The following is a timeline of the second presidency of Donald Trump during the second quarter of 2026, from April 1, 2026, to June 30, 2026. To navigate between quarters, see timeline of the Donald Trump presidencies. For the Q3 timeline see timeline of the second Trump presidency (2026 Q3).
Timeline April 2026 Date Events Photos/videos WednesdayApril 1 President Trump attends the oral arguments at the Supreme Court, a first in the official records, in the case Trump vs. Barbara on birthright citizenship. NASA launches Artemis II to fly by the Moon, the first crewed deep-space mission in 54 years. President Trump delivers prime time speech regarding Iran conflict. Democratic Party leaders filed a suit, in an attempt to block President Trump's attempted limiting of mail in voting ahead of mid-term elections. ThursdayApril 2 President Trump fires Attorney General Pam Bondi after she leaks sensitive information regarding an investigation into Eric Swalwell in addition to her handling of Epstein files. She is temporarily replaced by Todd Blanche. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth requests that Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George step down and take immediate retirement. The heads of the Army's Transformation and Training Command and Chaplain Corps, Gen David Hodne and William Green Jr., were also removed. The Trump administration imposed new tariffs on branded drugs from pharmaceutical companies that have not struck deals with the US to lower US drug prices. Former FBI agent and Jan 6 rioter charged with incitement of violence Jared Wise resigns from the Department of Justice's Weaponization Working Group. FridayApril 3 President Trump requested $1.15 trillion in base defense budget spending from Congress. A US F-15E fighter jet from the 494th squadron was shot down over Iran in first incident since the start of the Iran conflict. The pilot was rescued shortly afterwards, with the other crew member reported as rescued early April 5. SaturdayApril 4 SundayApril 5 President Trump posted a profanity-heavy post to Truth Social threatening Iran over the continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz and celebrated the rescue of a missing US airman. MondayApril 6 President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump host the White House Easter Egg Roll. During a conference, President Trump threatened to jail all journalists at an unnamed news outlet who first reported the status of the second missing airman from F-15E fighter jet. Trump framed it as the airman's status was a national security issue. Democratic representative Yassamin Ansari announced her intent to introduce impeachment articles against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, citing the Iran war and repeated perceived violations of his oath of office and the Constitution. The Department of Education announced the termination of agreements with certain school districts and colleges where Title IX had been interpreted to include protections for transgender and LGBTQ+ students. TuesdayApril 7 Referring to an 8 p.m. EDT deadline for a deal with Iran, Trump posted, "A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again." Legal experts say Trump's threatened attacks on critical infrastructure would be considered war crimes. Following President Trump's post, Pope Leo XIV condemned the statement, stating it was "truly unacceptable" and the war was "unjust." More than 50 Democratic members of Congress, raised calls for Trump's cabinet to invoke the 25th amendment to remove a president deemed unfit for office after his response to the Iran war. Gov. JB Pritzker, former Republican representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, Candace Owens and Alex Jones also joined the calls. Vice President Vance visits Hungary to support Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán ahead of the upcoming parliamentary election. Vice President Vance says that the Iran war will conclude soon. President Trump announces on Truth Social that a two-week ceasefire with Iran has been reached, two hours before his deadline. Democratic representative John Larson announced that he had filled articles of impeachment against President Trump for the Iran war. WednesdayApril 8 Vice President Vance spoke out against allegations that the US is attempting to interfere in Hungary's elections as he had arrived in the country a week before the elections. Vance had spent the day speaking at a thinktank and education center linked to leader Viktor Orban. Defense secretary Pete Hegseth held a briefing at the Pentagon about the Iran ceasefire claiming that the Iranian military was defeated and that the US military would remain in the area. President Trump holds a bilateral meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the White House. Before and after the meeting Trump complained about NATO and perceived lack of response in the Iran war. President Trump spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu via the phone to ask for the scaling back of Israeli strikes on Lebanon to ensure the success of the Iran ceasefire. ThursdayApril 9 First Lady Melania Trump issued a public statement that she "never had a relationship" with Jeffrey Epstein or Ghislaine Maxwell, and called on Congress to provide the Epstein survivors with a public hearing. A federal judge blocks a second attempt to limit press access at the Pentagon. In his ruling, Judge Paul Friedman calls the new restrictions "rather transparent attempts to negate the impact of this court’s order." FridayApril 10 Federal Judge Roopal Patel was fired from her position following her ruling that the Trump administration had no grounds to deport Rümeysa Öztürk. SaturdayApril 11Iran and the United States hold ceasefire talks in Islamabad, Pakistan, making it