100 Days
Week of April 25-May 1, 2025
Welcome to TRACKING THE CRISIS, a weekly round-up from The Democracy Collaborative tracking the administrative, legislative, and other actions of the new Trump Administration as well as the many forms of legal and movement response from across a broad range of social, political, and economic actors. TDC is providing this service for collective informational purposes, as a tool for understanding the times during a period of disorientingly rapid flux and change in the U.S. political economy. TDC should not be understood as endorsing or otherwise any of the specific content of the information round-up.
TRUMP TRACKER: Administration actions
Trump’s first 100 days: On economy, executive power, campaign promises, and more. Tuesday, April 29 marked the 100th day since Trump took office for a second term. Trump marked the occasion by giving an interview to Time Magazine and holding a rally for supporters in Michigan, a key battleground in the 2024 election. While at the rally, Trump touted ‘progress’ on the economy and attacked Fed chair Powell and ‘radical left’ judges, announcing that “nothing will stop me” as he hyped up his supporters for a possible third term run. Media analyses paint a different picture, with polls finding increased public skepticism on Trump’s agenda and goals; the investor class increasingly wary of his economic moves; and uncertainty as to his path forward after a ‘whirlwind’ of controversial shake-ups in government. The Washington Post fact-checked Trump’s 100-day Time Magazine interview, and CNN debunks 100 false claims from Trump’s first 100 days. The Washington Post and New York Times have each produced charts visualizing Trump’s impact on key issues such as executive orders, tariffs, diversity and civil rights protections, and more. MSNBC notes how lawmaking is only a minor part of Trump’s agenda so far, and charts Trump’s many standoffs with the courts on various executive actions in his second term; and Zeteo notes how Trump’s attempts at reform have been rebuffed in many ways. The Washington Post, Reuters, and Wall Street Journal assess Trump’s progress in terms of delivering on his campaign promises. CNN outlines key moments in Trump’s first 100 days, while the New York Times charts the profound changes Trump has sought in multiple areas of economy, government, and society. The effect of the Trump Administration’s changes in its first 100 days have also profoundly impacted progress on science and climate change action. Truthout charts how Trump’s first 100 days have followed the Project 2025 blueprint espoused by the far right, and how Trump’s actions on immigration have served as ‘authoritarian testing grounds,’ while Common Dreams reflects on the Trump Administration’s economic assault on working people. Efforts by the Trump Administration and DOGE to reduce the size of federal government bureaucracy has often resulted in chaos, confusion and abrupt reversals in policy implementation. Princeton historian Julian Zelizer assesses Trump’s first 100 days through a historical lens, comparing him to past presidents.
Wisconsin judge arrested for allegedly helping man escape immigration enforcement. Milwaukee County Circuit Court judge Hannah Dugan was arrested by FBI agents on Friday, April 25, for ‘obstruction’ of immigration enforcement. Dugan was presiding over a hearing for Eduardo Flores-Ruiz when she was informed that federal agents were waiting outside to arrest him. According to the New York Times, Dugan informed them that they needed a federal warrant and directed them to the chief judge’s office while, back in the courtroom, she ushered Flores-Ruiz and his lawyer out a side door, according to the complaint against her. The arrest prompted local protests as she briefly appeared in court and was released on bail. Critics of the Trump Administration see the arrest as an escalation of the executive branch’s assault on the judiciary and an attempt to silence judicial dissent as the Trump agenda has faced numerous challenges from the courts. Conservative legal analyst Judge Andrew Napolitano told Newsmax that he thought the arrest, publicized by FBI director Kash Patel on X, represented an “overreach” by the Administration and accused Trump of waging a “bit of a jihad” on judges. Wisconsin lawmaker Ryan Clancy called the arrest an attempt to ‘scare’ judges and officials from ‘standing up to the Trump regime.’ On Tuesday, April 29, Dugan was temporarily relieved of her duties by the Wisconsin Supreme Court while she faces further hearings on federal charges. Dugan has retained top conservative lawyer Paul Clement on her defense team, and two ethics watchdog groups have called for an investigation of the DOJ into the circumstances surrounding her arrest. U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson has denounced the Trump Administration’s recent attacks on judges as “designed to intimidate” the judiciary; and on Monday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt refused to ‘rule out’ arrests of Supreme Court justices.
