2,119 events on record Subscribe September 16, 2026
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Timeline

Every entry in the archive, ordered by event date. Page 31 of 43, showing August 21, 2025 to September 22, 2025. Pages contain 50 entries each; entries for a given date may continue on the next or previous page.

2025 Events (586)

September(56)

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.

Texas enacted SB 8 requiring birth-sex use of restrooms in government buildings, schools, and prisons

On September 22, 2025, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 8, the "Texas Women's Privacy Act," passed during the 89th Legislature's second special session. The law requires people to use restrooms, locker rooms, and other sex-designated spaces in government buildings — including K-12 schools, public universities, and prisons and jails — according to the sex on their birth certificate, bars transgender inmates from being housed by gender identity, and creates civil penalties of $25,000 for a first violation and $125,000 for subsequent ones, enforceable through complaints to the Texas Attorney General. The measure took effect December 4, 2025.

FBI Director Patel and Deputy AG Blanche confirmed closure of Homan bribery sting probe, called it 'baseless investigation'

On September 21, 2025, FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche jointly confirmed to ABC News that the Department of Justice had closed a federal bribery probe into Tom Homan, the White House's border enforcement czar. The investigation, inherited from the Biden administration, had been predicated on undercover FBI recordings of Homan allegedly accepting $50,000 in cash from agents posing as contractors seeking government contracts. Patel and Blanche publicly labeled the probe a "baseless investigation," stating it had found "no credible evidence of any criminal wrongdoing."

Hegseth issued Pentagon press policy requiring reporters to sign pre-publication approval agreements

On September 19, 2025, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth unveiled a 17-page Pentagon press policy requiring all credentialed journalists to sign agreements stipulating that Department of Defense information — including unclassified material — must receive government approval before publication, and authorizing the Pentagon police to revoke credentials for "unprofessional conduct" short of conviction. The policy marked the first time reporters risked losing their 24/7 Pentagon access badges for gathering information without prior official clearance, which the National Press Club and Freedom of the Press Foundation characterized as an unconstitutional prior restraint.

JTF Southern Spear killed 3 aboard suspected narcotics vessel in Caribbean Sea; 3rd strike, ~17 campaign deaths

On September 19, 2025, U.S. forces struck an alleged drug-trafficking vessel in the Caribbean Sea in a joint operation with the Dominican Republic, killing three men. President Trump announced the strike on social media but provided no location, victims' identities, or evidence of trafficking. The Dominican Republic independently disclosed that the vessel was approximately 80 nautical miles south of Beata Island and later recovered 1,000 kilograms of cocaine from the wreck.

Trump signs EO 14351 establishing Gold Card pay-to-play immigrant visa, bypassing congressional immigration criteria

President Trump signed Executive Order 14351 on September 19, 2025, creating the "Gold Card" program, which directs the Secretaries of Commerce, State, and Homeland Security to treat a $1 million "unrestricted gift" to the Department of Commerce as evidence of eligibility for EB-1, EB-2, or national interest waiver immigrant visas — categories Congress designed for merit-based immigration, not financial payments. The order was published in the Federal Register on September 24, 2025. The program bypasses the EB-5 investor visa framework Congress established at 8 U.S.C. § 1153(b)(5), which requires demonstrated job creation and minimum investment thresholds; the Gold Card requires neither.

Trump publicly demands removal of EDVA U.S. attorney Siebert, who refused to indict Letitia James; Siebert resigns

President Trump publicly stated on September 19, 2025 that he wanted Erik Siebert, the top federal prosecutor for the Eastern District of Virginia, removed from his post; Siebert confirmed his resignation the same day. Siebert had reportedly informed senior Justice Department officials that he found insufficient evidence to charge New York Attorney General Letitia James — a Democrat who had successfully prosecuted Trump for civil fraud — with mortgage fraud. His top deputy, First Assistant Maya Song, also departed, and James was subsequently indicted on October 9, 2025, after new leadership took over.

Iowa licensing board solicited complaints against teachers over their Charlie Kirk social-media posts

On September 19, 2025, Michael Cavin, executive director of the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners, sent a letter on board letterhead to superintendents across Iowa referencing educators' "comments regarding the assassination of Charlie Kirk" and stating that "administrators are encouraged to file a complaint with the board," specifying the licensing violations to cite. Following the letter, superintendents filed licensing complaints against teachers Katherine Mejia (West Delaware Community School District) and Jennifer Smith (Johnston Community School District) over their personal Facebook posts about Kirk. Mejia and Smith sued the board and Cavin in federal court, alleging the solicitation amounted to viewpoint discrimination and a First Amendment violation.

