December 19

Federal courts block Biden Title IX LGBTQ protections

US District Judge Danny C. Reeves of the Eastern District of Kentucky strikes down the Biden administration's 2024 Title IX regulations in their entirety, ruling that the new definition of sex discrimination to include gender identity conflicts with the plain meaning of "sex" in the 1972 law. The ruling covers six states, Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia, that had jointly sued. Earlier in 2024, the Supreme Court had also blocked the rules in states that had challenged them, declining to stay the lower courts' injunctions. The Biden administration's attempt to extend Title IX protections to LGBTQ students is effectively stopped by a wave of Republican state lawsuits and court rulings.

Georgia appeals court disqualifies Fani Willis from the Trump election case

A Georgia Court of Appeals ruled that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis must be disqualified from prosecuting Donald Trump and co-defendants in the Georgia election interference case. The court found her romantic relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade created an appearance of impropriety, effectively stalling the most advanced state-level criminal case against Trump.

Federal courts prepare for possible government shutdown

Federal courts announced how they would operate if Congress failed to fund the government by the December deadline. The notices showed how a shutdown can affect the judiciary differently from executive agencies, with courts using carryover funds and fees for a limited time.

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Jan. 6 committee releases final report refers Trump to DOJ on four criminal counts

The House Select Committee investigating January 6 releases its final report, 845 pages documenting its conclusion that Trump was the "central cause" of the January 6 attack, and makes an unprecedented criminal referral to the Department of Justice, recommending charges on four counts. These include incitement of insurrection, obstruction of an official proceeding, conspiracy to defraud the United States, and conspiracy to make false statements. It is the first time in U.S. history that a congressional committee has referred a former president for criminal prosecution. Special Counsel Jack Smith files corresponding charges eight months later.

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January 6 Committee releases final report recommending criminal charges against Trump

The House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack releases its final report, concluding that then-President Donald Trump committed multiple federal crimes in his efforts to overturn the 2020 election and incite the Capitol attack. The 845-page report recommends that the Justice Department pursue criminal charges against Trump for obstruction of an official proceeding, conspiracy to defraud the United States, and conspiracy to make false statements. The committee also refers four Republican members of Congress to the House Ethics Committee for potential sanction. The report details Trump's multi-part conspiracy to remain in power despite losing the election.

January 6 committee refers Trump to the DOJ on four criminal charges

The House Select Committee on January 6 voted to refer Donald Trump to the Department of Justice on four criminal charges: incitement of insurrection, obstruction of an official proceeding, conspiracy to defraud the United States, and conspiracy to make false statements. It was the first time Congress had referred a former president for criminal prosecution.

January 6 Committee refers Trump for criminal prosecution

The House January 6 Committee votes unanimously to refer former President Donald Trump to the Department of Justice for criminal prosecution on four charges: obstruction of an official proceeding, conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to make a false statement, and conspiracy to defraud the U.S. by assisting those involved in an insurrection. The committee also refers four Republican House members to the House Ethics Committee for refusing to comply with subpoenas.

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Manchin kills Build Back Better collapsing Biden climate and social spending agenda

Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) announces on Fox News Sunday that he will vote no on the Build Back Better Act, Biden's $1.75 trillion social safety net and climate package, citing concerns about inflation and adding to the national debt. His announcement collapses months of negotiations and kills Biden's most ambitious domestic agenda item. The bill would have funded universal pre-K, expanded Medicare to cover hearing, created new housing vouchers, and invested $555 billion in climate programs. Progressive Democrats express fury. Biden issues a statement expressing "disappointment." Many of BBB's individual provisions eventually pass piecemeal in the Inflation Reduction Act months later.

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Manchin kills Build Back Better universal pre-K paid family leave climate spending and childcare

Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) announces on Fox News that he will vote no on the Build Back Better Act, collapsing Biden's $1.75 trillion social spending plan. The bill had already passed the House 220-213. Manchin's opposition kills several provisions. These include universal pre-K for 3-4 year olds, 4 weeks of national paid family and medical leave (stripped earlier), expanded child care subsidies, ACA coverage for the Medicaid gap, expanded Medicare dental, vision, and hearing coverage, and $550 billion in climate investments including clean electricity payments. Biden calls Manchin's announcement "a sudden reversal" and "inexplicable." The failure leaves the US as the only wealthy nation without paid family leave.

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Stewart Rhodes and Oath Keepers charged with seditious conspiracy

The Department of Justice charges Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes and 10 other members with seditious conspiracy for plotting to use force to prevent the peaceful transfer of presidential power. This is the first time seditious conspiracy charges are brought in connection with the January 6 attack. The indictment alleges the group stockpiled weapons at a Virginia hotel as a "quick reaction force" and coordinated in military-style formations to breach the Capitol.

Trump tweets Big protest in D.C. on January 6th. Be there, will be wild

On December 19, 2020, following a late-night White House meeting with outside advisers including Michael Flynn and Sidney Powell in which Trump was urged to seize voting machines and declare martial law, President Trump posts on Twitter: "Peter Navarro releases his 36-page report alleging election fraud 'more than sufficient' to swing victory to Trump. A great report by Peter. Statistically impossible to have lost the 2020 Election. Big protest in D.C. on January 6th. Be there, will be wild!" The tweet is the first public call to Washington for January 6 and is treated as a recruitment signal by far-right groups. The January 6 Committee documents that within hours of Trump's tweet, the Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, Three Percenters, and other militia groups begin coordinating travel to Washington and discussing plans to storm the Capitol. NPR analysis of court records from over 300 January 6 defendants shows the tweet was a primary catalyst for attendance. The tweet remains live for weeks; Twitter does not remove it. The January 6 Committee calls the tweet "a call to arms."

"Be there, will be wild" mobilization tweet

"Be there, will be wild" mobilization tweet..

Trump's 'Be there, will be wild' tweet mobilizes extremist groups for January 6

President Trump tweeted on December 19, 2020: "Big protest in D.C. on January 6th. Be there, will be wild." The January 6 Committee found the tweet functioned as a call to action for extremist and militia groups who began organizing immediately. Rally organizers shifted a Women for America First event to January 6 within hours. The Proud Boys and Oath Keepers began operational planning for January 6 shortly after the tweet; the committee treated it as the trigger event for the January 6 mobilization.

Trump tweets "Big protest in D.C. on January 6th. Be there, will be wild!"

At 1:42 a.m. on Dec. 19, 2020, President Donald Trump tweets "Big protest in D.C. on January 6th. Be there, will be wild!" The tweet becomes a rallying cry for supporters. The January 6 Committee cites the tweet as a key moment in mobilizing the crowd that would attack the Capitol. The tweet follows a heated Oval Office meeting where advisors discussed extraordinary measures to overturn the election.

Ford signs the Presidential Recordings and Materials Preservation Act, seizing Nixon's records

President Gerald Ford signed the Presidential Recordings and Materials Preservation Act on December 19, 1974, voiding the Nixon-Sampson Agreement and transferring custody of Nixon's 42 million documents and 880 tape recordings to the federal government. The law required a commission to study the disposition of all federal officials' records, mandated that Nixon's materials be preserved in a federal facility, and explicitly rejected Nixon's claim to personal ownership. Nixon immediately challenged the law's constitutionality, launching litigation that would reach the Supreme Court in 1977.