2019 Day 832: Mueller twice objected to Barr's summary to Congress, saying the memo "did not fully capture the context, nature, and substance of this office's work and conclusions"; Barr testified in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee; the House Judiciary Committee is discussing whether to hold Barr in contempt of Congress; and Mueller is reportedly willing to testify before the House Judiciary Committee, but the Department of Justice has "been reluctant to confirm a date." May 1, 2019
2020 Day 1198: The FDA granted Gilead emergency authorization for remdesivir to treat coronavirus; at least 30 states have started allowing some businesses to operate or announced plans to do so in May; the World Health Organization extended its declaration of a global health emergency; Trump is “in no rush” to provide federal assistance to states that are short of money because of the coronavirus; and the White House is blocking Dr. Anthony Fauci from testifying before the House Appropriations Committee May 1, 2020
2023 Day 832: Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned that the U.S. could default “as early as June 1” unless Congress raises or suspends the debt ceiling; regulators took possession of First Republic Bank and sold most of its assets, marking the third major bank failure in the U.S. in less than two months; the Federal Reserve is on track to raise interest rates for the 10th time as part of its yearlong effort to fight inflation; the Supreme Court will reconsider a 1984 precedent that directs courts to defer to federal agencies when interpreting ambiguous laws; the wife of Chief Justice John Roberts made $10.3 million over eight years matching top lawyers with law firms, including some that had cases before the Supreme Court; and 74% of Americans blame the news media for political divisions in the U.S. May 1, 2023
2024 Day 1198: Biden will cancel $6 billion in student loans for people who attended the Art Institutes, a shuttered group of private for-profit colleges accused of fraud; the Federal Reserve held interest rates unchanged at their highest level in two decades; a federal court blocked Louisiana from using a new congressional map for this year's elections, which created a second majority-Black district; Democrats won a special election House seat in New York, further shrinking the Republicans’ majority in the House; Marjorie Taylor Greene plans to force a vote on ousting House Speaker Mike Johnson next week; the Arizona state Senate voted to repeal its Civil War-era ban on nearly all abortions; Florida’s ban on most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy went into effect; and 49% of Americans want politicians to pass laws ensuring national abortion access. May 1, 2024
2025 Day 1563: A Trump-appointed federal judge blocked the administration from using the Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelan migrants; Trump removed national security adviser Mike Waltz after 102 days; the Senate failed to pass a bipartisan resolution to roll back Trump’s tariffs; the House voted 246-164 to block California from banning gas car sales by 2035; the U.S and Ukraine signed a deal giving Washington priority access to Ukraine’s oil, gas, and mineral projects; Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will require all new vaccines to be tested in placebo-controlled trials; and the Trump administration cut $1 billion in mental health grants for schools, ending a key part of a bipartisan law passed after the Uvalde school shooting that killed 21 people. May 1, 2025