Every terrible thing the Trump administration did in November 2025

PARDON PAY-TO-PLAY

Last month, President Trump issued over half a dozen pardons to white collar criminals and political allies, some of whom paid lobbyists hundreds of thousands of dollars to get their case before the president. Those who had their crimes pardoned or sentences commuted include:

Former Tennessee House speaker Glen Casada and his chief of staff, Cade Cothren, both Republicans who were sentenced to over two years in prison for fraud, money laundering, and conspiracy charges tied to a scheme involving constituent mailer services.

Robert Harshbarger Jr., the husband of Tennessee Republican Rep. Diana Harshbarger, who pleaded guilty in 2013 to health care fraud and distributing a misbranded drug.

Michael McMahon, a New York cop convicted of acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign government (China), interstate stalking, and conspiracy related to a scheme to harass a Chinese expatriate.

Darryl Strawberry, a former baseball player who pleaded guilty to felony tax evasion in 1995.

Joe Lewis, a British billionaire who pleaded guilty to federal insider trading last year and was given three years probation.

Joseph Schwartz, who was sentenced to three years in prison for his role in a $38 million employment tax fraud scheme involving nursing homes. Schwartz paid nearly a million dollars to lobby for a pardon:

In April, Alina Habba, the U.S. attorney for New Jersey, extolled her office’s role in the sentencing of a former nursing home magnate to three years in prison for defrauding the government of $38 million. The man, Joseph Schwartz, was alleged to have overseen a “collapsed nursing home empire” and “willfully” failed to pay employment taxes, Habba’s announcement said.

Around that time, Schwartz paid $960,000 to two lobbyists “seeking a federal pardon,” according to their lobbying filing…Liz Oyer, a former U.S. pardon attorney who was fired by Trump in March, said the involvement of the lobbyists — and the huge payment — heightens concern that there is “a special tier of justice for people who can afford to pay.”

David Gentile, a private equity CEO who was convicted of a $1.6 billion fraud scheme in which he used investor funds to subsidize his lavish lifestyle. Gentile had served less than two weeks of a seven-year sentence when Trump issued a commutation over Thanksgiving weekend.

Trump also vowed to pardon former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández, who was sentenced to 45 years in prison in 2024 for importing over 400 tons of cocaine into the U.S. The DOJ said at the time that “Hernández abused his power to support one of the largest and most violent drug trafficking conspiracies in the world, in part by working with Sinaloa Cartel leader Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzmán.

• There has been rampant speculation about why Trump would pardon a prolific drug trafficker while simultaneously murdering people at sea under the pretense of stopping the international flow of illegal drugs. It could be that Trump completely bought into the "political prosecution" narrative spun by people like Roger Stone, or it could be that techno-oligarchs like Thiel and Andreessen are advocating for the man who greenlit their corporate enclave "Próspera" in Honduras. Alternatively, perhaps Trump simply admires big time criminals like Vladimir Putin and Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht.

Meanwhile, Trump issued additional pardons for people connected to the Jan. 6 insurrection - including one for a completely unrelated offense, sending a message to his supporters that committing crime on Trump’s behalf will result in immunity from prosecution of all crimes generally.

Suzanne Kaye, a Florida woman who may have taken part in the Jan. 6 insurrection and posted videos on social media threatening to shoot FBI agents for questioning her about her participation.

Dan Wilson, a January 6 insurrectionist who was previously pardoned for taking part in the attack on the Capitol, was issued a second pardon for a separate conviction for illegally possessing firearms.

Dozens of fake electors who took part in trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election results, including prominent architects of the insurrection like Rudy Giuliani, Mark Meadows, John Eastman, Sidney Powell, and Jenna Ellis.

Simultaneously, Trump is championing corrupt payouts of taxpayer money for people who assisted him in trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election, compensating his co-conspirators for their crimes.

A clause contained in the funding bill to reopen the government gives senators the ability to sue the Department of Justice for half a million dollars if their phone records were subpoenaed as part of former special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into Jan. 6. South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham (R) blocked a measure to repeal the provision, saying that he intends to sue the federal government.