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.

Trump threatened TV broadcast license revocations; FCC chair targeted The View's news-program status

On September 18, 2025, President Trump publicly threatened to revoke broadcast licenses of television networks he deemed biased, and FCC Chair Brendan Carr questioned whether ABC's daytime talk show The View still qualified as a "bona fide news program" — a reclassification that would subject ABC affiliates to the FCC's equal-opportunity rule, requiring equal airtime for any political candidate appearing on the show. Trump explicitly deferred to Carr to determine whether licenses "should be taken away," and the FCC's lone Democratic commissioner, Anna Gomez, characterized the agency's conduct as a "campaign of censorship and control."

RFK Jr.-appointed ACIP panel voted 8-3 to delay routine MMRV childhood vaccine, first change to immunization schedule

On September 18, 2025, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices — its entire prior membership of 17 independent scientific experts having been dismissed and replaced by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — voted 8-3 to delay routine administration of the MMRV combination vaccine (measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella) from the standard 12–15 months to age 4. It was the first change to the childhood immunization schedule under Kennedy's HHS and the first ACIP meeting of his hand-picked panel, which observers and STAT News described as "rocky" amid procedural irregularities, complaints about insufficient review time, and a postponed hepatitis B vote.

SEC dismissed civil fraud cases against Trump clemency recipients Devon Archer and Carlos Watson

On September 18, 2025, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission moved to dismiss with prejudice its civil fraud enforcement actions against Devon Archer and Carlos Watson (and Ozy Media, Inc.), two men President Trump had granted clemency for related criminal fraud convictions. The dismissals, entered by separate joint stipulations filed the same day, ended years of SEC efforts to recover funds tied to their conduct. The Commission issued no public explanation, stating in each filing only that it had "exercised its discretion."

World Liberty Financial sold crypto tokens to buyers linked to sanctioned Iranian and Russian networks, prompting a Senate probe request

Watchdog group Accountable.US reported on September 18, 2025 that World Liberty Financial (WLFI), the Trump family's crypto venture, sold tokens to wallets with prior ties to Iran's largest crypto exchange and a Treasury-sanctioned ruble token; a separate North Korea link the report alleged was later disputed by independent researchers as a false positive. Senate Democrats Warren and Reed cited the report in a November 2025 letter asking Treasury and DOJ to investigate WLFI's compliance and national-security exposure.

FCC Chair Carr threatened ABC license action over Kimmel's Charlie Kirk comments; ABC indefinitely suspended Kimmel

On September 17, 2025, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr publicly threatened ABC affiliates with regulatory consequences if they did not act against late-night host Jimmy Kimmel over Kimmel's recent comments about Charlie Kirk. Within hours, Nexstar and Sinclair Broadcast Group — both with transactions pending FCC approval — announced they would preempt Kimmel's show, and ABC suspended Jimmy Kimmel Live! indefinitely that same day. Former FCC senior official Gigi Sohn called it "the most blatant" use of the FCC's bully pulpit to intimidate a major network in the history of the agency.

Trump signed a fourth executive order directing DOJ not to enforce the PAFACA TikTok divestment law, suspending the statute through December

President Trump signed EO 14350 on September 16, 2025, directing the Department of Justice to take no enforcement action under the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act through December 16, 2025 — the fourth consecutive executive order suspending a congressionally enacted, SCOTUS-upheld statute without legislative authorization.

GAO found FEMA illegally withheld food, shelter, and detention housing funds; sixth ICA violation in 2025

On September 16, 2025, the Government Accountability Office published its sixth finding that the Trump administration violated the Impoundment Control Act, concluding that FEMA illegally withheld or delayed congressionally- appropriated funds for the Emergency Food and Shelter Program — which supplements food and shelter services for homeless people — and the Shelter and Services Program, which funds temporary housing to relieve overcrowding in immigration detention. GAO determined that FEMA's delay in issuing a funding notice for the Emergency Food and Shelter Program constituted an "impermissible withholding," and that FEMA's complete failure to issue any notice for the Shelter and Services Program established "intent to impermissibly defer or preclude the obligation of budget authority." The Trump administration did not comply with the GAO's findings; the funds remained withheld.

