The following is a timeline of the second presidency of Donald Trump during the second quarter of 2025, from April 1, 2025, to June 30, 2025. To navigate between quarters, see timeline of the Donald Trump presidencies. For the Q3 timeline see timeline of the second Trump presidency (2025 Q3).
Timeline
April 2025
Date Events Photos/videos TuesdayApril 1Senior officials at the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Food and Drug Administration as well as nearly 10,000 employees across the Department of Health and Human Services are fired in a widespread purge of government health programs. First Lady Melania Trump delivers remarks at the 19th International Women of Courage Awards Ceremony. Former Costa Rican President and Nobel Peace Prize winner Oscar Arias tells Reuters that his US visa had been revoked by the US State Department. Weeks earlier, Arias posted on social media that Trump had been acting like "a Roman emperor, telling the rest of the world what to do." Senator Cory Booker concludes a 25 hour speech in protest of the Trump administration and the DOGE agency. The speech breaks the record for the longest in Senate history. WednesdayApril 2 In what he calls "Liberation Day", President Trump announces a baseline 10% universal tariff on all goods brought into the U.S. taking effect on April 5. He also announces that discounted reciprocal tariffs will take effect April 9. Following DOJ official Emil Bove's decision to drop charges on New York City mayor Eric Adams, New York District Court judge Dale Ho dismisses the criminal charges against mayor Adams with prejudice, writing "Everything here smacks of a bargain: Dismissal of the indictment in exchange for immigration policy concessions." Judge Ho declines to order the dismissal without prejudice initially requested by the Department of Justice. A senior official at the National Endowment for the Humanities says that millions of dollars of grants to state humanities councils, museums, historic sites, archives, libraries, educators and media outlets in all 50 states are being cancelled. ThursdayApril 3 Secretary Rubio travels to Brussels to attend the NATO Foreign Ministers Meeting. One day after meeting with far-right conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer and viewing Loomer's opposition research questioning their loyalty, Trump fires six national security council staffers. Loomer later takes credit for the firings. FridayApril 4 In the two days since Trump's announced tariffs, the Dow Jones index declines by 9.48%, the S&P loses 10%, and the Nasdaq loses 11%. Over $6.6 trillion is lost by end of day Friday – the largest two-day loss in history. President Trump shares video footage of a U.S. military airstrike against the Houthi armed militia in Yemen. Judge Paula Xinis orders the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador. "This was an illegal act," Xinis said during a hearing. "Congress said you can’t do it, and you did it anyway." Erez Reuveni, the Justice Department lawyer arguing in the Abrego Garcia case is fired for "failing to follow a directive" from superiors. Later, Reuveni would report that he was fired for refusing an order to falsely represent in court that Abrego Garcia is a terrorist. "I didn't sign up to lie," Renuveni claims he told his supervisor. SaturdayApril 5 The Hands Off protests are held across the country in all 50 states. With the support of over 150 progressive groups, millions of demonstrators protest a wide range of the Trump administration's policies. SundayApril 6 MondayApril 7 President Trump holds a bilateral meeting with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House. A written request from Immigration and Customs Enforcement says that the Trump administration plans to spend $45 billion on new immigrant detention facilities and other services. President Trump hosts the Los Angeles Dodgers at the White House to celebrate their victory in the 2024 World Series. TuesdayApril 8 The day before announcing a tariff pause, Trump personally purchases worth as much as $12.8 million from companies such as Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Amazon, prompting concerns of "insider trading." Judge Trevor N. McFadden granted an injunction saying the administration must cease banning the Associate Press from the White House Press pool, but stayed the injunction pending appeal. WednesdayApril 9 President Trump announces on Truth Social that reciprocal tariffs above 10%, which had gone into effect that morning, will be paused for 90 days for all countries except China; China's minimum tariff rate will instead be increased to 145%. President Trump issues executive orders revoking the security clearances of former CISA Director Chris Krebs and former DHS Chief of Staff Miles Taylor, and further directs the Attorney General and Director of National Intelligence to suspend the security clearances of any "individuals at entities associated with" Krebs and Taylor. President Trump hosts the North Dakota State Bison football team at the White House for their victory in the 2025 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game. ThursdayApril 10 The Supreme Court orders the government to ‘facilitate’ Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s return from prison in El Salvador, where he had been deported to by mistake. The Trump administration admitted the error, but had argued they had no power to assist in his return. FridayApril 11 President Trump traveled to the METU Suite of Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, for his annual physical examination. The Trump administration sends a letter to Alan Garber, president of Harvard, threatening to cut billions in federal funding unless the university agrees to a series of government demanded policy changes including auditing the viewpoints of student body, faculty, and staff. White House trade advisor and convicted criminal Peter Navarro says on Fox Business that the White House aims to complete 90 trade deals in the next 90 days. The administration would not come