2020 Day 1440: Mitch McConnell blocked a House-passed bill to increase stimulus checks in the coronavirus relief package from $600 to $2,000; the House voted to override Trump’s veto of the $740 billion National Defense Authorization Act; Trump signed the coronavirus stimulus package and spending bill to avert a government shutdown, but not before two unemployment programs expired; the CDC predicts that the U.S. will see 400,000 coronavirus deaths by the time Trump leaves office on Jan. 20, 2021; and Trump issued 26 new pardons, including for Roger Stone, Paul Manafort, and Jared Kushner's father. Dec 29, 2020
2021 Day 344: U.S. Covid-19 cases hit their highest level of the pandemic; the CDC defended its decision to shorten the recommended isolation for asymptomatic individuals who test positive for Covid-19; Biden conceded that his efforts to expand Covid-19 testing capacity is "not enough... It's clearly not enough"; the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol – at the request of the Biden administration – agreed to delay or withdraw demands for hundreds of Trump White House records; Biden signed a $768 billion defense policy bill; Biden confirmed more judges to the federal bench in 2021 than any first-year president since Ronald Reagan; and 52% of Republicans disapprove of the job Mitch McConnell is doing as Senate minority leader. Dec 29, 2021
2025 Day 1805: Trump threatened military strikes on Iran if it rebuilds its nuclear or ballistic missile programs; Russia said it would “revise” its negotiating position on ending the war in Ukraine after Putin told Trump that Ukrainian drones targeted one of his homes; Trump claimed that the U.S. destroyed a “big facility” tied to alleged Venezuelan drug trafficking; U.S. forces carried out airstrikes against Islamic State targets in northwestern Nigeria on Christmas Day; the Justice Department said it uncovered more than one million additional documents tied to the Jeffrey Epstein investigation days after it missed a congressionally mandated Dec. 19 deadline to release the files; and the Justice Department said the man accused of planting pipe bombs outside the Democratic and Republican party headquarters before Jan. 6, 2021, told investigators he targeted the parties because they were “in charge” and wanted to act on beliefs the 2020 election was stolen. Dec 29, 2025