************************************ REPUBLICAN PRIMARY **********************
Trump Announces Bid to Win back White House
Former President Donald Trump on November 15, 2022 launched his third presidential campaign. He told a boisterous crowd at Mar-a-Lago during the day that U.S. was in a "state of decline" under Joe Biden and he would lead the nation to make it "great and glorious" again.
Haley is the First to Take on Trump
Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley on February 14, 2023 said in a 3-and-1/2-minute video that she was running for presidency to provide "a new generation leadership".
******************* TIM SCOTT
Tim Scott Joins Republican Primary
Sen. Tim Scott on May 19, 2023 became the second South Carolinian to announce presidential bid in 2024 election as the lone GOP African-American Senator filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission. He will formally launch his campaign on May 22, 2023 at his alma mater, Charleston Southern University.
Tim Scott dropped out of the race on November 12, 2023.
******************* TIM SCOTT
******************** RON DESANTIS
Ron DeSantis Enters Republican Fray
Florida Governor became the first politician to join the presidential race on Twitter as he announced his bid on May 24, 2023 on Twitter Space hours after filing paperwork with the Federal Election Commission on intention to run in the presidential polls.
DeSantis Unveils Tough Immigrant, Border Policy
Badly lagging in opinion poll behind Former President Donald Trump, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on June 26, 2023 unveiled his policy on immigration and border security at a Texas border community, Eagle Pass, that centered on the old tactics that Trump had adopted in his first term, but with the pledge of a better follow-through. DeSantis said that he would ban birthright citizenship for the children of undocumented immigrants, complete the border walls, force migrants to stay outside the U.S. as their cases proceeded through the country's byzantine immigration system and require employers for tougher verification of employees' work eligibility.
DeSantis Bows out
After a humiliating second place finish in Iowa Caucuses, it was clear that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was looking for an honorable exit. That moment arrived on January 21, 2024, two days before the nation's first Primary in New Hampshire, as DeSantis called it quits and endorsed his onetime bitter rival Donald Trump.
******************** RON DESANTIS
************** MIKE PENCE *********
Pence Challenges Former Boss, Joins the GOP Primary
Former Vice President Mike Pence on June 7, 2023 joined the race to win the Republican Primary and subsequently challenge President Joe Biden in the general election.
Pence Bows out
Out of luck, shunned by Donald Trump-brand right-wingers and rejected by major donors, Former Vice President Mike Pence on October 28, 2023 called it quits.
************** MIKE PENCE *********
Miami Mayor Becomes the Third Floridian to Join Presidential Primary
Miami Mayor Francis Suarez on June 14, 2023 filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission to seek the Republican Party nomination for president. He announced his candidacy on June 15, 2023, and described it a "generational" endeavor. Suarez became the mayor in 2017 only as the second Cuban-American to become the chief steward of Miami--the first one was his father, Xavier Suarez--and was reelected in 2021.
Will Hurd Jumped into Republican Primary on June 22, 2023.
Hurd Drops out, Endorses Haley
Will Hurd's long-shot presidential campaign fizzled out as soon as it started and it was almost a sure thing from the get-go that he would bow out of the race. The day of reckoning for Hurd came a little over 100 days after the launch of his campaign. On October 9, 2023, Hurd, while suspending his campaign, endorsed former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley.
IOWA: Trump Scores a Blowout Victory in Iowa
Former President Donald Trump won convincingly in the January 15, 2024, Iowa Caucuses, with Ron DeSantis finishing second, Nikki Haley finishing third and Vivek Ramaswamy finishing a distant fourth.
Vivek Ramaswamy dropped out of the race on January 16, 2024 and endorsed Trump. His fluster-bluster approach and complaining nature reminds political observers about Dante's Inferno that describes hell in which "wrathful and sullen" will swim forever in the "black sulkiness" of the River Styx. Inflammatory and unfounded rhetoric so qualifies.
NEW HAMPSHIRE: Trump Emerges Winner
Former President Donald Trump made history as the first Republican presidential candidate to win Iowa and New Hampshire. Trump, who's facing 91 criminal charges, defeated Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley in the January 23, 2024, first primary in the nation.
SOUTH CAROLINA: Trump Wins Primary
In a clean sweep, Former President Donald Trump won Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and on February 24, 2024, South Carolina. Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, only remaining contender in the Republican Primary, was electorally thrashed in her own state.
MICHIGAN PRIMARY Offers Warning Signals to Trump, Biden
In the February 27, 2024, Michigan Primary, Former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden easily won. However, as the results show, Trump still struggles to get traction with suburban voters, especially college-educated women. For Biden, a north of 100K votes cast "UNCOMMITTED" reflect a deep disenchantment with Biden administration's handling of Israel-Hamas War.
D.C. Primary: Haley Bags First Win
In the Washington D.C. primary held March 3, 2024, Nikki Haley won with a convincing win.
Trump Wins North Dakota Caucus
Former President Donald Trump won the North Dakota caucus on March 4, 2024.
SUPER TUESDAY: Trump Bags Texas, Other States, Closes in on Clinching Nomination
After March 5, 2024, Super Tuesday, it's clear that the nation will witness a repeat of 2020 presidential election that many have dreaded. Former President Donald Trump won handily. Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley suspended her campaign.
Trump, Biden Become Their Parties' Presumptive Nominees
After the Primaries in Mississippi, Georgia and Washington on March 12, 2024, President Joe Biden and Former President Donald Trump clinched their respective parties' nomination, setting up a rematch between the two deeply flawed and unpopular candidates and the first electoral slugfest between two presidents since 1912.
******************** TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT
Trump Shot at a Pennsylvania Rally
Two days before the party convention at Milwaukee where Former President Donald Trump is to accept the Republican presidential nomination, the presumptive party nominee has been shot. Trump was addressing the crowd in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13, 2024 when a would-be assassin tried to assassinate the former president from the rooftop of an adjacent building. A bullet pierced the upper part of his right ear. Trump was evacuated, with two streaks of blood seen flowing down on his face, by the Secret Service. As he was being evacuated, Former President Donald Trump was seen pumping his fist and urging his followers to "fight!". As additional information poured in later in the evening, it was reported that the gunman was shot to death by the Secret Service and a rallygoer was killed too. Two others were critically injured. President Joe Biden said that there was no place of violence in the country. Later in the evening, Trump was on Truth Social giving his perspective of the assassination attempt and his campaign reported that he was doing fine.
Biden Addresses the Republic, Calls for Lowering the Temperature
A day after an attempt to assassinate Former President Donald Trump had roiled the 2024 election landscape, President Joe Biden on July 14, 2024 addressed the nation from the Oval Office. In a six-minute speech, President Biden said that the means for change lied in the ballot, not in the bullet. He also called for lowering the temperature. President Joe Biden had a brief telephone talks with Former President Donald Trump hours after assassination attempt on his life on July 13, 2024. President Biden called that brief conversation good.
Former President Donald Trump arrived at Milwaukee on April 14, 2024, barely 24 hours after he had been targeted by a gunman, as the Republican Party Convention was set to go on full swing July 15, 2024 through July 18, 2024.
