2020 Day 1215: The first coronavirus vaccine to be tested in people appears to stimulate an immune response against the virus; Trump claimed that he's taking hydroxychloroquine "right now" and that he started taking it "a couple of weeks ago" despite the fact he continues to test negative for the coronavirus; Trump fired the State Department inspector general, who had opened an investigation into Secretary of State Mike Pompeo; a $500 billion Treasury Department fund created by the CARES Act in March to help prop up large segments of the U.S. economy has barely lent any money; and cellphone location data suggests that demonstrators at anti-lockdown protests may have spread coronavirus hundreds of miles. May 18, 2020
2021 Day 119: House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy will oppose a bipartisan deal to form a 9/11-style commission to investigate the Jan. 6 Capitol riot; the Republican-dominated Maricopa County Board of Supervisors called on the GOP-led state Senate to end the recount of the 2020 election, saying the audit is a “sham” and a “con”; the House passed legislation to address hate crimes directed at Asian-Americans during the Covid-19 pandemic; and Trump's Justice Department used a secret grand jury subpoena in an attempt to identify the person behind a Twitter account dedicated to mocking Rep. Devin Nunes. May 18, 2021
2023 Day 849: Kevin McCarthy and Chuck Schumer are planning a vote on a bipartisan deal to lift the federal debt limit ahead of a potential June 1 default deadline; the Texas legislature voted to ban gender-affirming care for most minors; the South Carolina House approved a ban on most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy; the House Ethics Committee will continue with its investigation into George Santos even though the New York Republican is facing a federal indictment; and Penguin Random House, authors, parents, and a free speech group sued a Florida school district for removing 10 books related to race and the LGBTQ community. May 18, 2023
2026 Day 1945: Trump postponed a previously unannounced attack on Iran after Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates asked him to "hold off"; Trump’s Justice Department settled Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS by creating a $1.776 billion taxpayer-funded “Anti-Weaponization Fund” for people claiming they were targeted by the government for political purposes; Trump helped defeat a Republican senator who voted to convict him after the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol; the Supreme Court rejected Virginia Democrats’ emergency effort to use a new, voter-approved congressional maps; Minnesota prosecutors charged an ICE agent with four felony assault counts and falsely reporting a crime in the shooting of Julio Sosa-Celis during Operation Metro Surge in January; the EPA proposed repealing drinking water limits for four “forever chemicals"; 76% of Americans are concerned about their personal finances; and 64% of voters think Trump made the wrong decision to go to war with Iran. May 18, 2026