2026 in the United States

2026 in the United States

The following is a list of events of the year 2026 in the United States, as well as predicted and scheduled events that have not yet occurred.

July 4, 2026, will be the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence of the United States from the British Empire.

In January 2026, the U.S. launched a military raid in Venezuela that captured its president Nicolás Maduro. In February 2026, the U.S. launched a major attack on Iran with Israel with the stated goal of regime change, killing its leader Ali Khamenei.

Planned events include Artemis II, planned for April 2026, which will be the first crewed deep-space mission since 1972 and send four astronauts by the Moon; the 2026 FIFA World Cup, to be held across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico from June to July; and the 2026 midterms in November.

Incumbents

Federal government

• President: Donald Trump (R-Florida) • Vice President: JD Vance (R-Ohio) • Chief Justice: John Roberts (Maryland) • Speaker of the House of Representatives: Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) • Senate Majority Leader: John Thune (R-South Dakota) • Congress: 119th

State governments

Governors and lieutenant governors
Governors See also: List of current United States governors Lieutenant governors See also: List of current United States lieutenant governors

Elections

2026 in the United States

The midterm elections are scheduled to be held on November 3. In the federal government, the offices up for election are all 435 seats of the House of Representatives, and roughly one third of the Senate. Most states and territories will hold elections for their governors and legislatures.

In the Senate, nine senators have announced their intention not to seek re-election this cycle, including five Republicans and four Democrats. Republican seats in Maine, North Carolina, and Ohio are seen as vulnerable, while Democrats will be defending seats in Georgia, Michigan, and New Hampshire. In the House, numerous states have redrawn their congressional districts ahead of the election, with Republicans attempting to strengthen their narrow margins.

On the state level, 36 states and three territories will hold gubernatorial elections, and most states and territories will hold elections for their legislatures. Many major cities, including Long Beach, Los Angeles, Louisville, Newark, Oakland, Oklahoma City, St. Petersburg, and Washington, D.C., will also elect their mayors and municipal governments.

Events

January

January 1: Zohran Mamdani is sworn in as Mayor of New York City by Bernie Sanders and accompanied by his wife Rama Duwaji.

• January 1 • Zohran Mamdani is sworn in as the 112th Mayor of New York City, becoming the first Muslim and the first Asian American to hold the city's highest office. • Public Domain Day: Books, films, and other works published in 1930 enter the public domain. • January 3 – 2026 United States strikes in Venezuela: President Trump announces the capture of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, following a large-scale air strike. • January 4 – 31st Critics' Choice Awards: One Battle After Another and its director Paul Thomas Anderson win Best Picture and Best Director respectively. Films Frankenstein and Sinners and television series Adolescence all top the charts with four awards each. • January 5 • Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife appear in a federal court in Manhattan and plead not guilty to drugs and weapon charges. • New coins celebrating the Semiquincentennial, featuring pilgrims, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison, begin circulating. • Tim Walz announces he will not seek reelection as governor amidst political attacks and the Minnesota fraud scandal. • The Corporation for Public Broadcasting votes to dissolve itself. • The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention rewrites its childhood vaccine schedule, reducing the number of shots universally recommended from 17 to 11.

January 7: ICE agents stand off with civilians in Minneapolis following the killing of Renée Good.

• January 7 • Killing of Renée Good: An American woman is shot and killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota. • Trump announces that the United States will withdraw from 66 international organisations, including the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. • Somalia–United States relations: The State Department suspends all ongoing assistance programs to Somalia. • 2026 Salt Lake City church shooting: Two people are killed and six others are injured in a mass shooting during a funeral at a LDS Church meetinghouse in Salt Lake City, Utah. • January 8 – The Senate votes 52–47 to advance a resolution that would bar the president from taking further military action in Venezuela without congressional approval. It will now pass to the House of Representatives. • January 10 – 2025–26 measles outbreak: North Carolina experiences a surge in measles over the past week, with cases rising to 310 in the state alone. Nearly 2,500 are reported nationally. • January 11 • Federal prosecutors open a criminal investigation into Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell over the testimony he gave to a Senate committee about renovations to Federal Reserve buildings. • Low-cost airline Allegiant Air purchases Sun Country Airlines for $1.5 billion. • Three inmates are killed, thirteen others are hospitalized, and a guard is injured when violence breaks out at the Washington State Prison in Davisboro, Georgia. • January 13 • The Trump administration designates the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, the Islamic Group in Lebanon, and the Islamic Action Front in Jordan as foreign terrorist organizations for their support of Hamas. • Meta announces the closure of the studios Armature Studio, Sanzaru Games, and Twisted Pixel. In addition, they announced more than 1,000 workers would be laid off in their Reality Labs business. • January 14 – A Verizon outage affects at least 175,000 people. • January 16 – Trump announces that he may place tariffs on nations that refuse to accept his plan to annex Greenland. • January 17 – Trump confirms that European countries will be hit with a 10% tariff on "all or any goods" exported to the US from February 1, amid the dispute over Greenland. • January 19 – The Indiana Hoosiers defeat the Miami Hurricanes 27–21 in the College Football Playoff National Championship, winning their first national title, also being the first football team to go 16-0 since the Yale Bulldogs in (/wiki/1894YaleBulldogsfootballteam). • January 20 – A surge in immigration enforcement begins in Maine, primarily in the cities of Lewiston and Portland. The operation is titled "Operation Catch of the Day".