Additional information emerged a day after 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania positioned himself on the roof of a manufacturing plant, AGR International, and shot at Former President Donald Trump who was addressing a boisterous crowd in the adjoining Butler Farms Show ground. The Secret Service killed Crooks. In the crowd, one attendee was killed and two critically injured. Former chief of Buffalo Township Volunteer Fire Company Corey Comperatore was killed trying to save his wife and daughter. David Dutch, 57, and James Copenhaver, 74, were critically injured.
Trump Assassination Attempt a Security Failure, DHS Chief Says
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on July 15, 2024 said that the attempted assassination of Former President Donald Trump had marked a significant "security failure", but he had "100 percent confidence" in the U.S. Secret Service and its embattled leader. Mayorkas also announced a review of the security failure at Trump's July 13, 2024, rally at Butler, Pennsylvania with an external expert leading it.
Cheatle Has No Plan to Resign
The chief of the U.S. Secret Service is facing call for resignation, but Director Kimberly Cheatle has said on July 21, 2024 on the ABC News that she has no plan to resign. Director Cheatle is subpoenaed to appear before the the U.S. House Oversight and Accountability Committee led by James Comer, R-Kentucky. U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle, whom President Biden has tapped for the position in August 2022 after a 21-year stint in the service before joining PepsiCo in 2021 as a senior security executive, will appear before the committee on July 22, 2024.
Bipartisan Fury against Secret Service Director at the House Hearing
It was a bipartisan wrath, some pointed criticism, some unhinged attacks, some personal insults such as Rep. Pat Fallon mocking the U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to go back and guard the Doritos, alluding her previous stint as a security executive at PepsiCo before starting her job at the helms of the agency in September 2022. At the end, the July 22, 2024, testimony was a grueling question and enough berating of the Director Kimberly Cheatle for the security failure on July 13, 2024 when an assassin's bullet pierced Trump's right ear at a Pennsylvania rally. At the end of hours-long hearing on July 22, 2024, it became clear that the chief of the U.S. Secret Service had lost the confidence of Democrats and Republicans alike.
Secret Service Director Resigns
A day after a brutal grilling and berating by Republicans and, although on a milder scale, by Democrats at a House panel hearing, it was too much for U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to carry on with the sacred duty of protecting presidents, former presidents and other high-profile public figures after taking personal responsibility for the July 13, 2024, security failure related to the assassination attempt against Former President Donald Trump at a Pennsylvania rally where the would-be assassin was within 157 yards from the stage where Trump was delivering speech, eventually leading to the much anticipated resignation on July 23, 2024.
Acting Director of Secret Service Expresses "Shame" over Security Failure
On July 30, 2024, U.S. Secret Service Acting Director Ronald Rowe Jr. and FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate testified at a Congressional hearing over the security failure at Trump's July 13, 2024, Pennsylvania rally. Rowe said that the significant security failure on that fateful day made him ashamed. Abbate told the lawmakers that the gunman's 2019 social media posts included anti-migrant and antisemitic statements.
Acting Director Publishes the Inquiry Report that Cites Several Failures
Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe Jr. on September 20, 2024 said that the agency would draw lessons from multiple failures that had happened in the run-up to July 13, 2024, assassination attempt on Former President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania. The internal report was a five-page summarized version made public on September 20, 2024 after more than two months of investigation launched by the Secret Service in the aftermath of July 13, 2024, assassination attempt.
Independent Panel Recommends Bringing Outsiders to Lead Secret Services
A four-member independent inquiry panel appointed by President Joe Biden in the aftermath of an attempt on Former President Donald Trump's life at a July 13, 2024, rally in Butler, Pennsylvania issued its scathing report on October 17, 2024, calling for replacing the current leadership of the U.S. Secret Service by a one brought from the outside. The four-member bipartisan panel includes Janet Napolitano, DHS secretary under Obama administration; Frances Townsend, a national security official under Bush administration; David Mitchell, a former state law enforcement official in Maryland and Delaware; and Mark Philip, a deputy attorney general under Bush administration.
The report also calls for the agency's Investigative Division that investigates counterfeiting and other financial crimes to be brought under the Office of the Protective Operations. The report calls for the most sweeping changes to an agency founded in 1865 under the Department of Treasury to fight counterfeiting and other financial crimes, but later took over the responsibility of protecting the presidents and other high value public officials after Congress has asked to do so in 1901 after the assassination of President William McKinley.
Final Report Sent to Congress from Internal Inquiry
The final, unclassified version of the internal inquiry report, dubbed as the "Mission Assurance" report, is final and being sent to Congress and other agencies, according to the November 2, 2024, edition of The Dallas Morning News. The set of 11 reforms instituted by the U.S. Secret Service in the aftermath of the July 13, 2024, assassination attempt on Former President Donald Trump's life at a campaign event in Butler, Pennsylvania are listed in the final report, but no one has been fired yet, raising eyebrows among security analysts and possibly many lawmakers.
******************** TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT
**************** REPUBLICAN PARTY CONVENTION (July 15-18, 2024) AT MILWAUKEE
Trump Becomes Official Nominee, Picks Ohio Senator Vance as Running Mate
On the first day of the convention, July 15, 2024, presumptive nominee Former President Donald Trump received the mandate from the convention delegates to win the Republican Party's nomination for presidency. Trump picked Ohio Senator J.D. Vance as his vice presidential nominee.
Day 2 Theme Security: Speakers Conflate Migration with Crimes
Speaker after speaker on July 16, 2024, second day of the Republican Convention at Milwaukee, spoke, without any evidence, of the peril of undocumented immigrants in the U.S. and linked their presence to rising crimes. Nobody could propagate that untruth better than Sen. Ted Cruz. Taking the stage on the second day, he rued that he had spent in living rooms of many victims who had been killed by illegal immigrants. GOP critics have pointed out that the legal immigrants and natives are more likely to commit crime than illegal immigrants.
Vance Accepts Party's VP Nomination, Tells His Story of Rust Belt's Hardscrabble Life
U.S. Senator J.D. Vance on July 17, 2024 accepted Vice Presidential nomination of the Republican Party. Senator Vance, in a prime-time address, gave a touching journey of his upbringing in Ohio impacted by poverty and drug. The nomination completes a full cycle of a former "Never Trumper" who has once called the top of the ticket "America's Hitler" and proudly stated that he has not voted for Trump in 2016 election, instead choosing a third candidate.
Trump Shows the Party is His
Former President Donald Trump on the penultimate day of the Republican Party convention on July 18, 2024 accepted the party's nomination for the U.S. presidency for the third time. In a 92-minute speech, Former President Trump displayed somewhat a softened rhetoric and proved that he had complete control over the Regan's party. The Republican convention also showed tremendous display of party unity. Trump said that "I'm not supposed to be here today", alluding to the assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania five days ago. He also invoked the age-old saying of what made the Republic strong, resilient and vibrant: "We are one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all".
The key issues speakers and party platform emphasized on during four-day convention included border crisis and immigration, crimes and safety, national security and inflation.