anywhere close to achieving this goal. The Senate confirms Dan Caine as the 22nd Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in a vote of 60–25. The University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index falls to its second-lowest level in history. SaturdayApril 12 President Trump and Secretary Rubio attend UFC 314 at the Kaseya Center in Miami. SundayApril 13 The Washington Post reports that just days before Tufts student Rumeysa Ozturk's detention, the State Department determined that no evidence existed that she participated in antisemitic activities or supported a terrorist organization, which the government alleged as the reason for her deportation. During an interview on 60 Minutes, Volodymyr Zelenskyy says some US officials are falling for Russian disinformation. "I believe, sadly, Russian narratives are prevailing in the US." he tells Scott Pelley, singling out Vice President Vance as someone "somehow justifying Putin’s actions." MondayApril 14 President Trump holds a White House meeting with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele in which Bukele said he would not return the mistakenly deported Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Trump directed questions to Pam Bondi and Marco Rubio, who repeated that the decision is up to El Salvador. President Trump and Vice President Vance host the Ohio State Buckeyes football team at the White House to celebrate their victory in the 2025 College Football Playoff National Championship. Harvard University president Alan Garber issues a statement refusing to comply with the Trump administration's demands regarding hiring, admission and curriculum. In response, the administration moves to freeze $2.2 billion in medical research grants to the university. TuesdayApril 15 Trump posts a threat on social media to remove Harvard University's tax exempt status on ideological grounds. Federal law prohibits the president from ordering the IRS to conduct tax investigations. WednesdayApril 16 Judge James Boasberg rules that there is "probable cause" to hold the Trump administration in criminal contempt for violating an order to pause deportations under the Alien Enemies Act. Under the new leadership of Trump appointee Russell Vought, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau eliminates a Biden-era $8 limit on credit card late fees. Vought has also scuttled over a dozen CFPB enforcement actions against banks and lenders. ThursdayApril 17 President Trump holds a bilateral meeting with Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni at the White House. Secretary Rubio and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff travel to Paris to meet with French president Emmanuel Macron. The Trump administration tells the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau it is laying off 90% of the agency's staff. The staff immediately file a lawsuit, and note that Elon Musk, who is overseeing the government's cuts, proposed mobile payments on X which would be regulated by the agency. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Elon Musk get into a profanity-laden shouting match in a West Wing hallway. Bessent accuses Musk of bragging about and then under-delivering budget cuts with DOGE, and Musk calls Bessent a "Soros agent." FridayApril 18 The official White House account on X posts that Kilmar Abrego Garcia is "never coming back." SaturdayApril 19 Vice President Vance meets with Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro, and has what the Vatican describes as an "exchange of opinions" of recent international events, "with particular attention to migrants, refugees, and prisoners." On the anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord, the 50501 movement holds what they call "Day of Action" protests in more than 600 locations around the nation. SundayApril 20On Easter Sunday, Trump posts an attack on what he called "Radical Left Lunatics", "weak and ineffective Judges" and "Sleepy Joe Biden" before repeating falsehoods about the 2020 election. The New York Times reports that, in addition to a well-reported leak via Signal, Pete Hegseth also shared private and sensitive information about forthcoming strikes in Yemen on a second Signal group with his wife, brother and personal lawyer. MondayApril 21 President Trump pays tribute to Pope Francis after his death on this day. President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump host the White House Easter Egg Roll. Traditionally sponsored by the American Egg Board to avoid advertising on White House grounds, this year's event is sponsored by corporations including Amazon, YouTube and Meta. Harvard sues the Trump administration over its threats to billions of dollars in federal funding. The administration had cited student protests over Gaza, which it classified as antisemitism, as a reason to pull funds. TuesdayApril 22 Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump states that undocumented immigrants should not be entitled to trials, insisting that his administration ought to have the power to deport people without ever appearing before a judge. WednesdayApril 23 A dozen states sue Trump over his "Liberation Day" tariffs saying they represent his "whims rather than the sound exercise of lawful authority." Trump and aides demand that Ukraine agree to a proposal that would allow Russia to keep all the territory it has gained in the Ukraine Russia War. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy rejects the proposal saying "There is nothing to talk about. This violated our Constitution. This is our territory." ThursdayApril 24 President Trump holds a bilateral meeting with Norwegian prime minister Jonas Gahr Støre at the White House. FridayApril 25 The FBI arrests Milwaukee County judge Hannah Dugan for allegedly obstructing federal agents from arresting an undocumented immigrant after he appeared in court before her. Dugan had noted the agents had an administrative rather that a judicial warrant and directed the man in question through a juror door and out of the court room.