March 2

Trump notifies Congress under War Powers Resolution that US military strikes against Iran have begun

President Trump submits formal notification to Congress under 50 U.S.C. Section 1544(b) of the War Powers Resolution, reporting that U.S. military forces have conducted strikes against Iran under Operation Epic Fury. The notification starts the statutory 60-day clock, giving Congress until approximately April 28, 2026 to authorize or terminate the operation.

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Research shows growing racial disparities in voter turnout from 2008-2022

Brennan Center research documented growing racial disparities in voter turnout from 2008-2022, reversing the civil rights era trend toward more equitable representation. The study found restrictive voting laws passed after 2020, including voter ID requirements and limits on mail voting, disproportionately burden minority voters. Texas Senate Bill 1 led to widespread ballot application and ballot rejections for all racial groups but fell disproportionately on voters of color. States with more restrictive gun laws have lower rates of firearm-related mortality, showing legislation alone cannot address systemic inequality without addressing underlying community vulnerability.

Alma Juarez pleads guilty in the Yuma County ballot-collection case

Alma Yadira Juarez pleaded guilty to one count of ballot abuse in Yuma County Superior Court. Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich said Juarez admitted collecting early ballots from voters who were not family members, household members, or people in her care, then receiving the ballots from Guillermina Fuentes. The plea enforced Arizona's 2016 ballot-collection law while raising the cost for voters who depend on trusted community helpers to return ballots.

Trump repeatedly pressures Sessions to reverse Russia investigation recusal

After AG Jeff Sessions recused himself from the Russia investigation on March 2, 2017, President Trump mounted a sustained pressure campaign across 2017 and 2018 to force Sessions to reverse the recusal and retake control of the probe. Trump pressed Sessions privately, through aides, and publicly via tweets calling him "very weak," according to Mueller's documented account. Mueller cited the pressure campaign as part of the broader obstruction pattern targeting the independence of DOJ's Russia inquiry.

Bush designates El Salvador for TPS after earthquakes kill 1,100

President George W. Bush designated El Salvador for Temporary Protected Status on March 2, 2001, after two major earthquakes in January and February killed more than 1,100 people and destroyed approximately 150,000 homes. The designation applied to Salvadoran nationals already present in the United States, allowing them to remain legally and work. El Salvador's TPS population eventually grew to approximately 195,000 — making it the largest single-country TPS designation in U.S. history.

Maria Hsia is convicted in Buddhist temple fundraising case

On March 2, 2000, Democratic fundraiser Maria Hsia was convicted of causing false statements to be filed with the FEC. The case centered on illegal conduit contributions connected to a 1996 fundraiser at the Hsi Lai Buddhist temple in California.

Congress grants citizenship to Native people in Indian Territory under allotment policy

Congress passes laws around allotment and tribal rolls that reshape citizenship and land rights for Native peoples in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, including policies affecting Indian Territory. These policies are tied to forced assimilation and the breakup of communal tribal lands. Federal officials describe allotment as a path to citizenship and farming, but it results in massive Native land loss and weakens tribal governance. The policy also sorts Native identity through federal rolls and blood-quantum-like categories. Race, land, citizenship, and federal power intertwine in the dispossession of Native nations.

Compromise of 1877 ends federal protection for Reconstruction governments

The contested presidential election of 1876 is resolved in 1877 through a political settlement that helps make Rutherford B. Hayes president and leads to the withdrawal of remaining federal troops from the South. The withdrawal weakens federal protection for Reconstruction governments and Black political rights. White supremacist Democrats regain state power across the South and build systems of segregation, disfranchisement, and racial terror. The formal end of Reconstruction opens the way for Jim Crow law and one-party white rule. Federal retreat from enforcement leaves Black citizens exposed to state and private racial domination for generations.

Lincoln signs the False Claims Act to punish contractors who defraud the government

President Abraham Lincoln signed the False Claims Act on March 2, 1863, creating the first federal law to penalize contractors who defrauded the government. The law authorized private citizens — called relators — to file suit on the government's behalf under qui tam provisions and collect a portion of any recovered funds. Contractors faced double damages and a $2,000 fine per fraudulent claim. Congress enacted the law after widespread reports that Union Army suppliers were delivering diseased mules, counterfeit gunpowder, and rotten rations at inflated prices.