**************** REPUBLICAN PARTY CONVENTION (July 15-18, 2024) AT MILWAUKEE
************************************ REPUBLICAN PRIMARY **********************
Democrats Upend the Primary Schedule
The long-held tradition of Iowa Caucuses to launch the presidential nomination is being thrown out by the DNC's rule-making arm in favor of giving more voice to the party's core constituency: African Americans. In 2024, the primary season will begin with South Carolina, according to the decision taken by the Democratic Party's rule-making committee on December 2, 2022. On December 1, 2022, President Joe Biden asked in a letter for the revamp of the party's primary calendar to better represent the say of party's core constituencies. Now, the recommendation of the party's rule-making panel goes to DNC which usually follows the recommendation. The recommendation throws away the position and stature of Iowa as a catapult to the race for the White House since 1972, followed by the first-in-the-nation primary state that New Hampshire had held since 1920.
Democrats Upends the Primary Calendar
DNC ratifies the changed calendars of 2024 Primary schedule on February 4, 2023 at a meeting in Philadelphia.
Biden Officially Announces that He is Seeking Re-election
In a little over three minutes of video, President Joe Biden on April 25, 2023 launched his re-election campaign, thus cementing his legacy as the oldest incumbent to seek reelection. President Joe Biden, who ran in 2020 Presidential Election on the plank of healing the "soul of America", asked Americans to give him another term to "finish the job". Biden named Julie Chavez Rodriguez as his campaign manager.
Dean Phillips Challenges Biden
Minnesota Rep. Dean Phillips announced on October 27, 2023 at the New Hampshire statehouse that he would challenge President Joe Biden for the Democratic Party's ticket for president.
Colorado Case Heard at the State Supreme Court
Colorado Supreme Court on December 6, 2023 heard on whether Donald Trump could be struck down from running the 2024 Presidential Election in the state under the Section 3 of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Justices had plenty of questions for the both sides. Section 3 calls for prohibiting insurrectionists from running in Senate and House races as well as from becoming President and Vice President electors, but there is no specific stipulation barring them from running as a presidential candidate.
**************************** TRUMP DISBARMENT IN COLORADO ******************
Colorado Supreme Court Eliminates Trump from Colorado Ballot
In a setback to Former President Donald Trump and in an unprecedented development that has never happened before, Colorado Supreme Court on December 19, 2023 has removed Donald Trump from the 2024 ballot. The verdict was 4-3. The court, alluding Trump's role in encouraging insurrection, ruled that the former president had violated his oath of office under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment.
A lower court judge, Judge Sarah B. Wallace, ruled in November 2023 that Trump had engaged in insurrection on January 6, 2021, but retained him in the state's ballot as the Section 3 might not explicitly apply to the presidency. The suit was filed by six Republican and Independent voters of Colorado. The language in the Section 3 is confusing too as it pertains to "officers of the United States" who take an oath to support the Constitution. Trump's attorneys successfully persuaded the judge that the president is not an officer of the United States.
The Colorado Supreme Court has stayed on its order until January 4, 2024, or when the U.S. Supreme Court will rule on this case, whichever date comes earlier. Trump team is running short of time as Colorado will begin printing the primary ballots on January 5, 2024.
Trump's attorneys filed an emergency appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court on January 3, 2024.
Justices to Hold Hearing Before Super Tuesday
The U.S. Supreme Court is for the first time to hear a case related to the 14th Amendment of the Constitution. The 1868 Amendment is never tested by the nation's apex court, but the January 5, 2024, decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to take the case for a February 8, 2024, hearing will insert the justices into the vortex of presidential politics in the heat of an election season unlike anything seen before. Pending the final outcome, though, the Colorado Supreme Court's December 19, 2023, verdict is put abeyance.
U.S. Supreme Court Overturns Colorado Supreme Court Verdict
In an unsigned, 13-page verdict, the U.S. Supreme Court on March 4, 2024 tossed out Colorado Supreme Court's decision to disbar Former President Donald Trump from running for presidency. The apex court opined that it would be contrary to the constitution if some states allowed Trump to run for the presidential election, while the others barred the former president.
**************************** TRUMP DISBARMENT IN COLORADO ******************
Michigan Supreme Court Lets Trump Stay in the State's Ballot
Michigan Supreme Court on December 27, 2023 ruled that Former President Donald Trump could stay in the state's ballot for Primary, thus upholding the lower courts' rulings.
Maine Secretary of State Removes Trump from State's Primary Ballot
Foreshadowing another litigious battle, Trump campaign is gearing up to file a lawsuit after Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows on December 28, 2023 has announced to remove the former president from the state's primary ballot on the Constitution's insurrection clause. Bellows' directive is on hold pending the process shaken through the court system.
Trump's attorneys filed an appeal against Secretary Bellows' directive to the Maine Supreme Court on January 2, 2024.
Austin Democrat First to Call Biden to Step aside after Debate Fiasco
The poor debate performance by President Joe Biden against Former President Donald Trump in the CNN-moderated June 27, 2024, televised debate led to calls from various Democratic quarters for Biden to drop out of the race. On July 2, 2024, Rep. Lloyd Doggett became the first Democratic lawmaker to flirt with the ideas of replacing Biden as the standard bearer of the Democratic Party in the 2024 election as he pleaded the president in a public statement to step aside to spare the nation from a "criminal", alluding Trump, who had been convicted on 34 felony counts.
Schiff's Prominence Makes His Call for Biden to Step aside all the more Compelling
Rep. Adam Schiff on July 17, 2024 became the most prominent House member of the party calling for President Joe Biden to quit presidential race and pass the torch.
Four Dem Lawmakers Latest to Call for Biden to Step Aside
Since July 2, 2024 when Austin Democratic Rep. Lloyd Doggett first called for President Joe Biden to pass the torch to someone else, a drumbeat of chorus was raised for Biden to quit the race, increasing to at least 30 as of the last count. The latest call emerged from a quartet of House Democratic lawmakers who had issued a joint statement on July 19, 2024, requesting President Biden to step aside from the reelection bid. The quartet includes Rep. Marc Veasey of Fort Worth, Rep. Chuy Garcia of Illinois, Rep. Jared Huffman of California, and Rep. Mark Pocan of Wisconsin, respectively.
President Biden Quits from Presidential Race, Endorses Harris
In a seismic political event that had only one historic precedent in the last half a century--but not so late in the presidential election cycle--when then-incumbent President L.B. Johnson in March 1968 announced that he would not seek reelection, President Joe Biden, who was convalescing from COVID-19 at his Delaware beach house, informed the nation on a social media post on July 21, 2024 that he was bowing out of the race, driving the 2024 presidential election to a state of uncertainty and chaos. President Biden, saying his decision in 2020 to pick Kamala Harris as his running mate the best decision of his long political life, endorsed his vice president as the Democratic Party's new nominee in a separate post on X. Vice President Kamala Harris dubbed Biden's decision as "selfless and patriotic". She also vowed to earn and win the party's nomination. No sooner had the political earthquake felt across the nation and beyond than the political scrambling underwent on the full swing on the both sides of the political aisle.