The World Health Organization's members after the United States left the agency.

• January 22 • The United States officially leaves the World Health Organization. • Trump's Executive Order 14253 is carried out, removing exhibits commemorating the history of slavery in the United States at the President's House. • January 23 – The Office of Foreign Assets Control imposes sanctions on British-Palestinian activist Zaher Birawi, alleging that he has ties with Hamas. • January 23–26 – A major winter storm and cold wave strikes the United States, impacting over 30 states and killing at least 85 people, with over 15 states of emergency being declared.

A major winter storm impacts over 30 states and northern Mexico.

• January 24 • Trump threatens Canada with 100% tariffs on all goods if the country's prime minister Mark Carney strikes a trade deal with China. • Killing of Alex Pretti: A 37-year-old man is shot and killed by United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Minneapolis, Minnesota. • One person is killed and 14 others are injured in a gas explosion and multiple-alarm fire at a 17-story apartment building in the Bronx, New York City. • January 25 • Over a million people are without power across the South and at least 10,000 flights are canceled due to the winter storm. • Six people are killed when a Bombardier Challenger 650 aircraft crashes at Bangor International Airport in Maine. • January 27 – Congresswoman Ilhan Omar is attacked during a town hall meeting in Minneapolis when an audience member sprays a chemical substance at her. A 55-year-old man is arrested and charged with third-degree assault, while Omar herself is uninjured. • January 28 • FBI investigation into the 2020 United States presidential election in Georgia: The Federal Bureau of Investigation raids the election center in Fulton County, Georgia. • Amazon announces 16,000 job layoffs in its second round of corporate reduction. • January 29 – Journalist and former CNN host Don Lemon is arrested by federal authorities after he reported on a protest inside a church in St. Paul, Minnesota earlier in the month. • January 30 • 2026 United States general strike • Three million pages related to the Epstein Files, including 2,000 videos and 180,000 images, are released to the public, implicating many high-profile public figures worldwide. • Killing of Brian Thompson: United States federal judge Margaret Garnett dismisses the federal murder and weapon charges against Luigi Mangione in the killing of Brian Thompson, the former CEO of UnitedHealthcare, ruling out the death penalty against Mangione. The judge maintains the stalking charges, which carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. • January 31 • Five people, including a 6-year-old, are wounded in a shooting at the Mardi Gras parade in Clinton, Louisiana. • Nancy Guthrie, mother of Today co-host Savannah Guthrie, is abducted from her home in the Catalina Foothills area north of Tucson, Arizona. • A federal government shutdown begins.

