The following is a list of events of the year 2026 in the United States, as well as predicted and scheduled events that have not yet occurred.
July 4, 2026 was the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence of the United States from Great Britain.
Under the second year of Donald Trump's second presidency, the United States has engaged in attacks against its adversaries. In January 2026, the U.S. launched a military raid in Venezuela that captured its president Nicolás Maduro. In February 2026, the U.S. launched a major attack on Iran with Israel with the stated goal of regime change, killing its leader Ali Khamenei. Domestically, the US underwent two partial government shutdowns, with the first lasting four days, from January 31 to February 3, and the second lasting approximately 76 days, from February 14 to April 30, becoming the longest government shutdown in U.S. history and impacting the US Department of Homeland Security, with the core issue regarding the funding of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. In addition, 2026 saw the first major judicial actions against prediction markets, in particular Kalshi and the usage of its platform and other prediction markets to bypass state regulations on sports betting, with Nevada being the first to land a court-enforced ban of Kalshi and Arizona being the first to file criminal charges against Kalshi.
In science and technology, the most prominent story so far has been the April 2026 NASA mission Artemis II, the first crewed deep-space mission since 1972. Artemis II sent four astronauts—including the first woman, person of color, and Canadian—to circumnavigate the Moon.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup was held across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico from June to July; and planned events include the 2026 midterms in November.
Incumbents Federal government President: Donald Trump (R-Florida) Vice President: JD Vance (R-Ohio) Chief Justice: John Roberts (Maryland) Speaker of the House of Representatives: Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) Senate Majority Leader: John Thune (R-South Dakota) Congress: 119th
State governments Governors and lieutenant governors Governors
Lieutenant governors
Elections
The midterm elections are scheduled to be held on November 3. In the federal government, the offices up for election are all 435 seats of the House of Representatives, and roughly one third of the Senate. Most states and territories will hold elections for their governors and legislatures.
In the Senate, nine senators have announced their intention not to seek re-election this cycle, including five Republicans and four Democrats. Republican seats in Maine, North Carolina, and Ohio are seen as vulnerable, while Democrats will be defending seats in Georgia, Michigan, and New Hampshire. In the House, numerous states have redrawn their congressional districts ahead of the election, with Republicans attempting to strengthen their narrow margins.
On the state level, 36 states and three territories will hold gubernatorial elections, and most states and territories will hold elections for their legislatures. Many major cities, including Long Beach, Los Angeles, Louisville, Newark, Oakland, Oklahoma City, St. Petersburg, and Washington, D.C., will also elect their mayors and municipal governments.
Events January
January 1 – Zohran Mamdani is sworn in as the Mayor of New York City, becoming the first Muslim and Asian American to hold the office. January 3 – The U.S. launches airstrikes on Venezuela and captures Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. The operation is named Absolute Resolve. January 4 – 31st Critics' Choice Awards: One Battle After Another and its director Paul Thomas Anderson win Best Picture and Best Director respectively. Films Frankenstein and Sinners and television series Adolescence win four awards each. January 5 Maduro and his wife appear in a federal court in Manhattan and plead not guilty to drugs and weapon charges. New coins celebrating the Semiquincentennial, featuring pilgrims, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison, begin circulating. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz announces he will not seek reelection amidst the Minnesota fraud scandal. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting votes to dissolve itself. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention rewrites its childhood vaccine schedule, reducing the number of shots universally recommended from 17 to 11.
January 7 Killing of Renée Good: A 37-year-old woman is shot and killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Trump announces that the United States will withdraw from 66 international organizations. The Department of State suspends all ongoing assistance programs to Somalia. Two people are killed and six others are injured in a mass shooting during a funeral at a LDS Church meetinghouse in Salt Lake City, Utah. January 10 – 2025–26 measles outbreak: North Carolina experiences a surge in measles over the past week, with cases rising to 310 in the state alone. Nearly 2,500 are reported nationally. January 11 Federal prosecutors open a criminal investigation into Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell over the testimony he gave to a Senate committee about renovations to Federal Reserve buildings. Low-cost airline Allegiant Air purchases Sun Country Airlines for $1.5 billion. Three inmates are killed, thirteen others are hospitalized, and a guard is injured when violence breaks out at the Washington State Prison in Davisboro, Georgia. January 12 Mattel launches its first autistic Barbie. January 13 The Trump administration designates the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, the Islamic Group in Lebanon, and the Islamic Action Front in Jordan as foreign terrorist organizations for their support of Hamas. Meta announces the closure of the studios Armature Studio, Sanzaru Games, and Twisted Pixel. In addition, they announced more than 1,000 workers would be laid off in their Reality Labs business. January 14 The Senate is unable to pass a resolution which would bar the president from taking further military action in Venezuela without congressional approval after two Republicans switch their initial vote. A Verizon outage affects at least 175,000 people. January 17 – Trump confirms that European countries will be hit with a 10% tariff on "all or any goods" exported to the US from February 1, amid the dispute over Greenland. January 19 – The Indiana Hoosiers defeat the Miami Hurricanes 27–21 in the 2026 College Football Playoff National Championship, winning their first national title. January 20 – DHS launches "Operation Catch of the Day", a surge in immigration enforcement in Maine, primarily in the cities of Lewiston and Portland.