More U.S. citizens caught in deportation dragnet; CBP nominee faces scrutiny on migrant deaths at ICE facilities. On Friday, April 25, three children, all natural-born U.S. citizens, were deported with their mothers to Honduras while being kept from communicating with families and legal representation, raising alarms over constitutional rights and due process. One of the children was undergoing treatment for stage 4 cancer and was allegedly denied access to necessary medication during the deportation process. The Trump Administration has tried to deny that the children were ‘deported,’ claiming their undocumented mothers willingly took the children with them; the mothers dispute this claim, saying they were not given a choice. An Oklahoma family of U.S. citizens were also ‘traumatized’ when ICE agents raided their home in error this week, taking personal belongings and their life savings and forcing the family to stand outside in their underwear. DHS admitted that they had a warrant for the home but the family were not listed as suspects, saying they had the “right house, wrong people.” Venezuela blasted the Trump Administration this week for ‘kidnapping’ a 2-year-old girl whose mother was deported to Venezuela and whose father was sent to El Salvador. The Trump Administration claims the girl’s father was a member of the Tren de Agua gang, though no evidence has been produced. Trump’s nominee to head the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency, Rodney Scott, was grilled at his confirmation hearings this week over his influence on a criminal probe over the beating death of Anastasio Hernandez Rojas in 2010. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has condemned the U.S. Border Patrol for Rojas’ death and ‘torture’ at the hands of Border Patrol officers. On Tuesday, April 29th, a Haitian woman died in ICE custody at a Florida facility; her cause of death remains under investigation. Also on Tuesday, a federal judge blocked the Border Patrol’s attempts to conduct warrantless immigration stops throughout California, warning DHS secretary Kristi Noem that “you can’t just walk up to people with brown skin” and treat them as suspects.
Trump breaks Administration line on Kilmar Abrego Garcia; federal judge rules against use of Alien Enemies Act. In an interview with ABC News on Tuesday, April 29, Trump admitted that he “could” bring Kilmar Abrego Garcia back from El Salvador, as the Administration has been ordered to do by the Supreme Court and other federal judges. Trump’s statement represents a break from the official line of the Trump Administration, which had hitherto claimed that it was “up to El Salvador” to release Garcia. After his admission, Trump reiterated that he refuses to facilitate Garcia’s release, citing Garcia’s alleged MS-13 ties through a picture of tattoos that many critics say were digitally altered. Sources say that Trump Administration officials have been ‘in touch’ with the Salvadoran government over Garcia’s detention and possible release; the New York Times reports that El Salvador supposedly refused to release Garcia, claiming him as a Salvadoran citizen. A federal judge has expedited the discovery process in Garcia’s case, demanding information from the federal government as Marco Rubio bragged on Wednesday about ignoring the courts. Senator Chris Van Hollen, who visited Garcia two weeks ago, claims that the U.S. is ‘paying’ the El Salvador government to detain Garcia, drawing scrutiny around the Trump Administration’s deal with the Salvadoran government over detaining migrants at the notorious facility at CECOT, the world’s largest prison. Human rights experts at the UN decried the use of third-party renditions of migrants as a ‘violation of international law.’ Mother Jones reports on the Venezuelan migrants held in limbo at Texas’ Bluebonnet facility as the legal process around deportations plays out; on Monday, April 28, the group of migrants staged an “SOS” human formation that could be seen by drones flying over the facility. On Thursday, May 1, a Trump-appointed federal judge permanently barred the Trump Administration from using the Alien Enemies Act to deport the migrants.
Elon Musk steps back from DOGE role to focus on Tesla; speculations abound. On Tuesday, April 29, the New York Post reported that Elon Musk was no longer working at the White House and is preparing to step back from his role at DOGE to re-focus on leading Tesla. During a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, April 30, Trump praised Musk as he bid a ‘sort of’ farewell to the Administration; Trump claimed Musk ‘wanted to get back home to his cars’ after playing a key role in the Trump Administration’s overhaul of the federal government in its first 100 days. Tesla’s profits have plunged by 71% since Musk took on his government role at DOGE, fueled by global protests, boycotts and divestment efforts. Reports surfaced this week that Tesla had been looking to oust Musk as CEO, which Tesla later officially denied. A Senate committee report released on Monday found that Musk’s conflicts of interest with the federal government amount to at least $2.3 billion in legal exposure from federal investigations, litigations and regulatory oversight. DOGE now ‘looks to Congress’ to finish the work Musk started, as the latest cuts to Americorps impact red state economies and federal agencies prepare a new round of layoffs for the summer; while admitting that DOGE fell short of expectations during his tenure, Musk characterized DOGE as “a way of life, like Buddhism” that would go on ‘without its Buddha.’
