December 23

Biden commutes death sentences of 37 of 40 federal death row inmates most sweeping clemency

President Biden commutes the death sentences of 37 of the 40 people on federal death row, converting their sentences to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Biden, who has opposed the death penalty throughout his career, says the commutations reflect his belief that the government should not carry out executions. He does not commute the sentences of three individuals convicted of mass murders, including the perpetrators of the Charleston church shooting, the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, and the Boston Marathon bombing. The action is the most sweeping clemency action regarding the federal death penalty since the practice was effectively halted under earlier administrations.

Biden sets 2025 federal pay schedules by executive order

President Joe Biden signed Executive Order 14132 on December 23, 2024, setting 2025 pay schedules for major federal pay systems. The order covered General Schedule base pay, the Foreign Service Schedule, Veterans Health Administration schedules, Senior Executive Service pay ranges, Executive Schedule pay, congressional and vice-presidential pay, and judicial salaries. These annual pay orders translate statutory pay-adjustment rules into schedules agencies use to pay federal workers and senior officials. The action matters because federal pay policy affects recruitment, retention, agency capacity, and the cost of running the federal government.

Biden vetoes JUDGES Act over timing and unresolved judgeship-allocation questions

President Joe Biden vetoed S. 4199, the JUDGES Act of 2024, on December 23, 2024. The bill would have created dozens of new federal district judgeships over multiple presidential terms, a proposal the federal judiciary had backed because of rising caseloads. Biden said the House acted too late in the session and that Congress had not fully resolved questions about where new life-tenured judgeships were needed or how senior judges and magistrate judges affected the analysis. The veto mattered because it blocked a rare bipartisan judgeship-expansion bill and preserved the fight over whether the next president should be able to fill the new seats.

NDAA orders the Pentagon to assess whether AGI could reshape warfare

The FY2025 National Defense Authorization Act mandates the Department of Defense to evaluate whether artificial general intelligence could fundamentally transform military operations and warfare. The law requires an assessment of AGI's strategic implications, governance frameworks, and risks — the first time Congress has explicitly addressed AGI in national security legislation.

Pressure on Frances Watson to say he had won Georgia

Pressure on Frances Watson to say he had won Georgia..

Trump pardons Roger Stone

President Trump pardoned Roger Stone on December 23, 2020, six months after commuting Stone's 40-month prison sentence for seven felonies including obstruction, witness tampering, and lying to Congress. Stone had been convicted after a trial in which prosecutors alleged he acted as an intermediary between the Trump campaign and WikiLeaks. Attorney General William Barr had already intervened in Stone's sentencing in February 2020, overruling career prosecutors who recommended 7-9 years; four career prosecutors resigned in protest.

Trump pardons Paul Manafort

President Trump pardoned his former campaign chairman Paul Manafort on December 23, 2020, erasing an 81-month federal prison sentence for bank fraud, tax fraud, and failure to disclose foreign lobbying activity. Manafort had been convicted in two separate jurisdictions after trials; he later withdrew his cooperation agreement with Mueller after prosecutors accused him of lying to investigators. The pardon eliminated accountability for conduct that included sharing polling data with a Russian intelligence-linked associate.

Trump pardons Charles Kushner while son Jared serves as senior White House advisor

President Trump pardoned Charles Kushner on December 23, 2020, while Kushner's son Jared served as one of the most powerful advisers in the White House. Charles Kushner had pleaded guilty in 2004 to 18 federal counts including tax evasion, illegal campaign contributions, and witness tampering — the last charge involving hiring a prostitute to entrap his own brother-in-law who was cooperating with federal investigators. The pardon bypassed normal DOJ pardon attorney review.

Trump pardons Paul Manafort, campaign chairman convicted of tax and bank fraud

President Trump pardoned former campaign chairman Paul Manafort on December 23, 2020, after Manafort had been convicted of eight counts of tax and bank fraud and pleaded guilty to two additional conspiracy and witness tampering charges tied to his work lobbying for Ukraine's pro-Russia government. Manafort served less than two years of a 7.5-year combined sentence. Mueller's report cited evidence that Manafort had signaled to co-defendants they would "be taken care of," which investigators viewed as a reference to potential pardons.

Trump pardons Roger Stone, who later organizes security for Jan. 6 events

President Donald Trump pardons Roger Stone on Dec. 23, 2020. Stone had been convicted of witness tampering, making false statements to Congress, and obstruction in connection with the Mueller investigation. After the pardon, Stone records a video for the "Stop the Steal Security Project" to raise funds for staging, transportation, and security for January 6 events. Stone employs Oath Keepers as personal security on Jan. 5.

Wilson signs the Federal Reserve Act, creating the U.S. central bank

President Woodrow Wilson signed the Federal Reserve Act on December 23, 1913, establishing the Federal Reserve System as the central bank of the United States. The law created twelve regional Federal Reserve Banks overseen by a Federal Reserve Board of presidential appointees, splitting authority between private banks and the federal government. The legislation was the centerpiece of Wilson's New Freedom economic agenda and ended decades of debate over central banking.