Harris Shows Fundraising Prowess, Volunteer Excitement
On July 23, 2024, the election landscape is taking further shape and going through some significant shake-out. Vice President Kamala Harris has won endorsement from key Democratic leaders, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffress. Harris raised $100 million in the 24 hours since Biden dropped out and 58,000 new volunteers had signed for her campaign, a strong sign of voter enthusiasm.
Biden Addresses the Nation, Talks about Passing the Torch to Younger Generation
Three days after declaring on the social media, President Joe Biden addressed the nation from the Oval Office on July 24, 2024 to explain to the American people in an 11-minute address why he had dropped out of the presidential race. Biden said that he had revered the Presidency, but it's time to pass the torch to very capable and younger Vice President Kamala Harris as standard bearer of the party.
In 1972, Biden has joined the U.S. Senate at the age of 29, becoming sixth-youngest Senator, and will retire from the public service in January 2025 as the oldest U.S. President at the age of 82. President Biden is only seventh U.S. president not to seek reelection, joining the club that included the nearest past President L.B. Johnson who has announced in a national address on March 31, 1968 not to seek reelection. Other five presidents who have not sought reelection are: James Polk, James Buchanan, Rutherford B. Hayes, Calvin Coolidge and Harry Truman.
******************************* PROJECT 2025 ************************************
Key Architect of Project 2025 Steps down
On July 30, 2024, the director of Project 2025, a roadmap for extreme right and conservative ideas to be implemented by future Republican administration, stepped down from the Heritage Foundation. Before authoring the Project 2025 at the Heritage Foundation, Paul Dans served in the Trump administration as the chief of staff of the Office of Personnel Management. Heritage Foundation Kevin Roberts lauded [Heritage Foundation] Director Dans' role in giving structure and strategy to the conservative playbook, Project 2025. President Kevin Roberts reiterated that the Project 2025 remained relevant and continued to act as a roadmap for the future Republican administration. Two senior Trump campaign advisers, Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles, lauded the departure of Paul Dans as they stressed that Trump had nothing to do with Project 2025.
******************************* PROJECT 2025 ************************************
Trump Insults Harris at NABJ Conference
In an opportunity that was billed as one of the best reach-outs to Black voters and seek their support, Former President Donald Trump managed to accomplish just the opposite. Republican Party's presidential candidate Donald Trump appeared at the National Association of Black Journalists, NABJ, convention at Chicago on July 31, 2024, but the Q&A session moderated by Harris Faulkner of Fox News, Kadia Goba from Semafor and Rachel Scott from the ABC went awry from the get-go, with a question from Rachel Scott whether the former president would encourage his followers to stop labeling Vice President Kamala Harris as a DEI hire had led to an acrimonious response that conflated the vice president's Indian heritage with her Black identity.
Harris Receives Support from Enough Delegates, DNC Says
Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison on August 2, 2024 announced that Vice President Kamala Harris had clinched the presidential nomination of the Democratic Party by receiving support from enough party delegates, creating history for a woman of color to head the ticket of a major political party.
Harris Chooses Minnesota Governor Tim Walz Her Running Mate
Vice President Kamala Harris on August 6, 2024 completed the Democratic ticket by naming Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate. Democratic duo then addressed a revved-up and raucous crowd at Philadelphia.
Trump Campaign Acknowledges being Hacked
Microsoft on August 9, 2024 reported an Iranian [not explicit whether government sponsored] hacking in June 2024 that targeted a "high ranking official" of a presidential campaign. On August 10, 2024, Trump campaign acknowledged that it had been hacked. The documents leaked to the media were related to a trove of information pertaining to the internal vetting process for vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance, including concerns candidly expressed by campaign officials.
Harris Unveils Populist Economic Agenda
Hours before Vice President Kamala Harris addressed a partisan crowd in North Carolina to tout what would be her administration's economic agenda, Harris-Walz Campaign made it public on August 16, 2024 with pertinent details. Reflecting the influence of progressives in shaping up her agenda, the package calls for:
* Waiving medical debt for millions of Americans
* Banning grocery "price-gouging"
* $25,000 subsidy for the first-time homebuyers
* $6,000 child tax credit per child during the first year of the child
********************* DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION **********************
DAY 1 (August 19, 2024) : Chicago Readies for Democratic Political Jamboree, Protests
Democratic National Convention is being held in Chicago August 19-22, 2024 in Chicago. The main venue is the United Center. On August 19, 2024, President Joe Biden was received with prolonged claps, applauses and screams of "Thank You Joe". President Biden gave probably his last significant public political speech, drawing the curtain of his decades-old public service that had taken him to the pinnacle of political power. Vice President Kamala Harris made a surprise visit to thank Joe Biden.
Earlier, Former First Lady Hillary Clinton skewered Donald Trump and expressed gratitude to Joe Biden for passing the generational baton to Kamala Harris.
Outside, thousands of protesters marched, rallied and raised voices to demand an immediate cease-fire in Gaza and stopping supplying weapons to Israel.
Texan Rep. Jasmine Crockett, who became famous for skewering Republican Rep. Marjory Green Taylor with a six-word alliteration--bleach-bond, bad-built butch body--after being mocked for her eyelash by the Georgia lawmaker, gave an exhilarating and exhortative speech on Day 1.
Amanda Zurawski and Josh Zurawski appeared on the convention hall and addressed the convention-goers on why people should vote for Vice President Kamala Harris to restore and protect reproductive access. Amanda Zurawski was the lead plaintiff against the state of Texas on the Lone Star State's all but total abortion ban.
Day 2 (August 20, 2024): Symbolic Roll Call Pushes Harris over the Finish Line
On August 20, 2024, a raucous and celebratory United Center was filled in joy as states confirmed their approval for Harris as the Democrats' choice for president. The key attractions on the second day was the Democratic power couple Barack and Michelle Obama.
Day 3 (August 21, 2024): Walz Accepts Vice Presidential Nomination
Inspiring a packed United Center arena in Chicago, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz brought energy and enthusiasm during his acceptance speech on August 21, 2024, disseminating inspiration among the crowd with his pep-talk-style, coach-like address that had led to prolonged applauses and more frequent standing ovations. On the day three, the Democratic National Convention saw two other big names: Oprah Winfrey and Former President Bill Clinton.
Day 4 (August 22, 2024): Harris Mixes Aspiration with Admonishment during Acceptance Speech
Accepting her party's nomination for the historic run for the presidency, Vice President Kamala Harris, greeted wildly by a packed United Center auditorium, on August 22, 2024 blended her compelling biography with her political trajectory as District Attorney, Attorney-General, Senator and Vice President. She told the audience that he had only one client in her life. That's people. On the other hand, she added, Donald Trump had only one client too. It's Donald Trump himself. Accepting the party's nomination, Vice President Harris promised that she would strengthen America's international alliances, embolden NATO, make America's defense forces the most lethal and look out for the interests of American people. With the Democratic National Convention coming to a close, the party had seen its fortune from the state of being morose and dejected to the one with an uplifting and joyful message.