February

• February 1 – The 68th Annual Grammy Awards are held at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, honoring the best in music from September 2024 to August 2025. "Luther" by Kendrick Lamar and SZA wins Record of the Year while Debí Tirar Más Fotos by Bad Bunny wins Album of the Year, the first Spanish-language album to do so. Kendrick Lamar wins five awards and surpasses Jay-Z as the most awarded hip-hop artist in Grammy Awards history. • February 3 – The government shutdown ends with a bill that funds DHS for two weeks. • February 4 • The Central Intelligence Agency announces it will no longer publish The World Factbook. • Decline of newspapers: The Washington Post announces 300 journalist layoffs, roughly one-third of its employees, as part of a major restructuring. • February 5 • The New START treaty limiting strategic nuclear weapons with Russia expires. • Three people are killed and seven others are injured when a car crashes into a 99 Ranch Market in Westwood, Los Angeles, California. • February 6 – President Trump is condemned by politicians from both sides for sharing a video on social media which includes a racist clip depicting Barack and Michelle Obama as apes. • February 8 – Super Bowl LX is played at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, with the Seattle Seahawks prevailing over the New England Patriots. Bad Bunny headlines halftime show with special guests Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin, while Kid Rock performs at the Turning Point alternate All-American Halftime Show. • February 10 – Trump threatens the opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge, saying the US should be "fully compensated for everything" it has given to its northern neighbour, and demanding that Ottawa "treats the United States with the Fairness and Respect that we deserve". • February 11 – The Federal Aviation Administration abruptly announces a 10-day temporary flight restriction (TFR) over El Paso, Texas and surrounding areas (specifically a 10-mile radius surrounding El Paso International Airport). All air traffic is prohibited, including civilian airliners, general aviation, and medical flights. The FAA states that the TFR is because of an 'incursion' of cartel-operated drones. Despite the initial 10-day window, flights resume only hours later. • February 12 • The Endangerment Finding of 2009, regulating six greenhouse gases as air pollution, is repealed by the Environmental Protection Agency. • At least six people are killed in a killing spree in Sarasota and Fort Lauderdale, Florida. • White House "border czar" Tom Homan announces that ICE will end its recent immigration crackdown in the Twin Cities, Minnesota. • February 14 – A second shutdown affecting only the Department of Homeland Security begins. • February 16 – A mass shooting occurs at the Dennis M. Lynch Arena in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, during a high school ice hockey game. The attack results in the deaths of three people, and three others hospitalized. • February 17 • Tributes are paid to Jesse Jackson following the announcement of the civil rights leader's death at the age of 84. • Tricia McLaughlin resigns as Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs in the United States Department of Homeland Security and will leave the Trump administration amidst backlash about Trump's hardline immigration policies. • An avalanche kills eight skiers northwest of Lake Tahoe in California. • February 19 – Trump announces he is transferring $10 billion from the US government to his "Board of Peace" which he chairs. • February 20 – Legal affairs of the second Trump presidency: In a 6–3 vote, the U.S. Supreme Court rules that the IEEPA does not give the President the power to set tariffs, striking down Trump's sweeping emergency tariffs as illegal. • February 21 – Trump announces that his Administration will increase global tariffs to 15% following the Supreme Court decision the previous day, effective from February 24. • February 22 – A 21-year-old man is shot and killed after entering the secure perimeter of Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence. The suspect is described as a white male carrying a shotgun and fuel can.

February 24: Trump's State of the Union address broke the record for the longest speech given to a joint session of Congress.

• February 24 • Meta agrees to purchase millions of artificial intelligence chips from AMD, with AMD committing to supply up to six gigawatts of graphics processing units and issuing Meta warrants convertible into 160 million shares as part of a long-term partnership. • Trump delivers the first official State of the Union Address of his second term to a joint session of Congress. • February 25 – 2026 Cuban boat incident: Cuban border guards are involved in a shoot-out with ten people on board a US-registered boat. Four of the boat's passengers are killed, and six are injured. • February 26 – The government of Kansas suspends the driver licenses of all transgender residents after the Kansas Legislature overrode a veto from Governor Laura Kelly. The suspension is announced only hours before midnight on the 25th. • February 27 • An extra-governmental group is reportedly working with the Trump administration to draft an executive order which would, if signed, effectively declare a national emergency and give the Trump administration extended powers over the administration of the 2026 United States elections. Trump denies his knowledge of the existence of such an executive order. • Anthropic rejects a Department of Defense request to loosen security safeguards on the Claude large language model for potential use in mass surveillance and autonomous weapons systems. In response, President Trump orders federal agencies to stop using Anthropic's technology, and OpenAI signs a deal with the Department of Defense. • February 28 – 2026 Iran conflict: The United States and Israel launch attacks on cities in Iran, killing the country's supreme leader Ali Khamenei. Retaliatory strikes are launched by Iran against Israel and US military bases in the Gulf, with explosions reported in Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, as well as additional spillover in Jordan and Syria.