The Department of Justice is reportedly in the midst of negotiating a settlement with Michael Flynn, who claims that he was unjustly prosecuted by former special counsel Robert Mueller despite pleading guilty to “willfully and knowingly” making false statements to the FBI in 2017. According to Bloomberg, Flynn is seeking $50 million.

“Rogue FBI actors orchestrated a politically motivated hoax to attempt to shatter his life, all while staging a soft coup against President Trump, draining millions in lost opportunities and legal fees from Flynn while the government lavished payouts on those very bad-faith saboteurs,” [Flynn’s lawyer] wrote.

ICE SURVEILLANCE

Nov. 12: “Dem governors unwittingly share DMV data with ICE, lawmakers warn,” FedScoop

Nov. 12: “ICE Plans to Spend $180 Million on Bounty Hunters to Stalk Immigrants: Newly released documents provide more details about ICE’s plan to use bounty hunters and private investigators to find the location of undocumented immigrants,” 404 Media

Nov. 12: “DHS Kept Chicago Police Records for Months in Violation of Domestic Espionage Rules: The Department of Homeland Security collected data on Chicago residents accused of gang ties to test if police files could feed an FBI watchlist,” Wired

Nov. 13: “Google Has Chosen a Side in Trump’s Mass Deportation Effort: Google is hosting a CBP app that uses facial recognition to identify immigrants, while simultaneously removing apps that report the location of ICE officials because Google sees ICE as a vulnerable group.” 404 Media

Nov. 18: “IRS Accessed Massive Database of Americans Flights Without a Warrant,” 404 Media

Nov. 18: “Contractor Recruiting People on LinkedIn to Physically Track Immigrants for ICE, Will Pay $300,” 404 Media

Nov. 20: “Border Patrol is monitoring US drivers and detaining those with ‘suspicious’ travel patterns,” AP

The predictive intelligence program has resulted in people being stopped, searched and in some cases arrested. A network of cameras scans and records vehicle license plate information, and an algorithm flags vehicles deemed suspicious based on where they came from, where they were going and which route they took. Federal agents in turn may then flag local law enforcement.

Suddenly, drivers find themselves pulled over — often for reasons cited such as speeding, failure to signal, the wrong window tint or even a dangling air freshener blocking the view. They are then aggressively questioned and searched, with no inkling that the roads they drove put them on law enforcement’s radar.

Nov. 21: “The FBI spied on a Signal group chat of immigration activists, records reveal,” Guardian

• “NYPD Confirms Involvement in FBI Probe Targeting Volunteer Observers in Immigration Court,” The City

Nov. 25: “ICE Offers Up to $280 Million to Immigrant-Tracking ‘Bounty Hunter’ Firms,” Wired

IMMIGRATION POLICY

Nov. 5: “Unannounced Child ‘Wellness Checks’ by Armed Federal Agents Raise Concerns: Critics say the visits are a ruse to arrest immigrants,” PRS Memphis

Nov. 6: “The DOJ has been firing judges with immigrant defense backgrounds,” NPR

• AP: “Over the past nine months, the Trump administration has fired almost 90 immigration judges seen by Trump’s allies as too lenient…It is unclear who ordered the firings or how they were selected. But those removed granted asylum at markedly higher rates than their peers — in about half of all cases since August 2023 compared with 34% nationwide, according to Mobile Pathways. Among those purged were all 10 that appeared on the DHS Bureaucrat Watch List, a website created last year with funding from The Heritage Foundation, whose Project 2025 was a blueprint for the Trump administration’s policies and personnel decisions.”

Nov. 7: “DHS ditched software that archived officials’ electronic messages: Those officials are now asked to screenshot their messages and upload them to a shared drive,” FedScoop

Nov. 7: “ICE Is Pitching A Call Center That Would Track Immigrant Kids,” HuffPost

Nov. 7: “Feds Tell Faith Leaders ‘No More Prayer’ Outside Broadview Facility,” Book Club Chicago

Nov. 7: “Immigrants with health conditions may be denied visas under new Trump administration guidance,” ABC

Nov. 10: “Senate Democrat questions Trump administration’s $7.5M payment to Equatorial Guinea,” AP

