2019 Day 809: Kirstjen Nielsen resigned after meeting with Trump to plan "a way forward"; Nielsen reportedly resisted Trump's pressure to reinstate large-scale family separation at the border since January; Trump instructed his acting chief of staff to fire his Secret Service director; the woman who breached security at Mar-a-Lago had multiple electronic devices in her hotel room; and New York lawmakers will introduce a bill this week to permit the Department of Taxation and Finance to release state tax returns requested by a congressional committee. Apr 8, 2019
2020 Day 1175: Trump attacked the World Health Organization and threatened to withhold funding because of its handling of the coronavirus outbreak and its criticisms of his own policies; U.S. intelligence officials warned in November about a contagion sweeping through China’s Wuhan region; the Trump administration is exploring ways to return to “normality” and reopen the U.S. economy as "quickly as possible"; the CDC removed its dosing information for doctors on how to prescribe hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine; and Trump signed an executive order encouraging the U.S. to mine the moon for minerals. Apr 8, 2020
2021 Day 79: Biden announced executive actions to address what he called an “epidemic” of gun violence; more than 18,800 unaccompanied children crossed the southern border in March; the Biden administration is spending at least $60 million per week to care for unaccompanied migrant teenagers and children in shelters; Justice Department lawyers still cannot find the parents of 445 children separated from their families at the U.S.-Mexico border by the Trump administration; and Joe Manchin will not vote to eliminate or weaken the filibuster under any circumstances. Apr 8, 2021
2024 Day 1175: Biden announced a new student loan forgiveness plan that would cancel student debt for more than 30 million borrowers; the Biden administration awarded a $6.6 billion grant to the world’s leading maker of advanced semiconductor chips to help it build three factories in Arizona; the chair of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence warned that it was “absolutely true” that some Republican members of Congress were repeating Russian propaganda on the House floor; Trump declined to endorse a national abortion ban, saying he believes it should be a states' rights issue; Trump sued the judge overseeing his criminal hush money case in an effort to – again – delay the start of the trial; and Biden could be left off the ballot in Ohio. Apr 8, 2024
2025 Day 1540: China warned it would “fight to the end” and said the U.S. “will never intimidate China” after Trump threatened to raise tariffs on Chinese goods to 104% unless Beijing dropped its 34% retaliatory duties; Trump claimed his tariff policy is working and told aides to start cutting “tailor-made” trade deals with any country that calls; Elon Musk called Trump trade adviser Peter Navarro “truly a moron” and “dumber than a sack of bricks” after Navarro dismissed Tesla as a “car assembler” that relies on foreign parts; the Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration's firing of 16,000 probationary federal employees to go forward – for now, at least; the Supreme Court ruled 5–4 to allow the Trump administration to resume deportations under the Alien Enemies Act, so long as detainees are given a chance to challenge their removal; the Department of Homeland Security canceled legal protections for nearly 1 million people who entered the U.S. using the Biden-era CBP One app; the IRS will share immigrant tax data with ICE to help the Trump administration track and deport undocumented people; and Trump’s approval rating fell to 46% – the lowest point of his second term – and his disapproval crossed above 50% for the first time since his re-election. Apr 8, 2025