Chapter 31: A Tumultuous Presidency: The Trump Years (2017–2021)

2017

Neil Gorsuch appointed to the Supreme Court

2017

Hurricanes cause devastation to the Gulf Coast and Puerto Rico

2018

President Trump withdraws from the JCPOA nuclear deal with Iran

2018

The Democrats recapture control of the House of Representatives

2018

Hurricanes cause severe damage in the Carolinas and the Florida Panhandle

2018

The United States, Mexico, and Canada lay the foundation for the USMCA trade agreement to replace NAFTA

2019

Robert Mueller releases a report that finds no conclusive evidence that the 2016 Trump campaign colluded with the Russians

2019

House Democrats launch an impeachment inquiry over President Trump’s dealings with the Ukraine

2020

President Trump is acquitted by a Senate impeachment trial

2020

Joe Biden wins the 2020 presidential election

2020

Amy Coney Barrett appointed to the Supreme Court

2020

The death of George Floyd leads to antipolice riots

2020

The COVID-19 pandemic spreads to the United States

2021

A mob of Trump supporters storms the Capitol building to protest the certification of Joe Bidens electoral victory

Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017

This comprehensive law slashed corporation, individual, and estate taxes to 21%. These tax cuts and Trump's deregulatory actions boosted economic activity and corporate confidence.

Brett Kavanaugh

Justice Anthony Kennedy retired in June 2018. Although conservative, Kennedy was considered a "swing" vote on the high court. Trump's nomination of ________, a constitutional "originalist" federal judge, raised the political stakes.

Crossfire Hurricane

While many Democrats claimed that Trump had ties to the Russians, Republican Representative Devin Nunes, then chair of the House Intelligence Committee, released a report charging that __________, the FBI investigation that began in 2016, relied on questionable information from Christopher Steele, a British operative working for the Clinton campaign.

John Durham

Attorney General Barr appointed ________, a federal prosecutor, to examine the 2016 Trump campaign spying.

Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA)

In December, Michael Horowitz, the Department of Justice Inspector General, released a report criticizing the Justice Department and FBI for providing misleading material to the ______________ court to legitimize their inquiry.

Volodymyr Zelensky

A whistleblower allegation regarding President Trump's phone chat with Ukrainian president ___________ sparked a fresh crisis between Trump and House Democrats in September.

Hunter Biden

The whistleblower said that Trump conditioned American military assistance to Ukraine on Zelensky's agreement to probe former vice president Joe Biden and his son ______, who had acquired a lucrative seat on the board of a Ukrainian oil firm under investigation for corruption.

**Nancy Pelosi**

**House Speaker _____________** said the president's claims were serious enough to trigger an impeachment probe by several House committees. These committees started conducting closed-door hearings with witnesses.

2015 Paris Agreement on Climate Change

The president said that the US will no longer respect the ___________ because he considered it economically unfair to the US.

**Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi**

In 2019, American special forces murdered ISIL leader **____________**. The new regime first fought the Taliban in Afghanistan.

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**Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)**

In May 2018, President Trump withdrew the US from President Obama's **__________________** with Iran on the Iranian nuclear program. Saudi Arabia fought Iran-backed Houthi forces in Yemen with Trump administration assistance.

**Abraham Accords**

In September 2020, the **_________** repaired Israel-UAE and Bahrain ties. Sudan and Morocco repaired relations with Israel later that year.

**US Space Force**

Some observers speculated about a new US-China cold war that may escalate into war. Trump raised military budget to prepare for this. Trump created the ____________ in December 2019.

United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA)

NAFTA with Mexico and Canada was one of his local targets. The _______________ was negotiated by the Trump administration. This NAFTA successor was approved in 2020.

White House Coronavirus Task Force

On January 29, President Trump created a _____________, and on January 31, he imposed contentious travel restrictions to and from China. These sanctions were eventually extended to other nations.

Operation Warp Speed

In May, President Trump established _________, a government-private sector cooperation to produce COVID19 drugs.

Breonna Taylor

She was killed by Louisville, Kentucky, police during a nighttime search warrant in March.

George Floyd

In late May, a Minneapolis, Minnesota, police officer choked _________ to death.

Kamala Harris

The first Jamaican-Indian woman nominated for this high post. Campaigning was disrupted by COVID-19.