U.S. GDP contracts in first quarter 2025 as businesses, investors struggle to navigate ongoing economic uncertainty. U.S. markets closed out April in the red as economic data showed that U.S. GDP contracted in the first quarter of 2025, shrinking the economy for the first time since the pandemic. Investors are still reeling from the market volatility unleashed by Trump’s tariff war, which continues to roil global trade despite the Trump Administration’s granting of tariff exemptions to U.S. automakers and claims that up to 200 trade deals are being made. The Wall Street Journal notes that while retailers are trying to keep prices low in the face of rising tariffs, the global ‘rush’ of suppliers to beat incoming tariffs is itself distorting the economy in volatile ways. U.S. consumer confidence has also plunged to an all-time low since the COVID-19 pandemic as the general public worries about inflation and the future of their retirement. The Washington Post reports on how Trump’s first 100 days of economic policy has impacted most people’s 401(k) retirement accounts. Trump reportedly struggled to react to the bleak economic news, partially blaming Biden for economic woes and insisting that the economy will be ‘great’ if people just hold on and wait for an inevitably positive outcome. Trump also reportedly lashed out at Jeff Bezos’ purported plan to list tariff costs alongside product prices on Amazon, which Amazon later withdrew. A bipartisan effort in the Senate this week attempted to force a rollback of tariffs by revoking Trump’s emergency powers to unilaterally set foreign levies; the resolution narrowly failed, with Vice President JD Vance casting the tie-breaking vote. As the specter of recession looms despite Trump’s positive outlook, economists point out how the widespread fear of a recession amongst the public can turn into a ‘self fulfilling prophecy’ as consumers withhold spending and increase savings in anticipation of an economic downturn.
Michael Waltz out as National Security Adviser, takes UN post as Marco Rubio fills NSA role. Michael Waltz was ousted from his role as National Security Adviser this week as Trump reshuffled Cabinet roles, reassigning Waltz to serve as UN Ambassador as Secretary of State Marco Rubio takes on Waltz’s former responsibilities as Interim National Security Adviser. Waltz has been under fire since the ‘Signalgate’ controversy last month, where Waltz, Defense Secretary Pete Hesgeth, and other Trump Administration officials discussed classified war plans over a Signal chat that accidentally included Atlantic senior editor Jeffrey Goldberg. Waltz will face confirmation hearings to fill the new role as UN Ambassador after Trump withdrew his nomination of Rep. Elise Stefanik for the post last month, citing the need for her to stay in Congress given the Republicans’ slim majority in the House. With his new appointment, Marco Rubio now holds four positions within the Trump Administration: Secretary of State, National Archivist, acting administrator for USAID, and Interim National Security Adviser.
Federal workers’ benefits at risk as government sheds employment protections, prevailing wage for federal contractors. As Congress heads into discussions on the federal budget amid Trump’s demand for steep tax cuts, federal worker benefits may feel the impact as Republicans discuss increasing employee contributions for reduced pensions. The proposed cuts to benefits come on the heels of OPM’s proposed rule change moving most federal workers to ‘Schedule F’ status, which will strip many workers of civil service job protections. Rep. Gerry Connolly, ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, condemned the move to Schedule F as an effort to ‘purge and politicize’ the federal workforce and called on OPM to rescind the proposal. The Trump Administration also rescinded a Biden-era executive order to raise the minimum wage for federal contract workers, which means that many lower-wage federal contractors could see their wages shrink from $17.75 an hour to as low as the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. This week also saw the effective cancellation of the Americorps program, which trains tens of thousands of young people for government and nonprofit jobs around the country. Steep workforce cuts are also forecast for NASA as well as cuts to Section 8 subsidized housing, which Truthout reports will disproportionately impact Black renters. Federal workers have also been ordered to report their locations daily under increased enforcement of return-to-office orders. As federal agencies prepare for a new round of layoffs, VA employees were forced to sign non-disclosure agreements as an effective ‘gag’ order on layoff discussions.