DOJ sued Oregon to compel release of unredacted, sensitive voter roll data

On September 16, 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division sued Oregon and Secretary of State Tobias Read, seeking to compel disclosure of the state's complete unredacted voter registration list, including birth dates, driver's-license numbers, and partial Social Security numbers, and alleging violations of the National Voter Registration Act, the Help America Vote Act, and the Civil Rights Act of 1960. The suit was part of a broader DOJ campaign that went on to demand voter data from dozens of states. A federal judge dismissed the Oregon suit on January 26, 2026, after Attorney General Pam Bondi sent Minnesota's governor a letter suggesting the data would be used to advance the administration's immigration-enforcement agenda.

U.S. Agency for International Development adopted blanket "still interested" FOIA policy, threatening to close pending public-records requests

On September 16, 2025, the U.S. Agency for International Development published a Federal Register notice requiring requesters with FOIA requests filed before January 20, 2025 to reconfirm continued interest by October 31, 2025 or have their requests administratively closed. American Oversight warned USAID on October 31, 2025 that the policy exceeded the agency's statutory authority, and renewed the demand after an August 5, 2026 federal court ruling vacated the Department of Energy's nearly identical policy. It remains undocumented whether USAID has closed any requests under the policy.

Trump signed memo deploying National Guard and federal agents to Memphis over mayor's objection

On September 15, 2025, President Trump signed a presidential memorandum titled "Restoring Law and Order in Memphis," deploying Tennessee National Guard troops alongside FBI, ATF, DEA, ICE, Homeland Security Investigations, and U.S. Marshals to Memphis for crime enforcement. Mayor Paul Young — who had not requested the deployment and represented a city where crime had reached a 25-year low — publicly objected. The deployment came weeks after a federal court ruled Trump's Los Angeles military deployment violated the Posse Comitatus Act, the longstanding federal law prohibiting military forces from performing domestic law enforcement.

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."

Sen. Schiff report reveals USDA, Labor, and HHS departments spent over $55,000 in taxpayer funds on Trump tribute banners

On September 15, 2025, Sen. Adam Schiff released an oversight report revealing that the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Labor, and Health and Human Services had contracted to display large Trump-tribute banners on their Washington, D.C. headquarters, including an 88-foot HHS banner promoting Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s "Make America Healthy Again" slogan. The three contracts totaled more than $55,000 in taxpayer funds, which Schiff's report said violated the federal appropriations-law ban on spending public money for "publicity or propaganda purposes."

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission fired three employees over Charlie Kirk-related social media posts

On September 15, 2025, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) announced on its official social media account that it had fired biologist Britney Brown after the account Libs of TikTok circulated her private Instagram repost mocking Charlie Kirk's assassination. FWC separately terminated employees Haley Massung and Taylor Ozimek that same week over their own social media comments about Kirk's death; Ozimek's termination letter is also dated September 15, 2025. FWC Executive Director Roger Young was later named as a defendant when all three sued the agency over the firings.

ICE agent fatally shot Silverio Villegas-González during a traffic stop in Franklin Park, Illinois

On September 12, 2025, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent shot and killed Silverio Villegas-González, a 38-year-old Mexican national and father of two, during a targeted traffic stop in Franklin Park, Illinois, part of the Chicago-area "Midway Blitz" enforcement surge. The Department of Homeland Security said he resisted arrest, fled, and dragged an agent, but eyewitnesses disputed that anyone was dragged and video showed agents breaking his car window before he was shot at close range. Bodycam footage showed the agent describing his own injuries as "nothing major."

Missouri legislature referred amendment imposing district veto only on citizen ballot initiatives; Kehoe scheduled low-turnout August vote

On September 12, 2025, Missouri's Republican-controlled General Assembly gave final passage to Amendment 4, a legislature-referred constitutional amendment requiring citizen-initiated amendments to win majorities in all eight of the state's congressional districts while exempting amendments the legislature itself refers to the ballot. Eight months later, on May 22, 2026, Gov. Mike Kehoe scheduled the resulting referendum for the historically low-turnout August primary rather than the November general election. The measure followed a string of citizen-led ballot initiatives Republicans had opposed, including Medicaid expansion, marijuana legalization, and abortion rights.

