April 20

House committees release ActBlue Part II report on foreign donations and Fifth Amendment testimony

On April 20, 2026, House Administration, Judiciary and Oversight committees released a second interim ActBlue report. The report alleged illicit foreign donation risks and said five current or former ActBlue employees invoked the Fifth Amendment 146 times in depositions. ActBlue denied wrongdoing.

Congress approves 10-day extension of FISA Section 702 authorization

Congress approved a 10-day extension of Section 702 authorization on April 20, 2026, averting a lapse of the surveillance program before an April 30 expiration. The extension bought time for negotiations on a more comprehensive reauthorization after initial proposals failed. (NPR, Apr. 29, 2026)

House attempts initial FISA 702 reauthorization vote, fails to advance

House leadership attempted a FISA Section 702 reauthorization vote on April 20, 2026, but the proposal failed. The failure reflected deep Republican divisions between privacy hawks demanding warrant requirements and administration-aligned members seeking a clean extension. (Roll Call, Apr. 29, 2026)

Federal judge blocks $6.2B Nexstar-Tegna merger as antitrust violation

Chief Judge Troy L. Nunley of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California issued a preliminary injunction on April 20, 2026, halting the $6.2 billion Nexstar-Tegna merger until an antitrust lawsuit was resolved. Nunley ruled the combined company's market share alone was sufficient to presume the merger would violate antitrust law, and found that Nexstar's control over NFL broadcast rights in key markets would give it leverage to force price increases on pay-TV providers like DirecTV. Nexstar announced plans to appeal to the Ninth Circuit.

House GOP warrant revolt blocks clean FISA reauthorization

Approximately 20 House Republicans joined with Democrats on April 20, 2026, to block a clean three-year reauthorization of FISA Section 702, demanding that any renewal include a requirement that the FBI obtain a warrant before searching Americans' communications incidentally collected under the foreign intelligence program. The revolt forced House leadership to approve a second 10-day extension rather than a long-term bill. The Republican dissidents argued that without a warrant requirement, Section 702 functions as a backdoor surveillance tool against American citizens who have committed no crime.

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CBP opens CAPE portal for $166B in IEEPA tariff refunds

U.S. Customs and Border Protection opened the CAPE (Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries) portal on April 20, 2026, allowing more than 330,000 importers to claim refunds on IEEPA duties collected across 53 million shipments since April 2025. CBP confirmed approximately $127 billion — 82% of total collections — is eligible for Phase 1 refunds, with valid claims to be processed within 60-90 days. Importers file CAPE Declarations through the Automated Commercial Environment Secure Data Portal rather than the prior entry-by-entry method.

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ICE Complies with Court Order and Reinstates Thousands of SEVIS Records

Following federal court orders, ICE restores the SEVIS records of terminated students, reinstating their F-1 status and legal presence in the United States. The reinstatement provides temporary legal protection for students and universities through the course of litigation challenging the Trump administration's enforcement strategy. The incident demonstrates how courts can temporarily restrain enforcement actions that violate due process, though D/S remains vulnerable to future policy changes.

Vance Meets Pope Francis at Vatican One Day Before Pontiff's Death

Vice President JD Vance met briefly with Pope Francis at the Vatican on April 20, 2025, one day before the pontiff's death at age 88. Vance, who converted to Catholicism in 2019, had attended Good Friday liturgy at St. Peter's Basilica two days earlier; the meeting made Vance one of the last senior American officials to meet with Pope Francis before his passing on April 21, 2025.

House Warrant Amendment for Section 702 Ties 212-212, Fails

A House floor amendment by Rep. Andy Biggs requiring the FBI to obtain a warrant before querying Section 702-collected data for Americans tied 212-212 on April 20, 2024 — failing due to the tie. The vote exposed a bipartisan coalition of privacy advocates willing to add warrant protections, with 86 Democrats and 126 Republicans voting yes. Speaker Mike Johnson cast the tie-breaking procedural vote against the amendment. The failed amendment previewed the 2026 reauthorization fight.

Arizona courts reject the state GOP's Maricopa County audit challenge

The Arizona Court of Appeals affirmed dismissal of the Arizona Republican Party's lawsuit over Maricopa County's 2020 hand-count audit. The party challenged the county's vote-center audit method after the audit found no discrepancies, and the court upheld the lower court's fee award against the party and its lawyers. The ruling kept audit disputes tied to election deadlines and evidence rather than letting a party demand a new audit after the count was complete.

Heritage Foundation launches Project 2025

The Heritage Foundation publicly launched Project 2025 with Paul Dans as director and Spencer Chretien as associate director. Donald Trump keynoted the launch dinner. Heritage announced four pillars: a 920-page policy book, a personnel database, training videos, and an agency-by-agency 180-day playbook.

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Jury convicts Derek Chauvin on all three counts in George Floyd murder Biden calls it a step forward

A Minneapolis jury finds former police officer Derek Chauvin guilty on all three charges. These include second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter in the killing of George Floyd. The verdict comes nearly a year after Floyd died when Chauvin knelt on his neck for nine minutes and 29 seconds. President Biden and Vice President Harris address the nation, with Biden calling it "a step forward" but "much too rare" in cases of police violence. Attorney General Merrick Garland announces a DOJ pattern-or-practice investigation into the Minneapolis Police Department, the administration's first such investigation.

Supreme Court approves busing remedies for school segregation in Swann

The Supreme Court rules in Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education on April 20, 1971, approving busing, redrawn attendance zones, and other remedies to dismantle racially segregated school systems. Chief Justice Warren Burger writes that federal courts have broad equitable power to cure constitutional violations in school districts that maintained segregation. The decision becomes a major tool for enforcing Brown v. Board of Education. The ruling gives courts practical authority to confront school segregation that continued long after Brown.