May 9

Trump fires 113+ immigration judges and installs military lawyers at EOIR

The Trump DOJ dismissed over 113 immigration judges from the Executive Office for Immigration Review by May 9, 2026, replacing them with former DHS prosecutors, military lawyers, and immigration officers. The Merit Systems Protection Board ruled in March 2026 that the attorney general can fire immigration judges at will, clearing the way for the purge. Two fired judges — including those who had blocked deportations of Tufts student Rumeysa Ozturk and Columbia student Mohsen Mahdawi — sued the administration, and the National Association of Immigration Judges called it a decapitation of the court system.

DarkSide ransomware shuts down Colonial Pipeline Biden declares emergency

The DarkSide ransomware group hacks Colonial Pipeline, the largest refined fuel pipeline in the US, forcing the company to shut down 5,500 miles of pipeline supplying nearly half the East Coast's gasoline and jet fuel. Biden declares a state of emergency on May 9, temporarily waiving limits on fuel transport by road. Colonial Pipeline pays $4.4 million in Bitcoin ransom without government authorization. Fuel panic-buying causes widespread gas shortages across the Southeast. Biden says Russia "has some responsibility" since DarkSide operates from Russian territory, though he finds no evidence of Kremlin involvement. The DOJ later recovers 63.7 Bitcoin ($2.3 million) of the ransom.

Trump fires FBI Director James Comey during the Russia investigation

President Trump dismissed FBI Director James Comey on May 9, 2017, while Comey was leading the bureau's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Trump told NBC anchor Lester Holt the next day that he had been thinking of "the Russia thing" when he made the decision. The firing prompted Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to appoint Robert Mueller as special counsel eight days later.

West Germany joins NATO as 15th member, Soviet Union responds by founding Warsaw Pact

West Germany formally joins NATO on May 9, 1955, becoming the alliance's 15th member under the Paris Agreements signed October 23, 1954. The Soviet Union responds two days later by founding the Warsaw Pact with seven Eastern Bloc nations. West Germany contributes a planned Bundeswehr of 500,000 soldiers to NATO's integrated command under Supreme Allied Commander Alfred Gruenther. The admission transforms Germany from an occupied territory into a full military partner and extends NATO's front line directly to the Soviet border in Central Europe.