April–early May 2026: Callais, the shutdown ends, and May Day

The six weeks from April 1 to May 9 produced what may be the most consequential cluster of federal-policy events of the year so far. The Voting Rights Act was substantively narrowed. The 75-day DHS shutdown ended. The 10% global tariff surcharge was struck down. Virginia’s redistricting amendment was voided. Two Comey indictments. Reconciliation 2.0 unlocked. A general strike day. The pace did not let up.

Section 232 pharmaceutical tariffs

On April 2, Trump signed a proclamation imposing 100% tariffs on imports of patented small-molecule and biologic drugs and their active ingredients under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act. Generics, biosimilars, and orphan drugs are exempt. Tariffs take effect July 31 for large companies and September 29 for others; companies that sign Most-Favored-Nation pricing agreements and submit approved domestic manufacturing onshoring plans receive a 0% rate through January 20, 2029. (WH)

Federal-court immigration rulings continue

On April 3, a Nevada federal judge ruled that ICE could not jail every immigrant facing deportation without a chance at a bond hearing, rejecting the administration’s July 2025 policy of indefinite mandatory detention regardless of length of US residence. (Washington Post)

Iran ceasefire announcements

A conditional US-Iran ceasefire was announced on April 8, brokered through Pakistani mediation, conditioned on Iran ceasing Hezbollah funding. On April 16, the State Department mediated a separate Israel-Lebanon ceasefire that Trump later extended by three weeks pending a long-term deal. On April 13, the US launched a counter-blockade targeting ships bound for Iranian ports. Gaza remained an active military theater. (Common Library)

HUD tribal housing investment alongside rule rollbacks

HUD unveiled more than $1.1 billion for affordable-housing initiatives in Tribal Communities on April 10. The announcement landed during a period when HUD also proposed eliminating the 30-day eviction-notice requirement and proposed revising Equal Access rules to allow program recipients to demand evidence of sex for shared sleeping or bathroom facilities. (Federal Register)

LAUSD averts strike

Hours before a planned walkout on April 14, Los Angeles Unified School District and SEIU Local 99 reached a tentative agreement covering 30,000 bus drivers, custodians, cafeteria workers, and teaching aides. The deal provided a 24% wage increase, expanded hours that extend healthcare to more workers and dependents, and rescinded layoff notices for roughly 200 IT staff. (LAist)

Endangerment finding rescission takes effect

EPA’s rescission of the 2009 endangerment finding — finalized February 12 — became effective April 20. The repeal eliminates the legal basis for federal greenhouse-gas regulation under the Clean Air Act and ends federal vehicle GHG standards from model year 2012 forward. Multiple lawsuits are now in active litigation. (Federal Register)

Federal court blocks renewable-permitting freeze

Judge Denise Casper (D. Mass.) granted a preliminary injunction on April 21 halting five Department of Interior and Army Corps actions that had restricted federal permitting for wind and solar projects since January 2025. Industry groups said the restrictions had imperiled roughly 57.2 GW of capacity and put $8.4-25.6 billion in federal tax credits at risk. (CNBC)

SPLC indicted; Arctic Frost subpoenas revealed

FBI Director Kash Patel and Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche announced a federal grand jury indictment against the Southern Poverty Law Center on April 21. The same day, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on “Arctic Frost,” former Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation; Patel testified that Smith had subpoenaed phone records of sitting Republican members of the House and Senate. (Democracy Forward)

Reconciliation 2.0 unlocked

The Senate adopted the FY26 budget resolution April 23 with two Republican defections (50-48); the House followed April 29 (215-211). The resolution instructs the Senate Homeland Security, Senate Judiciary, and House Homeland Security and Judiciary committees to draft legislation by May 15 providing up to $70 billion in additional immigration-enforcement funding outside the regular appropriations process. (NACo)

Comey indicted, again

A federal grand jury in the Eastern District of North Carolina indicted former FBI Director James Comey on April 28 on charges of making a threat against the president and transmitting a threat in interstate commerce, based on a May 2025 Substack/Instagram photo of seashells arranged to read “86 47.” If convicted, he faces up to 10 years. The indictment came after a September 2025 case against Comey was dismissed. (CNN)

