August 20

Election deadline: Alaska Primary Election 2030

Voting for Alaska Primary Election 2030 occurs on this date. Offices on ballot: U.S. Senate; U.S. House (1 seat); Governor; State Legislature. See the linked election record for registration, early voting, and mail ballot deadlines.

Election deadline: Florida Primary Election 2030

Voting for Florida Primary Election 2030 occurs on this date. Offices on ballot: U.S. Senate; U.S. House (28 seats); Governor; State Legislature. See the linked election record for registration, early voting, and mail ballot deadlines.

Election deadline: Wyoming Primary Election 2030

Voting for Wyoming Primary Election 2030 occurs on this date. Offices on ballot: U.S. Senate; U.S. House (1 seat); Governor; State Legislature. See the linked election record for registration, early voting, and mail ballot deadlines.

Federal judge blocks FTC nationwide noncompete ban FTC exceeded statutory authority

US District Judge Ada Brown, a Trump appointee in Texas, issues a nationwide injunction blocking the FTC's April 2024 rule banning virtually all noncompete agreements for approximately 30 million US workers. The FTC had finalized the rule estimating it would increase average worker wages by $524 per year and generate approximately $400 billion in increased wages over a decade by freeing workers to take better jobs. Brown rules the FTC lacks authority under the FTC Act to issue substantive rules banning entire categories of unfair competition. The ruling comes just weeks after the Supreme Court overturned Chevron deference, emboldening courts to override agency interpretations. The FTC under the Trump administration later abandons the appeal.

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US invokes JCPOA snapback mechanism

The US invokes the JCPOA "snapback" mechanism on August 20 despite having withdrawn from the deal in 2018. The Security Council president and most members reject the legal basis. The US unilaterally declares sanctions reimposed on September 19. This is rejected by all other JCPOA parties and Security Council members.

Steve Bannon and allies charged with defrauding 'We Build the Wall' donors

SDNY charged Steve Bannon, Brian Kolfage, Andrew Badolato, and Timothy Shea in August 2020 with defrauding donors who contributed to a crowdfunded border-wall campaign. Prosecutors alleged Kolfage secretly took more than $350,000 and Bannon secretly took more than $1 million from the $25 million raised, using nonprofit shell companies and false statements to hide the transfers. Trump pardoned Bannon five months later before trial. Kolfage later pleaded guilty.

Reagan administration secretly sells arms to Iran and funds Nicaraguan Contras

Senior Reagan administration officials secretly sold weapons to Iran — then subject to an arms embargo — and diverted the proceeds to fund Nicaraguan Contra rebels, circumventing a congressional ban on Contra aid known as the Boland Amendment. National Security Council staffer Lt. Col. Oliver North coordinated the operation with National Security Advisor John Poindexter and CIA Director William Casey. The arrangement allowed the executive branch to conduct covert foreign policy and fund military operations entirely outside the congressional appropriations process.

LBJ signs Economic Opportunity Act creating Job Corps

President Lyndon Johnson signed the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 on August 20, creating Job Corps as a residential education and vocational training program for disadvantaged youth ages 16-21. Sargent Shriver, head of the new Office of Economic Opportunity, ran the program. The first centers opened January 1965 with a $96.5 million first-year appropriation.

LBJ signs the Economic Opportunity Act creating Job Corps and the OEO

President Lyndon Johnson signed the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 on August 20, 1964, launching the cornerstone of the War on Poverty. The Act created the Office of Economic Opportunity inside the Executive Office of the President, with Sargent Shriver as its first director, and authorized the Job Corps, VISTA, Community Action Programs, and Head Start. Initial authorization was about $947.5 million in fiscal year 1965 for anti-poverty programs.