********************* DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION **********************
Robert Kennedy Suspends Campaign in Battleground States, Endorse Trump
Infirm from the very beginning in connecting with voters, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. chose the path predicted by many political experts. On August 23, 2024, the independent candidate announced that he would only stay on ballots in Red and Blue states, but withdraw from all battleground states to give Former President Donald Trump a pathway for victory. Later in the day, Kennedy endorsed Trump.
****************** SECOND ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT ON TRUMP ******************
Alleged Gunman Nabbed in Second Trump Assassination Attempt
As Former President Donald Trump was playing golf at the Trump International Golf Club in Palm Beach, Secret Service agents saw the muzzle of a gun protruding out of the shrubbery, leading to firing. The alleged gunman fled, leaving behind a firearm, a backpack and few personal belonging. A little later, the alleged gunman, Ryan Routh,58, was detained in the adjoining Martin County. The September 15, 2024, assassination attempt came two months after a bullet grazed Trump's ear during a campaign rally at Butler, Pennsylvania.
Would-be Gunman Remanded in Custody as More Information on Gunman Emerges
Ryan Wesley Routh was ordered jailed on September 16, 2024 as prosecutors argued that he was a flight risk. According to media reports, Ryan Wesley Routh was waiting for several hours behind the tree line of the golf course. As Former President Donald Trump on September 15, 2024 was playing about 400 yards away, a Secret Service agent saw a gun protruding from the shrubbery and the agent opened fire towards the direction of gun's muzzle. Routh fled the scene, leaving behind a digital camera, a loaded SKS-style rifle with a scope and a plastic bag containing food. Ryan Wesley Routh was arrested in the neighboring Martin County. Authorities said that he didn't fire any shot. He has been preliminarily slapped with two charges--first charge relates to illegally possessing a firearm despite two prior criminal charges related to stolen goods in 2002 in North Carolina and the second charge concerns with obliterating the serial number of a gun, a federal felony.
Trump on September 16, 2024 blamed President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for explosive rhetoric leading to people trying to kill him. Both President Biden and Harris said unequivocally that violence had no place in the U.S.
Justice Attorneys to Add More Charges against Routh
The U.S. Department of Justice on September 23, 2024 asked a federal judge, U.S. District Judge Ryon McCabe, to reject bail on the ground that the alleged gunman was a flight risk. The Justice lawyers are likely to add more charges against Ryan Wesley Routh as the alleged gunman left behind notes that described in great details a convoluted plan to kill Former President Donald Trump. Routh left the notes and other items in a box that was delivered to another person who had contacted the authorities. The DOJ attorneys didn't divulge the identity of the person who had contacted authorities on the box. In addition, Ryan Wesley Routh left in his car a detailed note on venues and time of Trump's appearances in August, September and October.
Three Additional Charges Added, including Assassination Attempt
Federal prosecutors on September 24, 2024 slapped the potential Trump assassin, Ryan Wesley Routh, with three additional counts: (1) assassination attempt, (2) assaulting a federal officer, and (3) possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. Earlier, he had been charged with two firearm-related counts. Now, Ryan Wesley Routh faces a total of five counts and his case has been assigned to the court of U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon.
Judge Delays Trial Date
On December 23, 2024, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon pushed the beginning of the trial of the Trump murder suspect Ryan Wesley Routh from February 10, 2025 to September 2025. Defense attorneys pleaded the judge to begin the trial no earlier than December 2025 as they would have to pore through voluminous document and assess the merit of their client's defense on the ground of insanity.
****************** SECOND ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT ON TRUMP ******************
Teamsters not to Endorse any Candidate
On September 18, 2024, International Brotherhood of Teamsters announced that the union wouldn't endorse any candidate in 2024 Presidential Election. Teamsters President Sean O'Brien said that the internal polling had found that majority of the union members supporting Donald Trump, a forte of the former president to win support from Blue Collar Whites.
Democratic Candidate Kamala Harris' campaign spokeswoman Lauren Hitt noted that several retired Teamsters had addressed the Democratic Convention in Chicago last month and it was because of Biden-Harris administration that had enacted the Butch Lewis Act of 2021 to strengthen the worker pension plan.
Trump's, Harris' Economic Plans to Add Debt, Panel Reports
A 34-page report issued by Committee for Responsible Federal Budget, a nonpartisan panel, on October 7, 2024 said that Vice President Kamala Harris' economic plan would add $3.5 trillion over the next decade to an already ballooning national debt of $28 trillion. The same report pegged the Trump plan's economic cost at an additional net increase in national debt in the range of $7.5 trillion to $15.2 trillion over the next decade.
Texas, Missouri File Lawsuits against DOJ Poll Monitors
On November 1, 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that it would send federal election monitors to 86 jurisdictions in 27 states, including Maricopa County, eight counties in Texas, including Dallas and Harris, and Portage County, Ohio, where local sheriff had threatened to send undocumented immigrants to the houses with Harris-Walz yard signs if Harris won the election.
On November 4, 2024, Texas Attorney-General Ken Paxton filed a suit seeking a temporary restraint order, or TRO, against the U.S. DOJ, explaining that only 15 categories of election volunteers and personnel were permitted within polling stations in Texas. On November 4, 2024, the Missouri secretary of state filed a similar lawsuit too.
Biden Admonishes the Nation against "Techno Industrial Complex" in His Farewell Address
President Joe Biden is closing in on drawing the curtain of his five-decade public service as he is readying to hand over the mantle to Donald Trump on January 20, 2025. On January 15, 2025, he wrote an open letter to American people, and followed up with a nationwide address from the Oval Office in the evening. In the open letter, he thanked American people for the "love and support" that they had showered on him. Extolling the uniqueness of America and its potential, he added that "nowhere else on Earth could a kid with a stutter from modest beginnings in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and Claymont, Delaware, one day sit behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office as the President of the United States".
Later in the evening addressing the American people, Joe Biden warned against a new kind of oligarchy shaping up in the U.S. Drawing a parallel to Dwight Eisenhower's farewell speech in which the 34th President had warned the Americans about the "military industrial complex", Biden similarly warned on "techno industrial complex" that might entail to "dangerous consequences" if unchecked.
Trump Pardons Roughly 1,500 Jan 6 Convicts
After taking the oath of the office, President Donald Trump on the very first day (January 20, 2025) signed a wave of 100, or so, Executive Orders, many of them targeting to reverse the Biden-era rules, that included:
* Pardoning about 1,500 January 6, 2021, insurrectionists
* Withdrawing the U.S. from Paris Climate Treaty
* Rescinding the Biden administration's January 14, 2025, action that had lifted the designation of terrorism sponsor from Cuba
* Ending birthright citizenship (the EO is titled "Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship") for the children born to foreign parents who are without authorization in the U.S., or on temporary visas, student visas, or tourist visas
* Suspending the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program
* Providing leeway to agents to conduct immigration raids at or near schools and churches
* Abrogating appointments made by asylum seekers using CBP One App
Hours before leaving the White House, President Joe Biden preemptively issued pardons to five of his family members, Mark Milley, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Dr. Anthony Fauci and all January 6 committee members, including Liz Cheney.
