March 18

Vance Tours Semiconductor Manufacturing Facility in Columbus, Ohio

Vice President JD Vance toured a semiconductor manufacturing facility in Columbus, Ohio on March 18, 2025, and met with Ohio business leaders to promote the administration's domestic manufacturing agenda. The Columbus area had seen major semiconductor investment driven by the CHIPS and Science Act; Vance promoted the administration's effort to accelerate domestic chip production, continuing Biden-era CHIPS Act implementation while the administration reviewed its terms.

USDA proposes cutting SNAP 30% through regulatory changes

The USDA released a blueprint for cutting SNAP (food stamp) benefits by approximately 30% through regulatory revisions, bypassing Congress. The proposal would tighten eligibility, reduce benefit calculations, and shift cost burden to states. Critics warned 15 million low-income Americans could lose food assistance, while the administration framed it as reducing fraud and dependency.

Trump administration labels Tesla property attacks domestic terrorism

Attorney General Pam Bondi described attacks against Tesla property as domestic terrorism while Trump publicly aligned the issue with his broader law-and-order message. The episode tied protest, property destruction, private corporate power, and federal enforcement into one political narrative.

Trump attacks Judge Boasberg and calls for impeachment after deportation order fight

Trump publicly attacked Judge James Boasberg and called for his impeachment after the judge scrutinized deportation flights tied to the Alien Enemies Act. The post placed direct pressure on the judiciary and turned a court order into a national separation-of-powers conflict.

Seventeen States Ban Ranked Choice Voting as GOP Blocks Electoral Reform

Republican-controlled legislatures in seventeen states enacted bans on ranked choice voting in 2025, with GOP-led Congress blocking federal RCV measures. Supporters argued RCV reduces polarization and third-party barriers; opponents claimed it creates voter confusion. The wave of state-level bans represents the most significant rollback of electoral reform in a decade.

ICE, FBI, and DEA Arrest 370 People in Boston-Area Worksite Raids, Seize 49kg of Drugs

A coordinated multi-agency operation involving ICE, FBI, and DEA conducted sweeping worksite raids across the greater Boston area, arresting 370 people and seizing 49 kilograms of narcotics. The raids targeted construction sites, restaurants, and agricultural operations. Immigration advocates raised due process concerns as workers with valid work permits were detained.

Trump fires both Democratic FTC commissioners

President Trump fired Federal Trade Commission Commissioners Rebecca Kelly Slaughter and Alvaro Bedoya on March 18, 2025, notifying them by email that their "continued service on the FTC is inconsistent with my Administration's priorities." The dismissals left the five-person agency with only two members and raised immediate questions about whether the FTC could operate. Both commissioners called the firings illegal and sued to challenge them, and a district court judge later ruled that Slaughter's firing was unlawful before the Supreme Court stayed that order.

DOGE Seizes Congressionally Created Peace Institute with Federal Police and FBI Backup

DOGE operatives, backed by federal police and FBI agents, forcibly entered and took control of the U.S. Institute of Peace — a congressionally chartered nonprofit — removing its board and installing Trump loyalists. The USIP was created by Congress in 1984 as an independent institution. Legal scholars called the takeover an unprecedented separation-of-powers violation.

Biden signs executive order establishing White House Initiative on Women Health Research $12 billion

President Biden signs an executive order establishing the White House Initiative on Women's Health Research, the first presidential initiative specifically dedicated to expanding scientific research on women's health. The order directs NIH, FDA, and other agencies to develop strategies to close research gaps and requires federally funded research to include women and sex-specific analysis. First Lady Jill Biden, who championed the initiative, announces a commitment to $12 billion for women's health research, addressing decades of under-investment that has left women's health conditions understudied and undertreated. Conditions like endometriosis, autoimmune diseases, and maternal health receive particular attention.

Senate confirms Xavier Becerra as Health and Human Services Secretary

The Senate confirms Xavier Becerra as Secretary of Health and Human Services by a vote of 50-49. Becerra, the former Attorney General of California and U.S. Representative, becomes the first Latino to lead HHS. He takes office as the department leads COVID-19 response and implements healthcare policy initiatives including ACA expansion.

Trump defends saying Chinese virus as anti-Asian fears rise

President Donald Trump publicly defends using the phrase "Chinese virus" on March 18, 2020, during the early COVID-19 pandemic. He says the wording is accurate because the virus came from China. Asian American leaders and civil rights groups warn that the phrase fuels stigma, harassment, and violence against Asian communities. Reports of anti-Asian incidents rise during the pandemic, leading to later federal hate-crimes legislation. Presidential rhetoric racializes a public-health crisis and becomes part of a broader pattern of anti-Asian scapegoating during COVID-19.

Russia annexes Crimea, NATO activates largest reinforcement since Cold War

Russian forces without insignia seized the Crimean Peninsula in late February 2014, and President Vladimir Putin signed a treaty annexing Crimea on March 18 after a disputed referendum. NATO suspended all practical cooperation with Russia and activated its Readiness Action Plan, the largest reinforcement of collective defense since the Cold War. President Obama imposed sanctions and deployed additional U.S. forces to NATO allies in Eastern Europe.

Fifth Circuit Bans Race in University Admissions in Hopwood v. Texas

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in Hopwood v. Texas on March 18, 1996, that the University of Texas School of Law could not use race as a factor in admissions even for diversity purposes, becoming the first circuit court to directly challenge Justice Powell's Bakke diversity rationale. The ruling applied across Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi, prompting Texas to enact the "Top 10 Percent Plan" guaranteeing admission to the top 10% of every high school graduating class. The Supreme Court declined to hear the case, leaving the circuit split unresolved for seven years until Grutter.

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Nixon approves secret bombing of Cambodia

President Richard Nixon authorizes Operation Menu, a secret bombing campaign targeting communist sanctuaries along the Cambodia-Vietnam border. Over 14 months, approximately 3,600 secret B-52 bombing runs drop 540,000 tons of ordnance on Cambodia. The operation is not revealed to Congress until 1973. An estimated 50,000 to 150,000 Cambodian civilians are killed.