Nov. 16: “Homeland Security Missions Falter Amid Focus on Deportations: Under President Trump, an agency intended to keep Americans safe has diverted resources from combating child abuse, trafficking and terrorism,” NYT

• “Drug Arrests and Gun Seizures Fell as Homeland Security Pursued Immigration: Internal documents reveal the impact on crime fighting as the Trump administration diverts special agents to its mass deportation agenda,” NYT

Nov. 17: “Trump administration sues California over law banning masked federal agents,” AP

Nov. 18: “Two Weeks of Surveillance Footage From ICE Detention Center ‘Irretrievably Destroyed’,” 404 Media

Nov. 19: “Appeals court blocks judge’s order restricting use of force during federal immigration crackdown in Chicago,” CNN

Nov. 20: “Document Threatens Immigrant Children With ‘Prolonged’ Detention,” HuffPost

Nov. 21: “Border Agents Target Mississippi, Louisiana in ‘Swamp Sweep,’ Aiming to Arrest Thousands of Immigrants,” Mississippi Free Press

Nov. 24: “ICE Targets Traffic Courts Across Tennessee,” Memphis Flyer

Nov. 25: “DOJ acknowledges Kristi Noem made decision to continue deportation flights to El Salvador despite judge’s order,” CNN

Nov. 26: “US stops processing Afghan immigration requests after attack near White House,” Reuters

Other stories:

• “Border patrol agent who shot Chicago woman boasted about it in text messages [IL],” NBC
  • UPDATE: “ICE agent who shot woman in Chicago drove Border Patrol vehicle back to Maine,” WGME; “The Feds Suddenly Want to Drop Their Charges Against a Woman Shot by a Border Patrol Agent: The move avoids the release of more messages from a Border Patrol agent whose previous texts showed he had bragged about shooting her,” Mother Jones; “Judge dismisses charges against Chicago woman shot by Border Patrol,” NBC
• “Child care worker detained by ICE inside a Chicago day care as children watched [IL],” 19th News
• “‘They destroyed us’: East Chicago woman with schizophrenia who opted for deportation now missing in Mexico [IL],” Chicago Tribune
• “Dad says he and his toddler were pepper sprayed by federal immigration agents [IL],” NBC
• “Cops, protesters injured, 21 arrested after scuffles erupt during Broadview ICE facility protest [IL],” Chicago Sun Times; “At least 7 faith leaders arrested at Broadview ICE facility protest,” Nat’l Catholic Reporter
• “Sanford grandfather, born in refugee camp, nabbed by ICE after 70 years in U.S. [FL],” Orlando Sentinel
• “Family speaks out after death of man deported by ICE in vegetative state [TX],” Guardian
• “Austin school district in disarray after ICE detains multiple employees [TX],” Chron
• “ICE video shows officers planned to ‘smash’ into Charlotte man filming Border Patrol [NC],” Charlotte Observer
• “She Was Deported in Error. Her Child Was Left Behind [NY],” NYT
• “Queens Family Demands Answers After Chinese Immigrant Found Bound in ICE Jail [NY],” Documented NY
• “BU student brags on social media about calling ICE on Allston car wash workers [MA],” WBUR
• “19-year-old college student deported despite judge’s order blocking her removal [MA],” ABC
• “How a RI judge intervened after a teen intern was wrongfully detained by ICE,” Providence Journal
• “Attorney for Ontario [CA] man shot by ICE agent disputes claim that his client tried to assault officers,” ABC; “Man shot in back by ICE pleads not guilty to assault charges,” LA Times
• “Armed US immigration agents drive off with toddler after arrest of father [CA],” Guardian
• “An L.A. man was detained in an immigration raid. No one knows where he is [CA],” LA Times
• “British mum detained by ICE agents in California as six-month old baby and stunned husband watch on [CA],” LBC
• “Indigenous actor Elaine Miles says ICE called her tribal ID ‘fake’ [WA],” Seattle Times
• “Issaquah on edge after ICE arrest outside preschool [WA],” KUOW
• “High school senior, a U.S. citizen, detained by ICE in Oregon,” Oregon Live

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Nov. 1: “FBI Ousts Leader as Patel Fumes Over Attention to Agency Jet Use,” Bloomberg

Nov. 4: “FBI fires, unfires, then refires agents linked to Jack Smith probe,” NBC

