2020 Day 1153: Trump called on Congress "to go big" and approve a $1 trillion stimulus package to address the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic; the federal government postponed the April 15 tax payment deadline for 90 days; Trump claimed he "always viewed" coronavirus as a "pandemic long before it was called a pandemic" despite repeatedly minimizing and mocking concern about the threat it posed to Americans; at least 100 people in the U.S. have died from the coronavirus; and researchers concluded that “the only viable strategy at the current time" is to keep social distancing measures in place for at least three months. Mar 17, 2020
2021 Day 57: Biden discouraged potential migrants hoping to enter the United States, saying "don't come"; Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas testified that the U.S.-Mexico "border is secure and the border is not open"; the Biden administration limited what Border Patrol can share with the media about the migrant surge at border; 21 Republican state attorneys general threatened to take action against the Biden administration over $350 billion set aside under coronavirus stimulus relief to help cities, counties, and states pay for the cost of the pandemic; Senate Democrats introduced For the People Act, a comprehensive voting reform and anti-corruption bill; and Biden suggested that he supports reforming the filibuster after Mitch McConnell threatened to go “scorched earth” if Democrats move all legislation to a simple majority vote in the Senate. Mar 17, 2021
2022 Day 422: The House passed legislation to revoke Russia’s “most-favored-nation” trade status; Biden’s national security adviser warned Moscow that there would be unspecified "consequences and implications of any possible Russian decision to use chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine"; senior Biden health aides are concerned that Covid-19 cases could soon rise again as a more contagious Omicron subvariant has rapidly spread in Europe; a federal appeals court lifted a ban that blocked the federal government from accounting for the social cost of carbon when issuing new regulations; and Joe Manchin advised a conference of oil and gas executives that they should look for a “return on investment” when making campaign donations. Mar 17, 2022
2025 Day 1518: Trump signed a six-month government funding bill on Saturday, preventing a shutdown but exposing deep fractures among Democrats; Trump signed an executive order to dismantle seven federal agencies; Trump turned a Justice Department speech into a spectacle of grievance, attacking prosecutors as “scum” and vowing to "expose" his enemies, and “expel the rogue actors and corrupt forces” from government; Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to justify the rapid deportation of Venezuelan nationals accused of gang ties – an unprecedented move outside of wartime; U.S. District Judge James Boasberg blocked the deportations, but the Trump administration refused to comply; the Democratic Party’s favorability dropped to 27% while Trump’s approval rating hit 47%; and U.S. consumer sentiment fell 11% in March. Mar 17, 2025
2026 Day 1883: Trump said NATO “is making a very foolish mistake” by refusing to join the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran; Trump – twice – said that a former president told him he wished he'd been the one to attack Iran, but all four living former presidents denied talking to Trump about Iran; the top U.S. counterterrorism official resigned over the Iran war, saying Iran posed “no imminent threat"; the Senate voted 51-48 to open debate on the House-passed SAVE America Act; and the House Oversight Committee subpoenaed Attorney General Pam Bondi to appear for a closed-door deposition over the Justice Department’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein investigation and its compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act. Mar 17, 2026