On This Day: January 21

6 posts spanning 2017–2026

2017

• Day 2 Jan 21, 2017

2019

• Day 732: The special counsel's office disputed aspects of the report that Trump directed Michael Cohen to lie to Congress; Trump thanked Mueller for the statement; Trump, however, was involved in negotiations to build a Trump Tower in Moscow throughout the entire 2016 presidential campaign. Jan 21, 2019

2020

• Day 1097: The first day of Trump's impeachment trial in the Senate began with senators debating rules proposed by Mitch McConnell that will guide the proceedings; McConnell made last-minute, handwritten changes to the proposed impeachment trial rules following criticism from Democrats and key Republicans; Nancy Pelosi called Mitch McConnell's proposed rules for the impeachment trial a "sham" that is "deliberately designed to hide the truth"; and Trump's defense team and Senate Republican allies plan to block witnesses from testifying in public if Democrats manage to persuade four GOP lawmakers to break ranks. Jan 21, 2020

2021

• Day 2: Biden marked the start of his presidency by signing or finalizing 17 executive orders, memorandums, and proclamations to roll back some of Trump's policies; Biden, pledging a “full-scale wartime effort” to combat the coronavirus pandemic, signed at least 10 executive orders and directives on his second day in office aimed at addressing the pandemic; Biden reversed Trump's move to leave the World Health Organization; the Biden administration identified 12 “immediate supply shortfalls” in the Trump administration’s pandemic response plans, including a nonexistent coronavirus vaccine distribution plan; and Senate Republicans refused to agree to a power-sharing agreement unless Democrats promised to preserve the filibuster. Jan 21, 2021

2025

• Day 1463: Trump marked the start of his second presidential term by signing a series of executive actions targeting immigration, the federal workforce, climate policy, and government structure, while granting pardons to nearly 1,600 people convicted for their roles in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot and commuting the sentences of 14 others; at least 18 states and two cities sued to block Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship for children born to undocumented or temporary immigrants; Trump withdrew the U.S. from the Paris Agreement, declared an energy emergency, and prioritized fossil fuel production over renewable energy; Trump ordered the U.S. to withdraw from the World Health Organization; Trump banned federal agencies from engaging in or funding actions that could "unconstitutionally abridge" Americans’ free speech; Trump rolled back transgender protections and federal diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, while restricting gender definitions to biological sex – male and female – as unchangeable realities; Trump issued an executive order to delay TikTok’s ban by 75 days; Trump issued an executive order requiring federal employees to return to in-person work five days a week and removing job protections for senior government workers; and Trump revoked a Biden-era executive order that directed federal agencies to promote voter registration. Jan 21, 2025

2026

• Day 1828: Trump said he would drop planned tariffs on eight European countries, claiming he had “the framework of a future deal” on Greenland and Arctic security; Trump said “Canada lives because of the United States” after Prime Minister Mark Carney argued at Davos that the U.S.-led “rules-based order” bargain “no longer works” and that “we are in the midst of a rupture, not a transition”; Congress released a bipartisan funding package to keep most of the federal government open ahead of a Jan. 30 shutdown deadline; House Democrats said they’ll oppose a bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security; and the Department of Homeland Security launched “Operation Catch of the Day” and started arresting immigrants in Maine. Jan 21, 2026