Nov. 6: “Justice Dept. Is Said to Be Investigating D.C. Mayor Over Foreign Trip,” NYT

Nov. 7: “Feds move to subpoena former CIA director and others who investigated Russian interference in Trump’s 2016 campaign,” CNN

Nov. 10: “F.B.I. Director Is Said to Have Made a Pledge to Head of MI5, Then Broken It: The episode has contributed to concerns among intelligence allies that Kash Patel, brash and partisan, is also unpredictable and even unreliable,” NYT

Nov. 14: “Michael Flynn, DOJ in Settlement Talks Over $50 Million Claim,” Bloomberg

Nov. 14: “Justice Department quietly replaced ‘identical’ Trump signatures on recent pardons,” AP

Nov. 16: “The Unraveling of the Justice Department: Sixty attorneys describe a year of chaos and suspicion,” NYT

Nov. 17: “Whistleblower accuses Ed Martin of ‘concealing and destroying’ records related to DOJ’s weaponization group,” The Hill

Nov. 19: “Veteran FBI employee sues bureau after being fired over displaying a pride flag,” CNN

Nov. 19: “Full grand jury didn’t see final Comey indictment, prosecutors admit,” Guardian

• “Judge dismisses cases against James Comey and Letitia James after finding prosecutor was unlawfully appointed,” NBC

Nov. 20: “DOJ, FBI probing top Trump administration officials over investigations of president’s adversaries,” ABC

Sources said the DOJ and FBI are scrutinizing whether U.S. Pardon Attorney Ed Martin and Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte enlisted individuals outside the Department of Justice to probe allegations of mortgage fraud amid ongoing investigations of Sen. Adam Schiff and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

• Related: “Trump ousts watchdog of US housing regulator involved in mortgage probes of his foes,” Reuters

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

The U.S. military conducted seven boat strikes in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific in November, killing 21 people and bringing the total death toll to over 80 since September.

Nov. 1: “Trump administration tells Congress war law doesn’t apply to cartel strikes,” WaPo

Nov. 2: “Hegseth bars military officials from discussing drug boat strikes with Congress without prior approval,” CNN

Nov. 7: “Trump has accused boat crews of being narco-terrorists. The truth, AP found, is more nuanced,” AP

Nov. 11: “UK suspends some intelligence sharing with US over boat strike concerns in major break,” CNN

Nov. 11: “‘She was the best man for the job’: Hegseth’s policies are pushing qualified women out of the military,” CNN

Nov. 12: “U.S. troops not liable in boat strikes, classified Justice Dept. memo says,” WaPo

Nov. 13: “Trump briefed on updated military options in Venezuela,” ABC

Nov. 13: “Display about Black soldiers in World War II removed from US military cemetery,” CNN

Nov. 14: “Secret U.S. Memo Authorizing Drug-Boat Strikes Cites Chemical Weapon Threat,” WSJ

Nov. 18: “Trump Said to Authorize C.I.A. Plans for Covert Action in Venezuela,” NYT

Nov. 19: “Democratic lawmakers urge troops to disobey illegal orders,” CNN

• “Trump accuses Democrats of ‘seditious behavior, punishable by death,’ for urging military to ignore illegal orders,” NBC
• “Pete Hegseth orders US navy to investigate Mark Kelly’s comments,” Guardian

Nov. 25: “U.S. ready to cut support to Scouts, accusing them of attacking ‘boy-friendly spaces’,” NPR

Nov. 28: “Hegseth order on first Caribbean boat strike, officials say: Kill them all,” WaPo

• “White House says admiral ordered follow-on strike on alleged drug boat, insists attack was lawful,” Reuters

Nov. 29: “Trump says Venezuelan airspace should be considered closed,” Reuters

• “Venezuela calls Trump’s call to close airspace a ‘colonialist threat’,” NPR

CULTURAL CONTROL

Media

Nov. 3 “CBS News heavily edits Trump 60 Minutes interview, cutting boast network ‘paid me a lotta money’,” Guardian

Nov. 9: “Top BBC bosses resign after criticism of the broadcaster’s editing of a Trump speech,” AP