Louisiana v. Callais (April 29) and the May 4 immediate-effect order

The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 on April 29 in Louisiana v. Callais that Louisiana’s congressional map (with a second majority-Black district) was an unconstitutional racial gerrymander, substantially narrowing Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. Justice Kagan’s dissent: “Today’s decision renders Section 2 all but a dead letter.” On May 4, the Court granted Louisiana’s request to bypass the standard 32-day rehearing window and give the judgment immediate effect, despite more than 100,000 voters having already cast early ballots. (SCOTUSblog)

Supreme Court hears TPS cases

The Court heard oral arguments April 29 in consolidated cases Mullin v. Dahlia Doe (Syria) and Trump v. Miot (Haiti) challenging termination of Temporary Protected Status. The conservative majority signaled support for the administration’s position. A ruling for the government would strip status from approximately 350,000 Haitians and 6,000 Syrians and could affect roughly 1.3 million people from 17 countries currently living under TPS. (SCOTUSblog)

Federal Reserve holds rates

The FOMC voted April 29 to maintain the federal funds target at 3.50-3.75%, with public dissent reflecting disagreement over whether stuck-above-3% inflation or a softening labor market posed the larger risk. March nonfarm payrolls came in at 178,000 with unemployment at 4.3%. (Fed)

DHS shutdown ends

Trump signed the DHS appropriations bill on April 30, ending the partial shutdown that began February 14. The bill funds most DHS components — TSA, FEMA, Coast Guard — but pointedly omits ICE and parts of CBP, which are routed instead to reconciliation. (CNBC)

May Day Strong

Roughly 500 organizations staged more than 750 May Day actions on May 1 under “No Work, No School, No Shopping” and “Workers Over Billionaires” framings. The National Education Association, AFT, AAUP, Starbucks Workers United, and the United Electrical Workers were among major union participants; Sunrise Movement reported over 100,000 students walking out. Demands included shifting tax burden from working class to wealthy, eliminating ICE, ending US involvement in foreign wars, and limiting corporate election spending. (Prospect)

Nebraska begins Medicaid work requirements

Nebraska began enforcement on May 1 of the Medicaid work-reporting requirement enacted in the OBBBA, ahead of most states’ planned summer outreach. The provision requires Medicaid expansion adults to document at least 80 hours per month of work, volunteering, or training. (KFF)

CIT strikes down 10% surcharge

The US Court of International Trade ruled 2-1 on May 7 that Trump’s across-the-board 10% global tariff — imposed February 24 after the Supreme Court’s earlier Learning Resources defeat — was not authorized under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974. Relief was limited to the named plaintiffs (the State of Washington, Burlap & Barrel, and Basic Fun!); other importers face tariffs through July pending appeal. (Washington Post)

Virginia Supreme Court strikes redistricting amendment

The Supreme Court of Virginia ruled 4-3 on May 8 in Scott v. McDougle to void the constitutional amendment that voters had approved 52-48 on April 21. The majority held that “general election” in Article XII includes the early-voting period, and that the timing defect — the legislature first passed the measure in October 2025, after early voting in the 2025 House elections had begun — broke the intervening-election requirement. (Virginia Mercury)

What April-May produced

The compounding pressures of the spring resolved in two directions simultaneously. Some — the IEEPA tariffs, the 10% surcharge, the renewable-permitting freeze, parts of the immigration-enforcement infrastructure — were rolled back through court action. Others — the endangerment-finding rescission, the Section 2 narrowing, the OBBBA implementation — were made operative.

The political coalitions visible in the May Day mobilization, the Minneapolis general strike that preceded it, and the labor environment more broadly are responding to these compounding pressures. Whether they sustain into the summer and fall, and what they do with reconciliation 2.0 as it advances, will define the second half of 2026.

The fights have not been resolved. They have been intensified.