On This Day: October 8

6 posts spanning 2018–2025

2018

• Day 627: The Senate confirmed Brett Kavanaugh; Trump called the allegations against Kavanaugh "a hoax that was set up by the Democrats"; Trump won't fire Rod Rosenstein after all; a U.N. report on the effects of climate change predicts a strong risk of an environmental crises much sooner than expected; and Fox News hired Hope Hicks. Oct 8, 2018

2019

• Day 992: A bipartisan Senate report concluded that the Kremlin directed Russian actors to help Trump win the 2016 election; the White House announced that it will no longer cooperate with the House's impeachment inquiry; Trump ordered a U.S. ambassador not to testify before House lawmakers as part of the impeachment inquiry, prompting Democrats to prepare a subpoena to compel him to testify; a White House aide who listened in on Trump's infamous call with Zelensky said it was "crazy," "frightening," and "completely lacking in substance" regarding national security; and Turkey's vice president warned that his country won't be threatened by Trump and will carry out a planned attack against the Kurds on Turkey's own terms. Oct 8, 2019

2020

• Day 1358: Pence repeatedly interrupted Kamala Harris, ignored the moderator, went over time, and refused to directly answer the questions asked during the vice presidential debate; Trump, meanwhile, refused to participate in the next presidential debate after the bipartisan Commission on Presidential Debates announced that it would be held virtually due to coronavirus concerns; the coronavirus outbreak has infected "34 White House staffers and other contacts"; Trump suggested that he might have contracted COVID-19 from Gold Star family members; and Trump spent an hour downplaying his COVID-19 infection, attacking Harris, accusing political opponents of conspiring against him, and demanding that Attorney General William Barr indict Biden, Obama, and Hillary Clinton for unspecified crimes during a Fox Business interview. Oct 8, 2020

2021

• Day 262: Biden rejected Trump’s request to assert executive privilege over records related to the Jan. 6 attack; Trump directly asked the Justice Department nine times in Dec. and early Jan. to undermine the 2020 election results; Steve Bannon refused to comply with a subpoena and will not cooperate with the House select committee investigating Jan. 6; the Senate voted to temporarily raise the debt limit; a federal judge blocked enforcement of the new Texas law that bans nearly all abortions; and Biden restored environmental protections to national monuments that had been stripped by the Trump administration. Oct 8, 2021

2024

• Day 1358: FEMA warned that false claims and conspiracy theories pushed by Trump and his supporters related to hurricanes are hurting recovery and relief efforts, and putting hundreds of thousands of lives at risk as Milton — an extremely dangerous Category 4 hurricane – barrels toward Florida; the Supreme Court seemed likely to uphold the Biden administration’s restrictions on ghost guns; Biden’s EPA finalized a rule requiring water utilities to replace all lead pipes within a decade; Trump’s White House limited the 2018 FBI investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct against Brett Kavanaugh, which threatened his Supreme Court confirmation; and Trump secretly sent Covid-19 testing equipment to Putin for his personal use during the height of the pandemic. Oct 8, 2024

2025

• Day 1723: Trump demanded that Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker “be in jail”; former FBI Director James Comey pleaded not guilty to charges of making false statements and obstructing a congressional proceeding; the FBI fired three agents tied to former special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into Trump’s handling of classified documents and his efforts to overturn the 2020 election; Democratic voting rights groups warned that Republicans could gain up to 19 new House seats if the Supreme Court dismantles Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act; Speaker Mike Johnson reversed course and said Democratic Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva won’t be sworn in until Democrats agree to reopen the government; and the Senate failed for the sixth time to advance a short-term funding bill, extending the government shutdown into its second week. Oct 8, 2025