2019 Day 839: Trump asserted executive privilege over Robert Mueller's full, unredacted report; the House Judiciary Committee voted to hold Barr in contempt of Congress; Trump lost $1.17 billion between 1985 and 1994; and New York state Senate passed a bill that would allow Trump's state tax returns to be turned over to congressional committees. May 8, 2019
2020 Day 1205: The U.S. unemployment rate jumped to 14.7%; Pence’s press secretary tested positive for coronavirus; a breakdown in communication and coordination within the Trump administration has undermined the distribution of remdesivir; the Trump administration is moving to expand immigration restrictions; Trump signaled uncertainty over the future of FBI Director Christopher Wray a day after the Justice Department decided to drop criminal charges against Michael Flynn; and Senate Republicans are preparing for a swift confirmation process if a vacancy on the Supreme Court opens up before the November election. May 8, 2020
2023 Day 839: Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned that the only way for the U.S. to avoid an unprecedented default is for Congress to pass legislation to raise the debt ceiling; the gunman who killed eight people and injured seven others in Texas was terminated by the Army three months after he enlisted for an unspecified mental health issue; at least eight of the 16 Republican “fake electors” in Georgia have accepted immunity deals in the criminal investigation into Trump efforts to overturn the 2020 election; a jury will begin deliberations in E. Jean Carroll’s civil battery and defamation trial against Trump; the World Health Organization declared Covid-19 the global public health emergency over; and 47% of Democrats want the party to nominate “someone other than Biden.” May 8, 2023
2024 Day 1205: A Georgia court agreed to hear Trump’s appeal of a decision allowing Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to continue the election interference case involving Trump and others; Biden championed Microsoft’s $3.3 billion investment to build a new artificial intelligence center in Wisconsin as evidence of a “historic boom” in U.S. manufacturing; and a Los Angeles man launched an independent campaign for president after discovering a dead worm in his brain. May 8, 2024
2025 Day 1570: Trump announced a trade deal with the U.K., calling it “a great deal for both countries” despite no signed agreement and unresolved terms; Trump claimed that upcoming trade talks with China would be “substantive” and floated a possible cut in tariffs if China makes concessions; Trump fired the acting FEMA chief one day after he defended the agency in testimony to Congress; Trump selected a “wellness influencer” with no active medical license to replace a former Fox News contributor as Surgeon General; Trump pulled his nominee for U.S. Attorney in Washington, D.C. after Senate Republicans couldn’t stand behind Ed Martin’s support for a Capitol rioter who praised Hitler and said he would "kill all the Jews and eat them for breakfast"; the Trump administration refused to explain how it wrongly deported Kilmar Abrego Garcia, citing national security; and Trump claimed credit for the election of Pope Leo XIV, calling it “a Great Honor for our Country.” May 8, 2025