On This Day: April 21

5 posts spanning 2017–2025

2017

• Day 92 Apr 21, 2017

2020

• Day 1188: The White House and congressional leaders reached agreement on a $484 billion coronavirus relief package; Trump declared – via tweet – that he will sign an executive order suspending most immigration to the U.S. because of the coronavirus pandemic; the director of the CDC warned that a second wave of the coronavirus will likely be worse because it will probably coincide with the start of flu season; Attorney General William Barr said the Justice Department will consider taking legal action against governors who continue to impose strict social distancing rules; the Trump Organization asked the Trump administration for rent relief on the Trump International Hotel because of the coronavirus pandemic; and A bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee report reaffirmed the U.S. intelligence community’s conclusions that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election with the goal of putting Trump in the Oval Office. Apr 21, 2020

2021

• Day 92: The Justice Department will investigate whether the Minneapolis Police Department "engages in a pattern or practice of unconstitutional or unlawful policing"; Republican lawmakers in 34 states have introduced 81 anti-protest bills; the U.S. has administered 200 million coronavirus vaccines since Biden took office; and the U.S. Postal Service is running a covert internet surveillance program that tracks and collects Americans’ social media posts. Apr 21, 2021

2022

• Day 457: Biden announced another $800 million in military resources to Ukraine; the Justice Department appealed a federal court ruling striking down the mask requirement for passengers on public transportation; Kevin McCarthy and Mitch McConnell – days after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol – told associates they believed Trump was responsible for inciting the riot; top members of the Oath Keepers discussed plans to provide security for Trump allies like Roger Stone, Alex Jones, Ali Alexander, and Michael Flynn on Jan. 5 and Jan. 6; Alex Jones offered to be interviewed by federal investigators about his role in the Jan. 6 rally that preceded the attack on the Capitol; the Florida House passed a new congressional map after Democratic lawmakers shut down the special legislative session for more than an hour; the Florida House revoked Disney World’s special tax district in retaliation after Disney criticized the Parents Rights in Education legislation, which prohibits discussions about gender-related issues in public school up to third grade; and the Supreme Court ruled that Congress can continue excluding residents of Puerto Rico from a federal disability insurance program. Apr 21, 2022

2025

• Day 1553: Markets fell sharply after Trump escalated his attack on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, calling him a “major loser” and threatening to fire him unless interest rates are cut immediately; the Supreme Court blocked the Trump administration from deporting a group of Venezuelan migrants under the Alien Enemies Act, stopping what lawyers called a rushed effort to remove migrants without court hearings; Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared sensitive details of a Yemen airstrike in a second private Signal chat – this time with his wife, brother, and personal lawyer; a federal judge blocked the Trump administration’s plan to lay off nearly 1,500 employees at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau; a leaked draft executive order shows the Trump administration is considering a major overhaul of the State Department, including cutting bureaus focused on climate, refugees, and human rights, and shutting down many U.S. embassies in sub-Saharan Africa; and the Trump administration removed federal COVID-19 resource sites and replaced them with a White House webpage promoting the lab leak theory as the “true origins” of the pandemic. Apr 21, 2025