Events in the year 2017 in the United States.
Incumbents Federal government President: Barack Obama (D-Illinois) (until January 20) Donald Trump (R-New York) (starting January 20) Vice President: Joe Biden (D-Delaware) (until January 20) Mike Pence (R-Indiana) (starting January 20) Chief Justice: John Roberts (Maryland) Speaker of the House of Representatives: Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin) Senate Majority Leader: Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) Congress: 114th (until January 3), 115th (starting January 3)
State governments Governors and lieutenant governorsGovernors
Lieutenant governors
Events
January
January 1 – Nevada's ballot initiative legalizing recreational marijuana officially goes into effect. January 3 Four African-American individuals kidnap a mentally disabled white man in Chicago, Illinois and livestream their torture of him on Facebook, shouting "Fuck Trump" and "Fuck white people" while doing so, prompting widespread reactions on social media. The four suspects are later arrested and charged with a hate crime. The 115th United States Congress begins its first session. January 4 A Long Island Railroad passenger train collides with buffer stops at Atlantic Terminal in New York City, injuring 103 people. NASA selects Lucy and Psyche as the 13th and 14th missions of the Discovery Program, the result of a two-year long competition. January 6 After briefing President Barack Obama, the United States Senate, and President-elect Donald Trump, the United States Intelligence Community releases a declassified version of its investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential election. The report asserts that Russia carried out a massive cyber operation on orders from President Vladimir Putin to influence the election in favor of Trump in a multipronged attack consisting of hacking the Democratic National Committee, use of social media and Internet trolls to spread misinformation, and open propaganda on Russian state media outlets. Trump asserts that the outcome of the election was not affected by the interference, but nonetheless announces his intention to appoint a team to combat international cyber attacks within his first 90 days in office. A gunman opens fire at the Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport in Broward County, Florida, killing five people and injuring an additional six, with another 36 people sustaining injuries in the ensuing panic on the tarmac. The suspect was placed in custody after surrendering to police. The 115th United States Congress confirms the Electoral College victory of Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election. January 8 The 74th Golden Globe Awards are held at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California. La La Land breaks the record for most awards given to a single film with seven wins out of seven nominations, including the award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy. Moonlight wins the award for Best Motion Picture – Drama. The Crown wins the award for Best Drama Series and Atlanta wins Best Comedy Series. Particular attention is brought to actress Meryl Streep's acceptance speech for the Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award, in which she criticizes President-elect Donald Trump for what she perceived as his indecency and demonizing of the press and immigrants during his campaign. Trump responded on Twitter, calling Streep "overrated" and denying her allegations that he mocked a disabled reporter. SeaWorld San Diego hosts its final orca performance after years of criticism of their keeping killer whales in captivity. January 9 Mike Pence's term as Governor of Indiana ends, 11 days before he becomes Vice President of the United States. Eric Holcomb is inaugurated as the 51st governor of Indiana at the State House in Indianapolis. January 10 Dylann Roof, convicted perpetrator of the 2015 Charleston church shooting, is sentenced to death. He is the first person in the US to face execution for federal hate crime charges. Outgoing President Barack Obama delivers his farewell speech at McCormick Place in his hometown of Chicago. Killing of Ashley Zhao by her parents Ming Ming Chen and Liang Zhao in Jackson Township, Ohio. January 11 – Donald Trump holds his first press conference since being elected president, wherein he derides the American news media for running what he considers to be false stories against him, particularly a January 10 CNN report stating that classified documents briefed to President Trump and Barack Obama contained presently unsubstantiated allegations that Russian operatives possess "compromising personal and financial information" about Trump that could be used as blackmail. The Playboy Mansion is put up for sale however the terms of the sale state that the company's founder Hugh Hefner must live there until he dies. January 12 Justice Department Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz launches an investigation into the conduct of the Justice Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, specifically the decision of FBI Director James Comey to reopen the investigation into Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server less than two weeks before the 2016 presidential election. As an act of reassurance to NATO allies, the Obama administration deploys over 3,000 American troops to Poland to ensure protection from any possible future aggression from Russia, who subsequently call the act a threat to their national security. Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey orders ExxonMobil to hand over documents related to a state investigation into whether the company misled the public about the impact of fossil fuels on global climate. January 13 – The Justice Department concludes its 13-month investigation into the Chicago Police Department and finds that the department regularly violated citizens' civil rights through the use of excessive force, particularly toward African-American and Latino individuals. January 14 – SpaceX launches its first Falcon 9 rocket since a vehicle exploded in September 2016, launching from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. January 17 – Three days before leaving office, President Obama commutes Chelsea Manning's sentence for leaking documents to WikiLeaks. January 19 Mexican drug kingpin El Chapo is extradited to the United States to await trial. Outgoing President Obama commutes the sentences of 330 prisoners, most of them nonviolent drug offenders. It is the highest number of commutations ever given in a single day by a US president. January 20 – Donald Trump is sworn in as the 45th president of the United States, and Mike Pence is sworn in as the 48th vice president. January 21 – 2.9 million people attend the Women's March in opposition to the inauguration of Donald Trump, making it the single biggest protest in U.S. history. January 23 President Donald Trump signs an executive order withdrawing the US from the controversial trade pact, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). President Trump issues an executive order freezing hiring to the federal government, excluding the military. January 24 President Trump signs a series of presidential memorandums allowing the federal government to move forward with the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline and Keystone XL pipeline. The Trump administration freezes all new research grants and contracts for the Environmental Protection Agency and temporarily bars its employees from posting press releases or updates to the agency's social media accounts and from speaking to the press. The nominees for the 89th Academy Awards are announced. The nominees for Best Picture are Arrival, Fences, Hacksaw Ridge, Hell or High Water, Hidden Figures, La La Land, Lion, Manchester by the Sea, and Moonlight. La La Land ties with Titanic (1997) and All About Eve (1950) for the most Oscar nominations for a single film, with fourteen nominations. January 25 President Trump signs a set of executive orders directing the US Department of Homeland Security to use existing funds to begin construction on a wall on the U.S.–Mexico border and putting an end to the longstanding catch and release policy in an effort toward swifter deportations of illegal immigrants. The Dow Jones Industrial Average reaches 20,000 points for the first time ever. January 26 – A 2007 interview is released in which Carolyn Bryant, for whom African-American teenager Emmett Till was accused of making verbal and physical advances on, leading to his lynching death in 1955, admits that she fabricated that aspect of her testimony against Till. January 27 – President Trump signs an executive order banning the entry of refugees of the Syrian Civil War into the United States indefinitely, and banning the entry of all nationals, regardless of visa status, of Iran, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen to the US for 90 days. The order prompts international criticism, a lawsuit from the American Civil Liberties Union, the detainment of legal Muslim travelers at several international airports, and Iran announcing a ban on entry of US citizens into the country until the ban is lifted. Vice President Mike Pence attends and speaks at the March for Life, becoming the first vice president and the then highest-ranking federal official to do so. January 30 – President Trump fires acting United States Attorney General Sally Yates after she instructs the Justice Department to not carry out Trump's recent executive order on refugees and immigrants. January 31 – President Trump nominates federal appellate judge Neil Gorsuch to fill the vacant seat on the Supreme Court left by the death of Antonin Scalia in 2016.
February February 1 – The Department of Homeland Security Inspector General office opens an investigation into the implementation of Executive Order 13769. February 3 The Trump administration enacts new sanctions against 25 entities in Iran in retaliation for their recent ballistic missile test. President Donald Trump signs an executive order to review and eventually scale back the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act put in place after the Great Recession. Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson secures a nationwide temporary restraining order on President Trump's immigration ban from judge James Robart, calling it unlawful and unconstitutional. February 5 – In Super Bowl LI, the New England Patriots defeat the Atlanta Falcons 34–28 in the first overtime game in the game's history. February 7 Betsy DeVos is confirmed as the new US Secretary of Education by the United States Senate in a 51–50 vote, with Vice President Mike Pence casting the tiebreaker vote. It is the first time in Senate history that a vice president has done so for a Cabinet nominee confirmation. A tornado impacts New Orleans, Louisiana, leaving approximately 10,000 homes without electricity. February 12 Nearly 200,000 people are evacuated around Oroville, California, and surrounding areas due to an emergency spillway failure at Oroville Dam. The annual 59th Grammy Awards are held in the Staples Center in Los Angeles. February 14 – It is reported that President Trump's election campaign aides and other associates had repeated contacts with Russian intelligence officials in the year before the election. February 17 – President Donald Trump visits the Boeing South Carolina facility to see the first 787–10 Dreamliner built. February 22 NASA announces that TRAPPIST-1, a star system 39 light years away, has been found to contain seven Earth-sized planets. At least three are in the habitable zone, but all seven have the potential to support liquid water. An Indian engineer is shot dead and another injured in Olathe, Kansas, in an apparent hate crime. February 23 – Police forcibly evict all remaining Dakota Access Pipeline protesters, arresting thirty-three people.