SEC dismissed its civil fraud case against Nikola founder Trevor Milton after his Trump pardon

On September 11, 2025, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed a joint stipulation dismissing with prejudice its civil fraud enforcement action against Nikola founder Trevor Milton in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The dismissal followed President Trump's March 27, 2025 pardon of Milton on his related criminal securities-fraud conviction, ending the SEC's remaining case against him. It paralleled the Commission's dismissals a week later of civil actions against two other Trump clemency recipients, Devon Archer and Carlos Watson.

United States and Liberia signed asylum protection-claims agreement

The United States and Liberia signed an "Agreement to Cooperate in the Examination of Protection Claims" via exchange of notes at Monrovia on September 10, 2025, entering into force the same day. Liberia separately agreed on October 24, 2025 to accept Kilmar Abrego Garcia "on a strictly humanitarian and temporary basis" following an October 17 meeting between Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Liberia's foreign minister; by August 18, 2026 the agreement had scaled into active use, with Liberia agreeing to accept up to 1,200 third-country deportees.

ICE detained Irish national Seamus Culleton, then blocked his green-card interview and reversed his court-approved bond during prolonged detention

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained Irish citizen Seamus Culleton on September 9, 2025, after running his license plate at a Home Depot in Saugus, Massachusetts, and transferred him to Camp East Montana in El Paso, Texas. During his ensuing detention, ICE caused him to miss at least two scheduled USCIS interviews confirming his pending marriage-based green card, and DHS successfully moved to reverse an immigration judge's $4,000 bond grant on a jurisdictional ground specific to the Visa Waiver Program he entered under.

ICE and CBP agents body-slammed 79-year-old U.S. citizen car wash owner during Van Nuys raid, held him nearly 12 hours without medical care

Masked federal agents from ICE, CBP, and DHS raided Valley Car Wash in Van Nuys, Los Angeles on September 9, 2025, and, per surveillance video and the owner's account, body-slammed and restrained 79-year-old U.S. citizen Rafie Ollah Shouhed after he tried to show them his employees' work authorization. Shouhed was handcuffed and held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles for nearly 12 hours without medical attention despite pleading that he had a heart condition, then released without charges. He suffered broken ribs, elbow injuries, and post-concussive symptoms of a traumatic brain injury.

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.

United States deported protected migrants to Ghana under undisclosed third-country deal

The United States deported the first group of third-country nationals to Ghana on September 5, 2025, under an arrangement the BBC reported six days later; the deal's text has never been disclosed. At least 60 people have been forcibly sent to Ghana across four confirmed flights, many with U.S.-granted humanitarian protections, and Reuters later found Ghana forcibly returned at least 22 of them to their home countries despite U.S. court orders barring exactly that.

BIA stripped immigration judges of bond authority, mandating detention without hearings in Matter of Yajure Hurtado

On September 5, 2025, the Board of Immigration Appeals issued a precedential decision, Matter of Yajure Hurtado, holding that noncitizens who entered the United States without inspection are "applicants for admission" subject to mandatory detention under the Immigration and Nationality Act, with no authority for an immigration judge to grant a bond hearing. The ruling reversed decades of practice under which longtime residents placed in removal proceedings could seek release on bond, and DHS and ICE began applying it to hold thousands of people without any individualized custody review.

Trump announced 2026 G20 summit at his Doral resort, directing foreign-government spending to his own property

President Trump announced on September 5, 2025, that the United States would host the 2026 G20 summit at his Trump National Doral Miami resort in Doral, Florida. The White House claimed the venue would host the event "at-cost" with no profit to Trump, but even at-cost hosting generates substantial indirect value — global media exposure, advance security expenditures, and ancillary bookings — for a property Trump personally owns. Trump abandoned an identical proposal to host the G7 at Doral in 2019 following bipartisan congressional criticism; he is now proceeding without seeking congressional consent as required by the Foreign Emoluments Clause.

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.

