2020 Day 1377: The Senate confirmed Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court; the White House’s science office ranked “ending the COVID-19 pandemic” atop the list of Trump’s top first-term accomplishments despite infections spreading across the U.S. at the fastest rate since the start of the pandemic; a federal judge ruled that the Justice Department can’t represent Trump in a defamation lawsuit because he wasn’t acting in his official capacity as president when he denied raping the writer E. Jean Carroll; and the Trump Organization has billed taxpayers at least $2.5 million in charges stemming from Trump's more than 280 visits to his own properties since taking office. Oct 27, 2020
2021 Day 281: Joe Manchin panned a proposed billionaire income tax to help pay for the social safety net and climate change bill; Senate Democrats dropped paid family and medical leave from Biden's Build Back Better spending package; Biden – again – refused to exert executive privilege over documents that Trump has tried to keep away from the congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol; Deborah Birx testified that the Trump administration could have prevented more than 130,000 American deaths during the early stages of the pandemic; and a Wisconsin judge ruled that the three men Kyle Rittenhouse shot during a protest against police brutality can't be called "victims" during the trial. Oct 27, 2021
2022 Day 646: The U.S. economy grew in the third quarter, marking its first increase in 2022 after two straight quarters of decline; mortgage rates topped 7% for the first time in 20 years; Americans die younger in conservative states, while states with more liberal policies are associated with lower mortality rates; more than 100 lawsuits have already been filed to challenge the Nov. 8 midterm elections that are still 12 days away; and 40% of 18-to-29-year-olds said they will “definitely" vote in the Nov. 8 midterm elections. Oct 27, 2022
2025 Day 1742: The Trump administration will stop providing food assistance on Nov. 1 for about 42 million Americans; the Pentagon is using a $130 million private donation to help pay troops during the government shutdown; the largest federal workers union urged Congress to end the shutdown and pass a “clean continuing resolution” to reopen the government; Indiana Gov. Mike Braun called a special session to consider redrawing the state’s congressional map to give Republicans up to two additional U.S. House seats ahead of the 2026 midterms; Trump ended trade talks with Canada and said he would add an additional 10% tariff after Ontario aired a U.S. ad using Ronald Reagan’s 1987 remarks opposing tariffs; and Trump – again – refused to rule out an unconstitutional third term, saying “I would love to do it.” Oct 27, 2025