Tracking the Money: conflicts of interest and privatization in the Trump Administration. New details emerged this week on the Trump Administration’s effort to gut the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, increasing scrutiny on DOGE employee Gavin Kliger, who helped direct staffing cuts at the CFPB while owning stock in companies that would benefit from the reduced oversight. As Elon Musk leaves the White House, ethics concerns still arise from Musk’s participation in an Air Force nominee’s interview due to SpaceX’s vested interest in defense contracting. ProPublica also reports this week on a Treasury Department inspector general’s probe into efforts by DOGE and the Trump Administration to access sensitive taxpayer data at the IRS. Mother Jones reports on how the Trump Administration’s effort to root out Democratic ‘dark money’ on the fundraising platform ActBlue was itself financed by Elon Musk’s dark money superPAC. The Justice Department announced this week that it will be shuttering its Consumer Protection Branch, a unit devoted to investigating fraud against seniors, service members, and entities involved in the opioid crisis. Trump also announced a bidding contest among his Trumpcoin crypto investors for a special ‘dinner’ he will be hosting on May 22 for top investors in his memecoin. State Democracy Defenders Action released a report this week detailing Trump’s crypto conflicts of interest in light of his push to elevate digital currency markets. The Department of the Interior moved to fast-track gas and oil drilling and mining projects on federal lands, skipping environmental review and regulation; and the EPA’s chemical disaster tracking tool, marking the locations of high-risk chemical plants, was pulled from its website at the behest of corporations that have been lobbying the Trump Administration. ProPublica also reports on the politically connected firms that are benefitting from Trump’s opaque and arbitrary tariff exemptions; and the Lever reports on how the Trump Administration’s relaxed corporate regulations enable price gougers to take advantage of higher tariffs.
MOVEMENT TRACKER
100 Days of Polls: Trump approval rating lowest of any modern president at crucial second-term milestone. The Washington Post charts the Trump Administration’s first 100 days through poll numbers on seven key issues, as Trump’s approval rating hits a record for the lowest of any modern president after their first 100 days in office. Truthout reports on how this week’s polls show that most voters see the Trump Administration’s first 100 days as ‘chaotic’ and scary’. A CNN/SSRS poll shows that 59% of the public says Trump’s policies have made the economy worse, with 70% of those under 45 expressing fear of an economic recession impacting their lives. Republican pollster and strategist Frank Luntz explained how Trump is bleeding support among key constituencies of moderates and independents that supported him over Kamala Harris in the 2024 election. A Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted this week show rising discontent over the economy as well as the Trump Administration’s hardline approach to immigration, a key campaign issue for which Trump had previously held positive numbers. A Washington Post/ABC News/Ipsos poll found that a significant number of Republicans now believe Trump is going ‘too far’ on executive overreach and disrespect for the rule of law. The poll also notes a 10-percent decline in approval rating among non-college-educated white people, a key constituency for Trump during the 2024 election. A majority of Americans disapprove of Trump’s plans to take over Canada and Greenland and his push to seek a third term. A PRRI survey shows that a majority of voters are alarmed at Trump’s actions and see them as threatening democratic norms. The New York Times discusses the implications of similarly sliding numbers seen in its Times/Siena College poll this week. CNN reports on the ‘buyers’ remorse’ trend seen among Arizona Trump voters who are now worried about the economy and cuts to federal benefits. Trump lashed out at media outlets over the flagging poll numbers this week, as Stephen Miller hit back at Fox News after the conservative outlet also published bad poll numbers for Trump.
May Day demonstrations mobilize tens of thousands of protestors in over 1,000 cities nationwide, highlighting workers’ and immigrants’ rights. This year’s May Day mobilized thousands on the streets of more than 1,000 cities nationwide, as the May Day Strong coalition of over 200 labor and community organizations built upon the momentum of the April ‘Hands Off’ protests. The day of action brought many newly mobilized people into contact with immigrant rights organizations and labor unions that also organized numerous strike actions for International Workers’ Day. As the protests also coincided with Trump’s 100-day mark, many also protested the Administration’s overreach and the ‘billionaire takeover’ that has animated many new protestors over the last few months. The AFL-CIO published a list of demands from the labor movement for the May Day actions. Protests in Pittsburgh connected issues of immigrant and Palestine solidarity. Bernie Sanders spoke to crowds in Philadelphia, where a breakaway march later staged a freeway blockade. A separate action called the National Law Day of Action brought legal professionals to stand up in defense of the judiciary and against Trump’s targeting of law firms. A group calling for a general strike in the United States distributed political education about May Day through social media.