***************** TRUMP E.O. TO END BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP ******************
Multiple Lawsuits Filed against Trump's E.O. to End Birthright Citizenship
Several states and organizations filed suits on January 21, 2025 against President Donald Trump's Executive Order titled "Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship". A coalition of 19 states, including New York, New Jersey and California, filed a lawsuit at Massachusetts. The City of San Francisco and the District of Columbia joined the suit too.
Another group of states--Oregon, Arizona, Illinois and Washington--filed a separate lawsuit challenging the Trump E.O. in Seattle. The American Civil Liberties Union and Lawyers for Civil Rights filed separate lawsuits in New Hampshire and Massachusetts, respectively. The Executive Order will go into effect on February 19, 2025.
However, the U.S. Constitution is very clear on birthright citizenship. The 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution passed by the U.S. Congress in 1868 says that "all people born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are the citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside".
Seattle Judge Suspends Trump's Birthright Citizenship EO
U.S. District Judge John Coughenour, a Ronald Reagan appointee, on January 23, 2025 temporarily blocked President Donald Trump's Executive Order to end birthright citizenship, issuing a scathing verdict that had called Trump's E.O. as blatantly unconstitutional. The 14-day nationwide injunction will be appealed by the Department of Justice.
A Maryland Federal Judge Blocks Trump's Birthright Citizenship Executive Order
U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman of the District of Maryland on February 5, 2025 blocked Trump's Executive Order that banned birthright citizenship for the children of undocumented parents or parents with temporary U.S. visas.
Judge Blocks the Birthright Citizenship E.O.
A second federal judge in as many days blocked the birthright citizenship executive order signed by President Donald Trump. On February 6, 2025, U.S. District Judge John Coughenour issued the TRO relief to the plaintiff for the duration of the lawsuit.
Trump Administration Files an Emergency Appeal to Supreme Court after Lower Court Rebuffs
After three district courts in Maryland, Washington and Massachusetts as well as three appeals courts in the aforementioned states tossed Trump's Executive Order banning birthright citizenship for children born after February 19, 2025 to undocumented parents, Trump administration on March 13, 2025 filed an emergency appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court to withdraw, at least, a national blockade of the administration's controversial EO.
***************** TRUMP E.O. TO END BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP ******************
**************** KENNEDY ASSASSINATION FILE DISCLOSURE E.O. ****************
Trump Signs Executive Order for the Full Release of Kennedy Assassination Files
President Donald Trump on January 23, 2025 signed an Executive Order, instructing the Director of National Intelligence and Attorney-General to release all the files and records related to John F. Kennedy assassination fully and completely. FBI stated that it would work to hand over all the records to National Archives and Records Administration.
However, the E.O. is too tempting for conspiracy-hungry Conservative leaders of the U.S. House of Representatives to pass. Not to be outdone and outsmarted by the administration, the legislative branch got into its own hyper-investigative mode on government secrecy and classified information, leading the House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, R-Kentucky, to form a task force, Task Force on the Declassification of the Federal Secrets, to investigate not only all the records pertaining to Kennedy assassination, but other classified information under the possession of the federal agencies such as information related to COVID-19 and Epstein case. The Dallas Morning News reported on February 27, 2025 that the task force head, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Florida, would like to visit Dallas and talk to one of the doctors, who had attended President John F. Kennedy at Parkland Memorial Hospital after the president had been shot in 1963, now in 90s, in the run up to the task force's March 26, 2025, hearing in Washington D.C.
**************** KENNEDY ASSASSINATION FILE DISCLOSURE E.O. ****************
Repercussion of Trump's Executive Orders: CDC Asked to Stop Working with WHO
On January 26, 2025 night (Sunday), a high-ranking official of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, John Nkengasong, sent a memo, asking the agency scientists and officials to immediately stop working with World Health Organization. President Donald Trump signed an executive order during his infancy days of administration withdrawing the U.S. from the WHO. However, the withdrawal process is more convoluted as it requires a year-advance notification, financial dues for the current year to be fully paid and Congressional approval. Another Presidential Executive Order bars CDC's public communication. Barring the CDC from communicating to public and collaborating with WHO will set back a rigorous process of identifying global spread of infection of MPOX, avian flu and other diseases as well as the transparency in communication cadence with broader public, undermining the the fabric and foundation of public health.
********************** PAUSE TO FEDERAL GRANTS AND LOANS *******************
OMB Memo to Pause Federal Grants and Loans Blocked by Federal Judge
The entire world of charitable organizations and programs such as the Meals on Wheels, Food Pantries and school lunch programs was upside down on January 28, 2025 after the U.S. Office of Management and Budget Director Matthew Vaeth told various federal departments in a memo disseminated on January 27, 2025 that there would be a pause to federal grants and loans in order to carry out a "comprehensive analysis of all of our Federal financial assistance programs, projects, and activities" targeted by President Donald Trump's Executive Orders to whittle out "Marxist equity, transgenderism, and green new deal" programs. The pause to federal grants and loans, with a total spending tag of north of a $1 trillion, were to go into effect at 4PM on January 28, 2025.
Right before the OMB pause to federal grants and loans were to go into effect, U.S. District Judge Loren Ali Khan suspended the OMB pause. The suspension will stay in place through February 3, 2025. Democrats are aghast at the Trump administration and rebuked its unconstitutional action as the spending authorization lied in Congress. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that none of the individual assistance programs such as social security, Medicare, Medicaid and Food Stamp was put on pause.
Some of the programs impacted by the OMB action include:
* Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvement grant program
* Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail grant program
OMB Rescinds the Federal Grants and Loans Suspension Memo
White House's Office of Management and Budget on January 29, 2025 rescinded the memo distributed on January 27, 2025 among the federal agencies suspending the trillions of dollars in federal grants and loans. The original memo, which asked various agencies to respond by February 7, 2025 to a set of questions related to the DEI programs with YES/NO options, created serious confusion and chaos in the Capitol, state Capitols and the Beltway.
********************** PAUSE TO FEDERAL GRANTS AND LOANS *******************
**************** TRUMP'S E.O. TARGETING TRANSGENDER PEOPLE ****************
Trump's EO Targets Transgender Care
In another attack on the rights of transgender community, President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order on January 28, 2025, limiting the federal insurance to cover the sex-transition treatment for transgender people younger than 19. President Trump's latest E.O. doubles down his attack on the LGBTQ community. Assuming presidency for the second term, one of plethora of E.O.s that he had signed was geared towards streamlining the sex classification for federal employees into two categories: male or female. Trump's January 28, 2025, E.O. will impact among others, federal Tricare insurance for the military.
Trump's January 28, 2025, E.O. doubles down on the administration's fight against transgender people and has come eight days after another E.O. signed by the president on January 20, 2025 that has explicitly stated that there are only two sexes: Male and Female.