ICE agents detained 57 workers in a Cato, NY factory raid; judge found warrants didn't authorize the detentions

On September 4, 2025, roughly 60 armed federal agents, supported by the Cayuga and Oswego County sheriff's offices, raided the Nutrition Bar Confectioners factory in Cato, New York and detained 57 of the roughly 160 workers present, though supporting affidavits named or described fewer than 10 potentially undocumented individuals. Fifty-two of the 57 were deported and five were charged with illegal re-entry; U.S. District Judge Brenda K. Sannes later found that the two warrants used authorized only the seizure of business records and the questioning of workers, not their detention, and ruled that agents violated the Fourth Amendment rights of one charged worker, Argentina Juarez-Lopez.

DHS Secretary Noem terminated 2021 TPS designation for Venezuela, stripping deportation protection from ~250,000 Venezuelans

On September 3, 2025, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem terminated the 2021 Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation for Venezuela, affecting approximately 250,000 Venezuelans enrolled under the Biden-era grant. Noem cited "national interest" and determined Venezuela no longer met TPS statutory requirements, setting an effective end date of November 7, 2025. A federal court blocked the termination within three days on September 6, 2025, finding the administration likely lacked statutory authority under the Immigration and Nationality Act.

DHS opened 'Camp 57' ICE detention unit inside Angola prison's former solitary-confinement wing for civil immigration detainees

On September 3, 2025, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the opening of "Camp 57," an ICE detention facility inside Louisiana State Penitentiary (Angola), occupying the facility's former Camp J solitary-confinement wing — a section shuttered approximately seven years earlier after cell locks malfunctioned, dozens of weapons were found, and more than 80 staff resigned or were fired for misconduct. The facility opened with 51 civil immigration detainees and a stated capacity of 416; courts later ordered four detainees released citing conditions.

JTF Southern Spear killed 11 aboard suspected narcotics vessel in southern Caribbean; 1st strike, ~11 campaign deaths

On September 2, 2025, U.S. military forces conducting Operation Southern Spear struck a vessel in the southern Caribbean, killing eleven people the Trump administration labeled Tren de Aragua narcoterrorists. President Trump announced the action on Truth Social and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth posted video of the explosion, but neither provided public evidence identifying those aboard as drug traffickers or gang members. The strike was conducted without congressional authorization or judicial process and was the first publicly acknowledged U.S. military airstrike in the Americas since the 1989 Panama invasion.

August(36)

EPA fired at least 8 probationary employees who signed dissent letter, overriding internal First Amendment warning

Beginning August 29, 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency fired at least eight probationary employees who had signed a June 2025 "declaration of dissent" criticizing Administrator Lee Zeldin's policies as reversing scientific progress and endangering public health. An EPA assistant general counsel warned in writing beforehand that the firings would "present significant legal risk" because the letter was "likely protected speech under the First Amendment," but the agency proceeded. Targeted employees were still in probationary periods, stripping them of Merit Systems Protection Board appeal rights.

Trump signed EO 14343 stripping collective bargaining from NASA, National Weather Service and Patent Office workers

President Trump signed Executive Order 14343 on August 28, 2025, extending his earlier March 2025 order to remove collective bargaining rights from employees at NASA, the National Weather Service, the Patent and Trademark Office, and several other agencies under a "national security" rationale. The order targeted agencies with no primary national security mission, and union leaders said it was explicit retaliation against organizations — including IFPTE and NWSEO — that had filed lawsuits challenging Trump's March executive order.

ICE agents falsely charged Francisco Longoria with assaulting officers to cover up their unlawful shooting, jailing him three months

Twelve days after ICE and CBP agents fired at his truck during an unlawful, warrantless stop, federal agents conducted a pre-dawn raid on Francisco Longoria's home on August 28, 2025 and charged him with assault on a federal officer with a dangerous weapon, alleging he had "weaponized" his truck. Longoria, who had no prior criminal record, was held at the Adelanto ICE detention facility for approximately three months. At his bond hearing, the U.S. attorney acknowledged he could not identify any lawful basis for the original stop or any injuries to officers; the felony charge was dropped September 17, 2025, but Longoria remained in immigration detention until early December 2025.

Trump directed DOJ to investigate federal grantees for lobbying and partisan activity, targeting advocacy organizations

President Trump signed a presidential memorandum on August 28, 2025, directing the Attorney General to investigate whether federal grant funds are being used for lobbying or partisan political activity, with a report due in 180 days. The memo, titled "Use of Appropriated Funds for Illegal Lobbying and Partisan Political Activity by Federal Grantees," cited the Byrd Amendment but framed the investigation scope to include political and advocacy activity broader than what the statute covers. Legal observers noted the memo's "partisan political activity" language creates a chilling effect on civil society organizations that receive federal funding while engaging in policy advocacy.