Democratic lawmakers pull back on impeachment, confrontational moves as DNC eyes 2026 Senate races. Democrats continue to be divided over their opposition strategy to Trump, driving internal struggles within the party as the centrist and progressive factions vy for leadership positions going into the 2026 midterms. Rank and file Democratic voters overwhelmingly want leadership to fight harder against the Trump Administration’s overreach; and figures such as Illinois governor J.B. Pritzker and Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen have pushed that line with their actions. Mainstream Democrats hope to use Social Security as a bulwark issue to use against the GOP as Congress heads into discussion over the budget; former SSA commissioner Martin O’Malley is embarking on a national tour to push back against Trump and DOGE misinformation about the integrity of the benefit program. Leadership appears to have taken impeachment off the table, as House Dems withdrew support for Rep. Shri Thanedar’s impeachment bill introduced last month. This week in the Washington Post, Sen. Chuck Schumer defended his controversial decision to support the GOP budget framework passed in the House last month; and House Majority leader Hakeem Jeffries privately urged fellow Democrats to stop traveling to El Salvador to visit with detained migrants, even as pressure builds within the party to bring Kilmar Abrego Garcia and other detainees back to the United States. Zeteo’s Prem Thakker has published a ranking of Democrats on their stances and actions over Trump’s first 100 days.
Mohsen Mahdawi freed on bail as universities unite, plan resistance strategies against anticipated Trump attacks. Mohsen Mahdawi, the Palestinian Columbia University student who was detained at his citizenship interview, was released from federal custody on Wednesday, April 30 pending hearings on his habeas petition. Judge Jeffrey Crawford ruled that Mahdawi did not pose a safety risk, and compared the Trump Administration’s arrest of Mahdawi to McCarthyism. Before his release, Mahdawi spoke to reporters about his experience and the violation of his First Amendment rights. As Harvard begins to make concessions under Trump pressure, other universities are pursuing lobbying efforts to protect themselves as well as banding together to resist Trump attacks. A recent statement from the American Association of Colleges and Universities opposing the Trump Administration’s agenda to remake higher education was signed by over 400 university leaders; and the Wall Street Journal reports on a coalition of 10 elite universities that have assembled a ‘private collective’ to plan a unified strategy to resist Trump Administration pressures. The New York Times profiles professors at Rutgers University who have pushed for a ‘mutual defense compact’ between Big Ten universities, which has now been taken up by faculty senates and unions at at least half of the institutions that make up the Big Ten conference.
Upcoming Protests and Events.
May Day actions continue this weekend and over the next several days in several cities. More information can be found at the Big List of Protests website.
Tuesday, May 6th: The Debt Collective is hosting a mass organizing call for student debtors to fight back against the involuntary collection of student debt which is set to resume next week. More information can be found on the Debt Collective’s website.
Friday, June 6th: Veterans are rallying in Washington DC to defend VA jobs, healthcare, and services against Trump Administration cuts. More information can be found at Unite4Veterans.org.
Lawsuit updates.
Democracy Docket notes how courts handed Trump eleven losses over the past week. ABC News gives an overview of the 220 lawsuits brought against the Trump Administration over its first 100 days.
A lawsuit challenging the Trump Administration over allowing ICE to enter churches and schools to arrest migrants was filed in Oregon on Monday, April 28.
On Monday, April 28, a coalition of unions, local governments, and nonprofits sued to block Trump from making further workforce cuts in the federal government, arguing that DOGE’s reorganization efforts are unconstitutional.
ACLU claimed a ‘major civil rights victory’ on Tuesday, April 29, as a federal court issued a preliminary injunction barring the Border Patrol from conducting ‘stop-and-arrest’ practices that they argue amount to racial profiling and violate federal law and the Constitution.