Judge Extends TRO Relief
A federal judge on February 14, 2025 temporarily blocked Trump's January 28, 2025, Executive Order banning sex-transition treatment for minors younger than 19. Washington, Minnesota and Oregon were the initial plaintiffs, with Colorado joining later. As the two-week reprieve became near, there was restive mood among the LGBTQ community members. On February 28, 2025, U.S. District Judge Lauren King of Seattle extended her Valentine's Day's Temporary Restraining Order, or TRO, because Trump's January 28, 2025, "Order denies the very existence of transgender people and instead seeks to erase them from the federal vocabulary". A day earlier, a second federal judge in Maryland, U.S. District Judge Brendan Hurson, blocked, this time nationwide, a pair of President Donald Trump's Executive Orders: (1) Trump's January 20, 2025, E.O. explicitly stating only two sexes: Male and Female; and (2) Trump's January 28, 2025, E.O. that banned federal funding for "so-called 'transition' of a child from one sex to another" through sex-transition treatments such as puberty blockers, hormone therapies and gender-affirming surgeries.
Judge Extends TRO Relief Nationwide
As his first injunction was set to expire on March 5, 2025, U.S. District Judge Brendan Hurson on March 4, 2025 extended his preliminary injunction, paving the way for nationwide resumption of transgender care. Judge Hurson opined that the plaintiffs were likely to prevail in the case--filed by Lambda Legal and ACLU last month on behalf of transgender minors, their parents and LGBTQ advocacy groups PFLAG and GLMA--as President Trump's Executive Order had overstepped the presidential authority.
**************** TRUMP'S E.O. TARGETING TRANSGENDER PEOPLE ****************
Rubio Walks back on Programs such as PEPFAR
Last week, President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order suspending all foreign financial assistance for 90 days to conduct reviews of such programs. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on January 24, 2025 signed a memo, halting all foreign aid except military assistance overseen by the State Department to Egypt and Israel. On January 28, 2025, Rubio issued a second memo, providing waiver to humanitarian assistance that included "core lifesaving medicine, medical services, food, shelter, and subsistence assistance, as well as supplies and reasonable administrative costs as necessary to deliver such assistance". Among the waiver programs, which are part of $60 billion foreign assistance budget, is the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR, a successful AIDS/HIV mitigation program launched by President George W. Bush in 2003, that had saved 26 million lives, including 7.8 million babies born HIV-free, over the past two decades.
Trump Signs Presidential Memo to Send Undocumented Migrant Criminals to Guantanamo Bay
President Donald Trump on the same day that he signed Laken Riley Act signed a Presidential Memorandum to send hard-core undocumented migrants to Guantanamo Bay. Rights groups decried Trump's January 29, 2025, memorandum.
Trump Bans Transgender Sports Participation if not Aligned with Gender at Birth
After becoming president, Donald Trump targeted transgender community with several executive orders. The latest is "Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports", which he has signed on February 5, 2025 with much fanfare at the Oval Office in the midst of scores of girls athletes. President Donald Trump's February 5, 2025, executive order bans participation of transgender athletes in women's and girls' sports. Department of Education can target institutions for violating the Title IX if they allow transgender athletes to participate in women's sports.
Judge Gives Reprieve to Transgender Prisoners
Under assault from President Donald Trump's executive orders that required the U.S. Bureau of Prisons to transfer transgender federal prisoners from women's cells to men's cells, three plaintiffs filed a lawsuit against the presidential diktat, arguing fear that they would be subject to abuse, mistreatment and assault if the order were carried out. U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth on February 5, 2025 blocked the implementation of the presidential executive order to this effect.
************** DOGE: DEPARTMENT OF GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY ****************
****************** FEDERAL DEFERRED RESIGNATION PLAN
Judge Blocks Trump Admin's Deferred Resignation Offers to Federal Employees
Trump adviser Elon Musk, world's richest man, created the deferred resignation plan for hundreds of thousands of federal employees to accept the package and resign with a full payment through September 30, 2025. The court litigation ensued immediately. Trump administration gave federal employees until midnight February 7, 2025 to accept the deferred resignation package, or get fired. On February 6, 2025, a federal judge in Boston, U.S. District Judge George O'Toole Jr., instructed the Trump administration to extend the deadline until a hearing on February 10, 2025 without opining on the merit of the plan itself.
Judge Extends Hold
U.S. District Judge George O' Toole Jr. on February 10, 2025 extended the TRO relief until he had an opportunity for a hearing.
Judge Clears the Deferred Resignation Plan
On February 12, 2025, U.S. District Judge George O'Toole Jr. upheld Trump administration's so called deferred resignation plan, opining that the union that had brought the suit didn't have any legal standing. Everett Kelly, national president of American Federation of Government Employees, the union that brought the suit, said that although the judge's ruling was a setback, but the plaintiff lawyers were assessing the next options to uphold the dignity of American workers and protect from getting scammed by an unfunded IOU model. The White House said that thousands of federal workers already accepted the offer.
Large-scale Firings Begin
The New York Times, The Associated Press and other media outlets reported on February 14, 2025 that Trump administration had begun to carry out large-scale firings in federal agencies, including 9,000 people who were let go in the past several hours. Trump administration also said that about 75,000 federal employees already took the deferred resignation package, but the number was still below the administration's expectation. That necessitated firings of the federal workers.
On February 11, 2025, President Trump signed an Executive Order, instructing "large-scale reductions in force". The easy target for purge are the probationary employees, who are typically less than a year in the job. According to the data available from the Office of Personnel Management, the federal government's equivalent of the HR arm, as of March 2024, there were circa 220,000 probationary employees in the federal payroll. American Federation of Government Employees National President Everett Kelly complained that the Trump administration was abusing the probationary workers for no fault of theirs.
Elon Musk, the head of the Department of Government Efficiency, wants to go farther than many in the Trump administration. Addressing the World Governments Summit in Dubai via video, Trump's chief adviser on the federal employee reduction strategy, said that the entire agencies needed to be shut down, comparing them to the weeds which would grow back if not uprooted from their roots.
****************** FEDERAL DEFERRED RESIGNATION PLAN
*************** DOGE ACCESS TO TREASURY PAYMENT SYSTEM
Democratic States Sue DOGE to Block Access to Treasury Database with Private Information
19 Democratic state attorney generals on February 7, 2025 filed lawsuit against Trump administration to block people tied to Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, from accessing the Treasury Department records holding citizens' private information.
Judge Blocks DOGE Access to Treasury System
Acting on the certiorari filed by 19 Democratic Attorneys-General led by New York Attorney-General Letitia James, a federal judge in Manhattan, U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer, a Barack Obama appointee, on early February 8, 2025 blocked the [Department of Government Efficiency's] DOGE's access to the U.S. Treasury Department's vital systems as there was risk of the "disclosure of sensitive and confidential information" as well as the "systems in question will be more vulnerable to hacking", potentially compromising the private information of millions of people, or even worse.
OIG to Launch Audit of DOGE Access to Treasury's Sensitive Payment System
Department of Treasury's Office of Inspector General said on February 14, 2025 that it would launch an investigation into the security control of the department's payment system to ensure what Deputy Inspector-General Loren J. Sciurba described as an effort to enhance the "integrity of sensitive payment systems".
