January 27

Senate confirms Scott Bessent as Treasury secretary 68-29

The Senate confirmed Scott Bessent as Treasury Secretary by a 68–29 vote on January 27, 2025, making him the first openly gay person confirmed to a cabinet position at the level of Treasury Secretary. Bessent, founder of the macro hedge fund Key Square Group and former chief investment officer at Soros Fund Management, disclosed hundreds of millions in assets on his SF-278 financial disclosure form. The Senate Finance Committee had advanced his nomination 16–13 on January 16, with Democrats citing concerns about potential conflicts between his hedge fund portfolio and Treasury's oversight of the same markets.

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Vance visits Hurricane Helene recovery in Damascus, Virginia

Vice President JD Vance visited Hurricane Helene recovery efforts in Damascus, Virginia on Jan. 27, 2025, one week after taking office. Hurricane Helene struck the Southeast in September 2024, causing catastrophic flooding in western North Carolina, Virginia, and Georgia; thousands of residents remained displaced and federal recovery assistance was still being distributed as of January 2025. The visit was one of Vance's first official trips as vice president.

Department of Energy ends PIER diversity plan requirement for all science grant applicants

The Department of Energy's Office of Science announced it was immediately ending its Promoting Inclusive and Equitable Research plan requirement, which had required grant applicants to describe how their proposed projects would broaden participation in science. The requirement had been designed to encourage research teams to recruit from underrepresented institutions and build mentoring pipelines. DOE's decision came within one week of Executive Order 14151, making it one of the fastest agency responses to the anti-DEI order. Principal investigators with pending grant applications immediately faced questions about whether language they had already submitted could disqualify them. Grant reviewers were instructed to disregard PIER plans when scoring proposals. The change applied retroactively to proposals already under review for the fiscal year 2025 funding cycle, disrupting planning at universities that had structured their research teams around the inclusion requirements.

OMB issues memo freezing federal grants and loans

OMB Director Russell Vought issued Memo M-25-13 directing every federal agency to pause obligation and disbursement of grants, loans, and other financial assistance tied to "foreign aid, nongovernmental organizations, DEI, woke gender ideology, and the green new deal." The freeze took effect January 28 at 5 p.m. and immediately disrupted IRA and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law spending. Lawsuits filed within hours led to a temporary restraining order, and OMB rescinded the memo on January 29 while the White House said the freeze itself remained in force.

Trump freezes HRSA funding, threatening 1,400 rural health centers

The Trump administration froze Health Resources and Services Administration grant disbursements as part of a broader federal spending pause, halting payments to approximately 1,400 federally qualified health centers serving 30 million rural and low-income patients. HRSA-funded community health centers provide primary care regardless of patients'' ability to pay under Section 330 of the Public Health Service Act. The freeze threatened payroll, medication supplies, and operations at clinics in 49 states within days of the order.

Acting attorney general fires 12 prosecutors who investigated Trump

Acting Attorney General James McHenry ordered the immediate termination of more than 12 career prosecutors from the Justice Department who had worked on the federal investigations of Donald Trump led by Special Counsel Jack Smith. The firings included members of both the January 6 case team and the classified documents case team. DOJ career staff associations condemned the terminations as politically motivated purges of the independent career civil service.

Denmark commits $2B to Arctic defense amid Trump's Greenland threat

Denmark announced a $2 billion increase in Arctic defense spending following President Trump''s repeated statements that the United States should acquire Greenland by force if necessary. Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen convened an emergency defense council and pledged to accelerate military infrastructure in Greenland, including radar upgrades and naval patrols. The announcement marked the largest single Danish defense commitment since the Cold War and prompted NATO consultations about Arctic security cooperation.

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OMB directive freezes grants with diversity or climate provisions

The Office of Management and Budget issued Memorandum M-25-13 directing all federal agencies to pause disbursement of grants and loans that contained diversity, equity, and inclusion requirements or climate-related conditions. The memo affected an estimated $3 trillion in federal assistance across research universities, nonprofits, state governments, and local agencies. A federal judge issued a nationwide temporary restraining order blocking the freeze within 48 hours after a coalition of states and nonprofits sued.

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Two million march for women's rights as Republicans push to expand the Hyde Amendment

An estimated two million people participated in Women''s March events across more than 400 cities on the fifth anniversary of the first Trump term, as congressional Republicans advanced proposals to make the Hyde Amendment permanent in statute and expand its restrictions to all federal programs. Organizers framed the marches as a direct response to the Supreme Court''s 2022 Dobbs decision and the administration''s stated goal of federal abortion restrictions. The Washington DC march drew the largest crowd since 2017.

OMB memo M-25-13 freezes federal grants and loans nationwide

Acting OMB Director Matthew Vaeth issued Memo M-25-13 on January 27, directing federal agencies to pause all grants and loans that might conflict with Trump executive orders, effective January 28. The freeze threatened an estimated $3 trillion in federal assistance and immediately disrupted funding for health clinics, housing programs, university research, and state governments. Federal courts in Washington and Rhode Island issued emergency temporary restraining orders within 48 hours, and OMB rescinded the memo on January 29, though agencies continued to withhold funds informally.

South Carolina legislature enacts its 2021 congressional redistricting map

The South Carolina General Assembly passed a new seven-district congressional map on January 26, 2022, with Governor Henry McMaster signing it the following day. The map split Orangeburg County and redrew the historically Black SC-6 district represented by Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, moving roughly 30,000 Black voters into the adjacent SC-1. Republican leaders Charles Forrester and Luke Rankin defended the map as complying with the Voting Rights Act.