the first highest-level engagement between the two countries since the Iranian Revolution in 1979. The U.S. delegation is led by Vice President Vance. The U.S. Central Command says that the U.S. Navy Arleigh Burke-class destroyers USS Frank Peterson and USS Michael Murphy have crossed the Strait of Hormuz to ensure the strait is clear of sea mines. SundayApril 12 Vice President Vance returned home from Islamabad, having failed to reach a deal in ceasefire negotiations. In response, Trump and the U.S. military announced it would blockade all shipping maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports. After a lengthy post on Truth Social criticizing Pope Leo, President Trump posted an AI-generated image depicting himself as a Christ-like figure healing a sick man. He deleted the latter post the next day following backlash from his supporters, though he later claimed he thought the image was depicting himself as a medical doctor. MondayApril 13 Members of President Trump's Religious Liberty Commission criticized the idea of a necessary separation between church and state. With chairman Lt. Gov Dan Patrick calling it the "biggest lie" in America's history. Federal Judge Darrin Gayles dismissed President Trump's $10 billion defamation lawsuit against Rupert Murdoch and the Wall Street Journal in connection with their reporting about Trump's relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. After being questioned about his comments against Pope Leo, President Trump stated that he would not apologize for his comments and that the Pope was weak on crime. While speaking with Fox News, Vice President Vance stated that the Vatican should "stick to matters of morality" and let the president "stick to dictating American public policy". President Trump received a McDonald's DoorDash delivery by dasher Sharon Simmons at the Oval Office, as a promotional stunt highlighting his No Tax on Tips policy. Simmons, a resident of Arkansas, had previously lobbied Congress in July 2025 for the policy. President Trump meets with King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands at the White House. A Florida judge throws out Trump's lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal alleging defamation after the Journal published details of a birthday message featuring a drawing of naked woman that Trump allegedly sent to Jeffrey Epstein. Settling a lawsuit, the Trump administration agrees to fly the LGBTQ+ rainbow flag at Stonewall National Monument. TuesdayApril 14 The DC Circuit Court of Appeals ordered US District Judge James Boasberg to end his efforts to hold the administration accountable for flouting his orders about deportation flights. WednesdayApril 15 House Democrat Yassamin Ansari filed six articles of impeachment against Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth in relation to the Iran war, deadly strikes on suspected drug smuggling boats and sharing classified information on Signal. During a prayer session, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth apparently read a fake Bible quote from Pulp Fiction while speaking about the rescue of a downed pilot in Iran. The White House highlighted President Trump's new tax policies on Tax Day, with Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt alleging that the average refund was more than $3,400. Leavitt was joined by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Small Business Administration Administrator Kelly Loeffler. ThursdayApril 16 Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen Dan Caine held a joint news conference, to discuss the Iran War and the Strait of Hormuz crisis. Both men stated that if any ships do not comply with the blockade the US military would respond with force. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr testifies before the House over the department's responses and budget. Acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement director Todd Lyons submitted his resignation, stating he wished to spend more time with his family. Big Bend residents and national environment group sued the Trump administration alleging that they illegally bypassed federal environmental laws for the border wall. Via Truth Social President Trump announced the nomination of Dr. Erica Schwartz as the next director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He also nominated Sean Slovenski, as the CDC deputy director and chief operating officer, Dr. Jennifer Shuford as deputy director and chief medical officer, and Dr. Sara Brenner as senior counselor for public health to the health secretary. FridayApril 17 The House voted unanimously to continue Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) until April 30. SaturdayApril 18 The Trump administration removes the federal information websites for Covid.gov and Covidtests.gov and redirects the domains to a new page fully endorsing the highly controversial COVID-19 lab leak theory. The new page contains notable omissions and several scientific inaccuracies. President Trump signs an executive order to allow for more research into the use of psychedelics as treatment for certain mental illnesses. SundayApril 19 The US Navy and Marines seizes the Iran linked merchant ship M/V Touska as it appeared to defy the US blockade of Iranian ports. MondayApril 20 FBI Director Kash Patel filed a lawsuit seeking $250 million in damages from the Atlantic magazine over an article alleging that Patel was a chronic drinker and had frequent absences from work. The US Customs and Border Protection debuted a portal to allow for companies to submit tariff refund claims, in response to the Supreme Court ruling months prior. Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer announced her resignation following misconduct probes into her and the department under her leadership.