*************** DOGE ACCESS TO TREASURY PAYMENT SYSTEM
************** DOGE: DEPARTMENT OF GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY ****************
********************** U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
USAID: Judge Blocks Trump E.O. Impacting USAID
A federal judge on February 7, 2025 blocked a Trump Executive Order to whittle down the operation of the USAID, a six-decade-old international development program that was supported by both political parties and helped fund several programs in nations all around the world plagued by civil war, political unrest and natural disasters. U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, a Donald Trump appointee, sided with two federal employees unions that filed the case against Trump administration's plan to put 2,200 USAID employees on paid leave as the administration reviewed thorough bare all the existing programs. The critical programs that should still continue will be managed by a few hundred USAID employees with the help of some 5,500 local contractors.
Many of the impacted employees are now stationed in foreign nations and they have 30 days from February 7, 2025 to return to the U.S. at the government costs. Else, they will have to bear their own costs without a compelling exception carveout.
Trump Fires USAID Inspector-General after Ominous Report; Businesses File Lawsuit
USAID Inspector-General Paul Martin issued a scathing report on February 10, 2025 that the [Trump] administration's dismantling of the USAID would lead to lack of monitoring and oversight of $8.2 billion in unspent humanitarian aid, resulting in waste, fraud and falling in wrong hands because of shortfall of adequate resources on ground. The February 10, 2025, Inspector-General's report irked the Trump administration officials.
On February 11, 2025, Trump administration fired Martin.
A coalition of the U.S. businesses and other organizations on February 11, 2025 filed a lawsuit against Trump administration's dismantling of the USAID because of the unpaid invoices for the services already provided. The case was filed before U.S. District Judge Amir Ali.
Judge Orders Trump Administration to Resume USAID Funding
Responding to the filing by host of businesses and other entities, U.S. District Judge Amir Ali on February 13, 2025 blocked Trump administration's suspension of USAID funding and ordered the administration to resume funding.
Judge Grows Impatient over Trump Admin's non-Compliance with His Order
U.S. District Judge Amir Ali held a telephone hearing on February 25, 2025, berating U.S. DOJ attorneys for flouting his February 13, 2025, TRO relief and expressed anguish over lack of fund release. The federal judge, appointed by President Joe Biden, admonished U.S. DOJ lawyer Indranil Sur for not giving straight answers and also for State Secretary Marco Rubio's pause of $15.9 billion in foreign assistance announced five days after the judge had issued the TRO relief. Judge Ali gave Trump administration until 11:59PM February 26, 2025 to comply with his order and release the USAID funds.
The U.S. Court of Appeals didn't take the administration's appeal, leading to [the administration] submitting an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, which put a hold on lower court ruling until it heard the case. As Trump administration raced towards the 11:59PM timeline, the State Department circulated a memo on February 26, 2025, listing 90% of the projects to be cut off funding and eliminating a total of $60 billion in overall funding.
U.S. Supreme Court Tosses Trump's Funding Cuts for USAID
Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett joined three Liberal justices on March 5, 2025 to block Trump administration's cut in billions of dollars to the contractors and entities for managing, overseeing and performing work related to the U.S. Agency for International Development projects throughout the world. U.S. Supreme Court sent the case to U.S. District Judge Amir Ali to consider a reasonable time window for the payment to resume.
Rubio Says All the Cuts in USAID Over
Trump administration's Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a post on X that all the cuts undertaken in the USAID were now over. The March 10, 2025, Rubio posting also thanked DOGE for finding efficiency and added that the remaining 18% of the programs, about 1,000 programs out of 6,200, would be transferred to the State Department.
********************** U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Eight Former IGs File Lawsuit against Mass Firings
Eight former inspector generals, recently fired by Trump administration, on February 12, 2025 filed lawsuit contesting the grounds upon which the administration had fired them. The departments with which IGs were associated with included State, Veteran Affairs, Defense, HHS, Education, Agriculture, Labor and Small Business Administration.
Judge Refuses to Restore AP over Gulf of America
After The Associated Press refused to call the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America as per President Donald Trump's Executive Order, the White House blocked the news agency from many of the White House events and press conferences. The Associated Press filed a lawsuit on February 21, 2025, alleging the violation of its First Amendment rights. The hearing took place on February 24, 2025, and the federal judge, U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden, declined to issue a TRO (Temporary Restraint Order) relief, but added that the Trump administration's action was uniformly "unhelpful".
*************************** REFUGEE ADMISSION PROGRAM **********************
Judge Blocks Trump's Suspension of Refugee Program
U.S. District Judge Jamal Whitehead of Seattle on February 25, 2025 blocked Trump administration's suspension of Refugee Admission Program, adding that the administration lacked authority to undermine a program mandated by the Congress.
Appeals Court Partially Lifts Lower Court Ban on Trump Refugee Admissions Program
A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on March 25, 2025 provided a lease of life to President Donald Trump's January 20, 2025, Executive Order that paused the so called Refugee Admissions Program for 90 days. The appeals court partially lifted the injunction imposed by U.S. District Judge Jamal Whitehead. The appeals court's rationale to lift the injunction was rooted in federal laws' workability that "exudes deference" to presidential authority.
However, the appeals court's three-judge panel was in unison with the lower court in relations to the refugees already processed prior to the January 20, 2025, Executive Order, instructing the Trump administration to let them and settle in the U.S.
*************************** REFUGEE ADMISSION PROGRAM **********************
Trump Signs Executive Order for Citizenship Proof for Federal Election Registration
Citing the need for protecting the integrity of the elections, President Donald Trump on March 25, 2025 signed an Executive Order, requiring proof of citizenship before registering for federal election. The E.O. requires all the ballots to be collected by the Election Day. The onerous burden that the E.O. will place on the communities of color, many critics say, is akin to imposing a fresh poll tax. The E.O. is sure to be challenged in the court.
Judge Orders Restoration of Legal Help to Unaccompanied Minors
U.S. District Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin of San Francisco on late April 1, 2025 issued a Temporary Restraining Order, or TRO, against Trump administration's March 21, 2025, termination of the existing contract with the Acacia Center for Justice, a hub of providing legal representation to undocumented, unaccompanied minors younger than 18 through a network of vendors and subcontractors. Eleven such subcontractors of Acacia filed the lawsuit that Judge Martinez-Olguin issued the verdict on in the late hours of April 1, 2025, providing the TRO relief to more than 26,000 undocumented, unaccompanied minors. The judge's TRO relief order restores the continuity, or status quo, in legal representation of the undocumented, unaccompanied minors through April 16, 2025.
The plaintiffs, which don't include Acacia Center for Justice, have argued that Trump administration's March 21, 2025, action has violated a 2008 anti-trafficking law, Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008. The defendant in this case is the U.S. Health and Human Services and its Office of Refugee Resettlement. The defendant argued that the government was trying to save money and it had renewed the contract with Acacia with the focus on legal "orientation" and hosting "know your rights" events that would still enable legal clinics to work on the cases of undocumented, unaccompanied minors on pro bono basis. The plaintiffs don't want the renewal of the contract that will dilute the engagement of legal representation cadence, instead strongly pleading for the status quo.
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