January 22 The United States leaves the World Health Organization. Trump's Executive Order 14253 is carried out, removing exhibits commemorating the history of slavery in the United States at the President's House. January 23 – The Office of Foreign Assets Control imposes sanctions on British-Palestinian activist Zaher Birawi, alleging that he has ties with Hamas. January 23–26 – A major winter storm and cold wave impact over 30 states and kill at least 85 people, with over 15 states of emergency being declared.
January 24 Trump threatens Canada with 100% tariffs on all goods if the country's prime minister Mark Carney strikes a trade deal with China. Killing of Alex Pretti: A 37-year-old man is shot and killed by United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Minneapolis, Minnesota. One person is killed and 14 others are injured in a gas explosion and multiple-alarm fire at a 17-story apartment building in the Bronx, New York City. January 25 Over a million people are without power across the South and at least 10,000 flights are canceled due to the winter storm. Six people are killed when a Bombardier Challenger 650 aircraft crashes at Bangor International Airport in Maine. January 27 – Representative Ilhan Omar is attacked during a town hall meeting in Minneapolis when an audience member sprays a chemical substance at her. A 55-year-old man is arrested and charged with third-degree assault, while Omar herself is uninjured. January 28 FBI investigation into the 2020 United States presidential election in Georgia: The Federal Bureau of Investigation raids the election center in Fulton County, Georgia. Amazon announces 16,000 job layoffs in its second round of corporate reduction. January 29 – Journalist and former CNN host Don Lemon is arrested by federal authorities after he reported on a protest inside a church in St. Paul, Minnesota earlier in the month. January 30 Three million pages related to the Epstein Files, including 2,000 videos and 180,000 images, are released to the public, implicating many high-profile public figures worldwide. Killing of Brian Thompson: Judge Margaret Garnett dismisses the federal murder and weapon charges against Luigi Mangione, ruling out the death penalty against Mangione. However, the judge maintains the stalking charges, which carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. January 31 Five people, including a 6-year-old, are wounded in a shooting at the Mardi Gras parade in Clinton, Louisiana. Nancy Guthrie, mother of Today co-host Savannah Guthrie, is abducted from her home in the Catalina Foothills area north of Tucson, Arizona. A federal government shutdown begins.
February February 1 – The 68th Annual Grammy Awards are held at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, honoring the best in music from September 2024 to August 2025. "Luther" by Kendrick Lamar and SZA wins Record of the Year while Debí Tirar Más Fotos by Bad Bunny wins Album of the Year, the first Spanish-language album to do so. Kendrick Lamar wins five awards and surpasses Jay-Z as the most awarded hip-hop artist in Grammy Awards history.
February 3 – The government shutdown ends with a bill that funds DHS for two weeks. February 4 The Central Intelligence Agency announces it will no longer publish The World Factbook. Decline of newspapers: The Washington Post announces 300 journalist layoffs, roughly one-third of its employees, as part of a major restructuring. February 5 The New START treaty limiting strategic nuclear weapons with Russia expires. Three people are killed and seven others are injured when a car crashes into a 99 Ranch Market in Westwood, Los Angeles, California. February 6 – Trump shares a video on social media depicting Barack and Michelle Obama as apes. Trump receives bipartisan condemnation. February 8 – Super Bowl LX is played at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, with the Seattle Seahawks prevailing over the New England Patriots. Bad Bunny headlines the halftime show with special guests Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin, while Kid Rock performs at the Turning Point alternate All-American Halftime Show. February 10 – Trump threatens the opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge, saying the U.S. should be "fully compensated for everything" it has given to Canada, and demanding that Ottawa "treats the United States with the Fairness and Respect that we deserve". February 11 – The Federal Aviation Administration abruptly announces a 10-day temporary flight restriction (TFR) over El Paso, Texas and surrounding areas (specifically a 10-mile radius surrounding El Paso International Airport). All air traffic is prohibited, including civilian airliners, general aviation, and medical flights. The FAA states that the TFR is because of an 'incursion' of cartel-operated drones. Despite the initial 10-day window, flights resume only hours later. February 12 The Endangerment Finding of 2009, regulating six greenhouse gases as air pollution, is repealed by the Environmental Protection Agency. At least six people are killed in a killing spree in Sarasota and Fort Lauderdale, Florida.