March

• March 1 • 2026 Austin bar shooting: Four people are killed, including the perpetrator, and 15 others are injured in a mass shooting at a bar in Austin, Texas. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigating the attack as potential terrorism with the possible motive being linked to the US strikes on Iran. • 2026 attack on the United States consulate in Karachi: In Karachi, Pakistan, protesters supportive of the Iranian government attempt to storm the U.S. consulate. The Marine Security Guard opened fire, killing several protesters. • March 2 • The U.S. military reports that three of its fighter jets crashed in Kuwait due to an "apparent friendly fire incident," but all six crew members ejected safely. • Iran strikes the American embassy in Saudi Arabia. • March 3 • The first American troops to be killed in the Iran conflict are named by the U.S. military. Six soldiers are reported to have died when an "unmanned aircraft system" evaded air defences to hit a command centre in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait. • Trump orders the Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, to "cut off all dealings" with Spain, after the European country refused the U.S. permission to use jointly operated bases there to continue its attacks in Iran. • March 4 – DOD Secretary Hegseth announces that a U.S. submarine has sunk an Iranian naval frigate in the Indian Ocean with a single Mark 48 torpedo, the first such sinking of an enemy ship since World War II. The Sri Lankan navy reports the IRIS Dena went down in the Indian Ocean, with 140 people on board missing. • March 4–5 – The Senate and House of Representatives reject War Powers Resolutions to halt Trump's actions in the 2026 Iran War without congressional approval. • March 5–17 – The 2026 World Baseball Classic is held in the United States, including Puerto Rico, as well as in Japan. The championship game is held at LoanDepot Park in Miami. • March 5 • Trump appoints DHS Secretary Noem as the "Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas," a security initiative focusing on the Western Hemisphere. Trump nominates U.S. Senator Markwayne Mullin to replace Noem as DHS Secretary. • The Pentagon officially designates artificial intelligence company Anthropic a supply chain risk – the first time the government has given this label to a domestic firm. Anthropic states it will challenge the decision in court. • March 6 – Virginia passes legislation to prohibit schools from teaching about falsehoods of the January 6 United States Capitol attack. • March 7 – Trump hosts the first Shield of the Americas summit in Doral, Florida, with 12 Latin American countries in attendance. • March 11 – Iran War: A preliminary inquiry finds that the U.S. is at fault for the Minab school airstrike in Iran, which killed 168–180 people including many schoolgirls. • March 12 • Temple Israel synagogue attack: A suspected attacker is killed after a vehicle rams into a synagogue in West Bloomfield, Michigan, and travels "with purpose down the hall of the building". • 2026 Old Dominion University shooting: A former National Guardsman opens fire at an ROTC class at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, killing the instructor and injuring two cadets. Cadets subdue the shooter, with one fatally stabbing him. • Iran War: Multiple sources reveal to CNN that the Pentagon and National Security Council significantly underestimated Iran's willingness to close the Strait of Hormuz in response to U.S. military strikes while planning the ongoing operation. • March 13 • The Trump administration announces an expanded trade probe and investigations into Canada and 60 other countries. • Iran War: NBC News reports that an additional 5,000 U.S. troops along with more warships are to be deployed to the Middle East, following a request by CENTCOM. • March 14 – Iran War: Trump announces that U.S. forces have "totally obliterated" all military targets on Kharg Island, which handles the vast majority of Iran's oil exports. • March 15 – The 98th Academy Awards are held at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, honoring the best films released in 2025. • March 16 • Legal affairs of the second Trump presidency: A federal judge rules that HHS Secretary Kennedy improperly fired and replaced the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and that the committee's decisions were arbitrary and capricious, blocking Kennedy's changes to vaccine policy, including revisions to the childhood immunization schedule. • Iran War: Trump urges allied countries to assist in securing and reopening the Strait of Hormuz following its effective closure by Iran. • March 17 • Iran War: • Joe Kent resigns as director of the National Counterterrorism Center, citing disagreement over American involvement in the Iran war. • During an Oval Office press conference, Trump criticises NATO and other US allies, saying he's been told they "don't want to get involved" in the Iran war. • March 18 • Iran war protests: Anti-war protesters from Win Without War display children's backpacks on Capitol Hill in protest of an airstrike on an Minab elementary school that killed 160 children. Additionally, several Democrats in Congress attend the protest. • The highest March temperature ever recorded in the U.S. occurs, reaching 43 °C (109 °F) near Martinez Lake, Arizona, amid a particularly strong heatwave across the south and southwest. The record is broken again on March 20, reaching 44.4 °C (112 °F). • March 19 – Iran War: The Pentagon is reported to be seeking $200 billion in additional funds for the war. • March 20 – A jury in California rules that Elon Musk misled Twitter investors before his $44bn purchase of the company in 2022. • March 21 • Iran War • President Trump issues a warning that if Iran does not fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours, Washington will "hit and obliterate" the country's power plants, starting with the largest. • Iran War protests: A protest is held in Philadelphia to call for U.S. Senators John Fetterman and Dave McCormick to bring an end to the war. • In the NCAA Tournament, 11th seed Texas upsets 3rd seed Gonzaga in the Round of 32 to reach the Sweet Sixteen, becoming the first team to go from the First Four to the Sweet Sixteen since the UCLA Bruins did so in (/wiki/2021NCAADivisionImen'sbasketballtournament). • March 22 – Air Canada Express Flight 8646: Two pilots are killed and more than 40 passengers injured when a Bombardier CRJ700 collides with a firetruck while attempting to cross a runway at LaGuardia Airport, New York. • March 23 • Iran War: President Trump announces a postponement of U.S. strikes against Iranian power plants after what he calls "productive" negotiations. However, Iran's foreign ministry denies that such talks have taken place. • 2026 United States federal government shutdowns: ICE agents are sent to airports to assist TSA agents, as they were still paid. • A jury in California finds that Bill Cosby is liable for raping a woman by the name of Donna Motsinger in 1972 and awards $19 million in damages to her. • The Trump administration announces that it will pay $1 billion to French company TotalEnergies to cancel planned offshore wind farms in the Atlantic and instead pursue fossil fuel projects. • March 24 • The U.S. Senate confirms Markwayne Mullin, the Republican junior U.S. Senator from Oklahoma, as the 9th DHS Secretary in a 54-45 vote. Secretary Mullin is sworn in after the confirmation, succeeding Kristi Noem and becoming the first member of the Cherokee Nation to serve in the U.S. Cabinet. • Former Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin is held in contempt of court and is sentenced to either 60 days in prison or a $500 fine. • Democrat Emily Gregory wins a special election to represent the 87th House district of Florida which contains Mar-a-Lago. • March 25 • Expansion of the NBA: The National Basketball Association board of governors approve a vote to explore expansion bids in Las Vegas and Seattle. • A jury in California finds that Meta and YouTube are liable for social media addiction. • Iran War: Iran dismisses a peace plan proposed by the U.S., calling the demands "excessive". The White House warns Iran that Donald Trump will "ensure they are hit harder than ever before" if the country refuses to accept defeat. • The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously holds that internet service providers are not liable for the copyright infringement of their users if the ISP did not intend its services to be used for infringement. • Trump signs an executive order requiring proof of U.S. citizenship for voter registration. • March 26 • Former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores appear in a New York federal court for their latest hearing, faced with charges of narcoterrorism and weapons offenses. • Treasury Secretary Bessent announces that Trump’s signature will appear on U.S. paper currency, the first time a sitting president's signature will appear instead of the Treasurer and Secretary of the Treasury. • March 27 – A House Ethics Committee panel finds that Florida Democratic Representative Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick committed 25 ethics violations in stealing $5 million in federal disaster relief and using the money in her re-election campaign. Cherfilus-McCormick denies the allegations. • March 28 • Protests against Donald Trump: The third No Kings protests are held in all 50 U.S. states against the policies of Trump and his administration including the Iran war, ICE operations, and the January shootings of Renée Good and Alex Pretti. • In the NCAA Tournament, the Arizona Wildcats reach the Final Four for the first time since (/wiki/2001NCAADivisionImen'sbasketballtournament). Additionally, Illinois reaches the Final Four for the first time since (/wiki/2005NCAADivisionImen'sbasketballtournament). • Iran War: 3,500 U.S. troops arrive in the region with the USS Tripoli (LHA-7), as strikes between Israel and Iran continue. • March 31 • AAA reports the average price of gas in the United States has risen to $4 a gallon for the first time since 2022. • The U.S. Supreme Court holds 8-1 that talk therapy used in conversion therapy is protected speech under the First Amendment and asks the lower courts to apply strict scrutiny to a Colorado law banning conversion therapy on minors. • Trump signs an executive order directing DHS to create voter lists and USPS to mail ballots only to people on the list.

