2019 Day 811: Attorney General William Barr assembled a team to examine the origins of the counterintelligence investigation into the Trump campaign's possible ties to Russia; Barr told Congress that the government was "spying" on Trump's campaign; Trump claimed the Russia investigation was "an attempted coup"; and the FBI discussed the possibility that Trump fired FBI Director James Comey "at the behest of" the Russian government. Apr 10, 2019
2020 Day 1177: The Trump administration continued to push to reopen much of the country by May 1 despite concerns from health experts and economists; new projections from the departments of Homeland Security and Health and Human Services show a spike in coronavirus infections if shelter in place, school closures, and social distancing orders are lifted after 30 days; and 52% of Americans under 45 have lost their job, been placed on leave, or had their hours cut. Apr 10, 2020
2023 Day 811: The Biden administration appealed a ruling by a federal judge in Texas that would block access to the widely-used abortion drug mifepristone; Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas defended the luxury vacations he accepted from a Republican megadonor for more than two decades; the two former Democratic lawmakers, who were expelled by Republican colleagues from the Tennessee House, will likely get their seat back; the Washington State Senate approved a ban on the sale and manufacture of assault weapons in the state; and a gunman killed four people and nine others were injured in a mass shooting at a bank in Louisville, Kentucky. Apr 10, 2023
2024 Day 1177: The EPA finalized the first-ever national limits on toxic “forever chemicals” in drinking water; Judge Aileen Cannon agreed to shield the names of potential witnesses in Trump’s criminal classified documents case; hours after Arizona’s Supreme Court upheld a 160-year-old law banning nearly all abortions, Republicans in the state attempted to distance themselves from the ruling; House conservatives revolted against their own leadership and blocked legislation to extend a warrantless surveillance program after Trump urged lawmakers to “kill” it; and Trump’s former chief financial officer was to five months in jail after admitting that he had lied under oath about helping Trump inflate his net worth to win favorable loan terms. Apr 10, 2024
2025 Day 1542: The House passed a Republican bill requiring documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections, despite noncitizen voting already being illegal and extremely rare; Trump ordered federal investigations into two former officials who contradicted his false claims about the 2020 election; a judge ruled that Newsmax defamed Dominion by airing false 2020 election claims; the House passed the Republican budget plan following a conservative standoff that fell apart under pressure from Trump; Trump acknowledged his tariff policies could cause “transition problems” as markets reversed course and recession fears deepened; and two Democratic senators called for a federal investigation into possible insider trading after Trump urged investors to “buy” hours before announcing a major tariff rollback that sent markets soaring. Apr 10, 2025