay Clayton's Senate Intelligence Committee confirmation hearing for Director of National Intelligence, hours before it was scheduled to begin. Trump conditioned Clayton's confirmation on the Senate passing the SAVE America Act — a voter ID bill that had already failed — and also threatened to block reauthorization of FISA Section 702, a major intelligence surveillance authority, unless it was tied to that legislation. The move left Bill Pulte, Trump's acting DNI pick with no intelligence background, in the role for at least several additional weeks.

Trump DOJ inspector general nominee Don Berthiaume declines to call January 6 an 'attack' during Senate confirmation hearing

Don Berthiaume, Trump's nominee for Inspector General of the Department of Justice, refused during his June 17, 2026 Senate confirmation hearing to characterize the January 6, 2021 Capitol attack as an "attack," instead describing the events as "protests and such." The hearing was held before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee as part of Berthiaume's confirmation process for the role of the DOJ's primary independent oversight official.

FTC sues WPATH, the leading transgender medical standards body, alleging 'deceptive claims' on youth care

The Federal Trade Commission filed suit on June 17, 2026, against the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), alleging the organization made "deceptive claims" about gender-affirming care for minors and that its members profited from those claims. Four state attorneys general — Alaska, Iowa, Nebraska, and Texas — joined the suit. The action came after a federal judge ruled in May 2026 that an earlier FTC investigation of WPATH likely violated the organization's First Amendment rights, and as the FTC conducted parallel investigations into two other major medical bodies — the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Endocrine Society — over their gender-affirming care guidelines.