Nov. 12: “Lawmakers say Paramount Skydance ‘stonewalling’ probe into Trump merger approval,” Reuters

Nov. 15: “Trump says he will take legal action against BBC over Panorama edit,” BBC

• “BBC apologizes for edit of Trump speech but says it won’t provide legal compensation,” NPR

Nov. 18: “Paramount Skydance Denies That Its Warner Bros. Discovery Bid Involves Arab Sovereign Wealth Funds,” Variety

Nov. 20: “Larry Ellison discussed axing CNN hosts with White House in takeover bid talks,” Guardian

Nov. 25: “BBC Accused Of Censorship After Removing Claim That Trump Is “Most Openly Corrupt President In History” From Prestigious Radio Show,” Deadline

Universities

Nov. 7: “Cornell reaches $60 million deal with Trump administration to restore funding,” NBC

Nov. 7: “[GOP-led House Judiciary Committee] Accuses GMU President of Lying About DEI Efforts,” Inside Higher Ed

Nov. 28: “Northwestern University and Trump administration reach $75 million agreement over frozen research funds,” ABC

Nov. 30: “Fewer international students are enrolling at U.S. colleges, which could cost the country $1 billion, reports find,” CNBC

ENVIRONMENT

Nov. 11: “Trump plan would open California to offshore oil drilling,” WaPo

Nov. 19: “Trump moves to strip protections for endangered and threatened species,” CNN

• “Dismantling the Endangered Species Act will hurt a lot more than just wildlife,” Grist

Nov. 25: “EPA to abandon air pollution rule that would prevent thousands of U.S. deaths,” WaPo

Nov. 28: “Trump order to keep Michigan power plant open costs taxpayers $113m,” Guardian

CORRUPTION, BRIBERY, AND GENERAL LAWLESSNESS

Nov. 5: “Tech Billionaire Marc Andreessen Bet Big on Trump. It’s Paying Off for Silicon Valley,” ProPublica

Nov. 7: “Trump Wine Hits Government Shelves,” Forbes

Nov. 8: “Trump wants Commanders’ new D.C. stadium named for him,” ESPN

Nov. 14: “Preservationists sue Trump over plans to paint Eisenhower building,” WaPo

Nov. 19: “Majority of corporate Trump ballroom donors represented by 3 lobbying firms, watchdog says,” CBS

Nov. 19: “White House floats executive order to rein in state AI laws,” Axios

Nov. 21: “Senate Democrats are investigating the Kennedy Center for ‘cronyism, corruption’,” NPR

Nov. 26: “Trump wants a bigger White House ballroom. His architect disagrees.” WaPo

Nov. 26: “Howard Lutnick’s Former Wall Street Firm Is Having Its Best Year Ever,” WSJ

Nov. 27: “Swiss lawmakers seek probe into whether gifts to Trump by business leaders breached law,” Reuters

MISCELLANEOUS

• “US consumer watchdog says it is legally blocked from accessing funds,” Reuters
• “FDA’s top drug regulator resigns after federal officials probe ‘serious concerns’ about his conduct,” AP
• “Trump admin axed 383 active clinical trials, dumping over 74K participants,” ArsTechnica
• “CDC website changed to include false claims that link autism and vaccines,” CNN
  • “Kennedy Says He Told C.D.C. to Change Website’s Language on Autism and Vaccines,” NYT
• “Louisiana official who called Covid-19 vaccines ‘dangerous’ given key CDC post,” Guardian
• “FDA official plans to change vaccine approval process, claiming that Covid-19 shots caused child deaths,” CNN
• “FEMA chief steps down as Trump administration prepared to oust him,” CNN
• “K-12 moving to Labor as Trump administration accelerates bid to dismantle Education Department,” Chalkbeat
• “The Trump administration plans major cuts to long-term housing for homelessness,” OPB
• “International tourists face national park price hikes of up to $170,” Axios
• “Steve Witkoff coached a Putin aide on how Russian leader should pitch Trump on Ukraine peace plan, report reveals,” PBS
• “US senators say Rubio told them Trump’s Ukraine peace plan is Russia’s ‘wish list’,” AP
• “Trump officially requests pardon for Netanyahu, Israeli president’s office says,” NBC