Biden signs executive order advancing environmental justice and climate action

President Biden signs Executive Order 14008, "Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad," establishing climate change as a national security and foreign policy priority and creating the White House Office of Domestic Climate Policy. The order directs federal agencies to eliminate fossil fuel subsidies, sets a goal of conserving 30% of U.S. lands and oceans by 2030, and establishes the Justice40 initiative to ensure 40% of federal climate and clean energy investments benefit disadvantaged communities. The action represents the most comprehensive federal climate policy since the Obama administration.

Austin orders creation of the Pentagon's first civilian harm mitigation plan

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin issued a memorandum on January 27, 2022, directing the creation of the Civilian Harm Mitigation and Response Action Plan (CHMR-AP), the first comprehensive Pentagon framework for preventing and responding to civilian casualties. The directive came weeks after the New York Times Civilian Casualty Files investigation exposed systemic underreporting of civilian deaths. Austin released the full CHMR-AP on August 25, 2022, containing over 100 specific reform actions.

Biden signs Justice40 Initiative requires 40% of federal climate benefits to disadvantaged

As part of his sweeping climate executive order signed on his first full week, President Biden establishes the Justice40 Initiative, a commitment that 40% of the overall benefits of certain federal investments in climate, clean energy, clean transit, affordable housing, clean water, and workforce development flow to disadvantaged communities. The initiative is the most ambitious federal environmental justice commitment in US history, covering an estimated $1 trillion in federal spending over Biden's term. It creates an interagency council, standardized screening tools, and reporting requirements. Critics note implementation challenges and the difficulty of defining "benefits" flowing to communities, but the framework shapes billions in infrastructure and climate investments.

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Biden pauses offensive weapons sales to Saudi Arabia over Yemen civilian casualties, reversing Trump arms policy

President Joe Biden announces a pause on all U.S. offensive weapons sales to Saudi Arabia on January 27, 2021, citing mounting civilian casualties from the Saudi-led coalition's air campaign in Yemen. Biden directs the State Department to review all pending arms deals and formally ends U.S. support for Saudi offensive operations in Yemen. The pause applies to precision-guided munitions and other offensive weapons; defensive systems such as Patriot missile batteries remain available. The decision reverses Trump's unlimited Saudi arms posture and reflects Biden's stated commitment to tying arms sales to human rights conditions. Saudi officials privately object but do not publicly break with the administration.

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Federal authorities arrest Brian Gundersen in a Pennsylvania Jan. 6 case

Federal authorities arrested Brian Gundersen, then 26, of State College, in a Pennsylvania Jan. 6 Capitol breach case. The case involved obstruction, assaulting or impeding officers, restricted-building entry, disorderly conduct, and physical violence on Capitol grounds. NPR records that Gundersen later was found guilty of obstruction and assaulting or impeding officers in a stipulated bench trial. He was sentenced on July 25, 2023 to 18 months in prison, 36 months of supervised release, a $200 assessment, and $2,000 in restitution. NPR records that the obstruction conviction was later vacated and the case was dismissed with prejudice on January 21, 2025. The NPR archive was checked against the linked CourtListener federal record before insertion.

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Biden signs executive order tackling climate crisis at home and abroad

President Biden signs Executive Order 14008, "Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad," which establishes climate change as a national security and foreign policy priority. The order creates the White House Office of Domestic Climate Policy, directs federal agencies to eliminate fossil fuel subsidies, sets a goal of conserving 30% of U.S. lands and oceans by 2030, and pauses new oil and gas leasing on public lands. It also establishes the Interagency Working Group on Coal and Power Plant Communities.

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Trump signs Executive Order 13769 travel ban on Iranian and Muslim-majority nations

Trump signed Executive Order 13769 banning citizens of Iran and six other Muslim-majority countries from entering the US. This was the administration's first major action affecting Iran, setting a confrontational tone from Day 1.

Trump asks FBI Director Comey for loyalty during dinner

Trump asks FBI Director Comey for loyalty during dinner..

Federal courts block Trump's travel ban after nationwide airport chaos

President Trump signed Executive Order 13769 on January 27, 2017, suspending entry from seven Muslim-majority countries and halting the refugee program. Within hours, travelers with valid visas were detained at airports across the country. Federal judges in New York, Massachusetts, and Washington issued emergency stays within days; the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the Seattle district court's nationwide injunction on February 9, blocking enforcement of the order.

Trump issues first travel ban targeting several Muslim-majority countries

President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 13769, suspending entry for nationals of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen and pausing refugee admissions. The order became widely known as the Muslim ban because it targeted several Muslim-majority countries and followed campaign promises to restrict Muslim entry into the United States.

Trump signs Executive Order 13769, banning travel from seven Muslim-majority nations

President Donald Trump signs Executive Order 13769 on January 27, 2017, titled "Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States." The order immediately suspends entry of nationals from seven Muslim-majority countries — Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen — for 90 days, halts the refugee admissions program for 120 days, and indefinitely bars Syrian refugees. Chaos erupts at airports nationwide as travelers with valid visas are detained or turned away. Federal judges issue emergency stays within 24 hours. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously upholds a block on the order in February 2017. The administration issues revised orders (EO 13780 in March 2017 and a third version in September 2017) as courts continue to challenge the original. In June 2018, the Supreme Court upholds the third version 5–4 in Trump v. Hawaii. Trump campaign aide Rudy Giuliani publicly states Trump asked him how to enact a Muslim ban "legally," confirming the religious intent.

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