April

• April 1 – Iran War: Trump says that US military action in Iran could end in "two to three weeks", and that the US will "leave whether we have a deal or not" once he's certain the regime cannot build a nuclear weapon "for years". • April 1 – Artemis program: NASA launches Artemis II, the first crewed mission of the Orion in which four astronauts (Reid Wiseman, Victor J. Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen) is performing a flyby of the Moon and return to Earth.

Predicted and scheduled events

April

• April 6 – The 2026 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament final will be held at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

June

• June 1 to 3 – The American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities sesquicentennial (150th annual) meeting is scheduled to be held in Chicago. • June 11 to July 19 – The United States will co-host the 2026 FIFA World Cup alongside Canada and Mexico and will host the majority of games during the tournament, including all games past the quarterfinals of the knockout stage including the final, which will be held at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. • June 14 – The UFC Freedom 250 is scheduled to be held on the South Lawn of the White House.

July

• July 4 – The United States will celebrate its 250th anniversary as a nation.

August

• August 12 – A total solar eclipse is predicted to occur at the Moon's descending node of the orbit in North America and Europe. The total eclipse will pass over the Arctic, Greenland, Iceland, the Atlantic Ocean and northern Spain. • September 26 – The execution of convicted murderer Christa Pike is scheduled to take place.

November

• November 3 – The 2026 United States midterm elections are scheduled to be held.