Wyoming became the first state to hand the Justice Department its voters' driver's license and partial Social Security numbers

On August 28, 2025, Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray transmitted the state's complete voter registration list, including driver's license numbers and partial Social Security numbers, to the U.S. Department of Justice in response to a June 2025 DOJ request, making Wyoming the first state to fully comply with the department's nationwide voter-roll collection campaign. The transfer drew little public attention until Wyoming Democrats and the League of Women Voters of Wyoming criticized it after DOJ's broader voter-data campaign drew national scrutiny.

Pentagon authorized up to 600 military JAG lawyers to serve as temporary immigration judges

On August 27, 2025, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth signed a memo authorizing the Department of Defense to detail up to 600 Judge Advocate General lawyers to serve as temporary immigration judges under the Justice Department's Executive Office for Immigration Review on assignments of up to 179 days. The authorization followed the DOJ's removal of the prior-immigration-experience requirement for temporary judges. Military JAGs would receive approximately two weeks of training before serving; the first cohort of five was sworn in on May 20, 2026, in the largest investiture class in EOIR history.

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.

Pentagon installed Adm. Daryl Caudle as Chief of Naval Operations after he signaled loyalty to Hegseth's anti-diversity agenda

On August 25, 2025, Admiral Daryl Caudle was sworn in as the 34th Chief of Naval Operations, filling a vacancy created when Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth fired his predecessor in February 2025. A New York Times investigation published July 26, 2026 revealed that Caudle was selected because he had signaled support for Hegseth's anti-diversity agenda, and that Tim Parlatore — Hegseth's personal attorney and Pentagon special adviser — had represented Caudle during the promotion process, a conflict Hegseth denied to Congress when asked directly.

Trump signed EO 14341 directing AG to prosecute flag burning despite Supreme Court rulings protecting it as free speech

President Trump signed Executive Order 14341 on August 25, 2025, directing the Attorney General to prioritize prosecution of flag burning under any available criminal or civil law, despite Supreme Court rulings in Texas v. Johnson (1989) and United States v. Eichman (1990) holding that flag desecration is constitutionally protected political speech. The order explicitly acknowledges the Supreme Court precedent but instructs the AG to pursue prosecution using content-neutral laws as a workaround and to litigate to narrow First Amendment protections. The order also directs immigration officials to deny or revoke visas and naturalization for foreign nationals who burn the American flag.

Justice Department fired San Francisco immigration judge Chloe Dillon amid purge of high asylum-grant-rate judges

The U.S. Department of Justice fired San Francisco immigration judge Chloe Dillon by email on August 22, 2025, giving no reason, amid a wave of firings of high asylum-grant-rate judges that coincided with a DOJ memo on scrutinizing judges' case-outcome statistics. Dillon's supervising assistant chief immigration judge had warned her months earlier that "the White House" was watching after she resisted a directive to grant all ICE requests to transfer cases to a different venue. In a whistleblower complaint filed September 10, 2026, Dillon alleged the firing came two days after she separately reported that ICE agents had unlawfully detained an unaccompanied minor who had just appeared in her courtroom.

HHS de-recognized union contracts at CDC, FDA, and other agencies, stripping collective bargaining rights

The Department of Health and Human Services moved on August 22, 2025, to de-recognize all collective bargaining agreements covering workers at the CDC, FDA, and other HHS divisions, stripping thousands of federal public health employees of union rights. The action implemented a Trump labor-management executive order, making HHS the latest agency in a rolling campaign that had already reached the VA on August 6 and the EPA on August 8. The American Federation of Government Employees condemned the action as an illegal decertification of unions.

FBI searched home and office of former national security adviser Bolton; Trump privately directed investigation toward vocal critic

On August 22, 2025, FBI agents searched the Maryland home and Washington office of former national security adviser John Bolton as part of a classified-information investigation. Bolton, a vocal Trump critic since leaving the administration in 2019, was not detained and no charges were filed at the time. The Washington Post reported that Trump had privately pointed a finger at Bolton in the days immediately preceding the raids, while the Biden-era Justice Department had reviewed the same underlying materials and declined to prosecute.

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.