Timeline of the history of the United States (2010–present)
 |
This section of the Timeline of United States history includes major events from 2010 to the present.
2010s
Presidency of Barack Obama
- 2010 — The Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico explodes, spilling millions of gallons of oil into the sea. The spill becomes the worst oil spill in American history.
- 2010 - In the 2010 Midterm elections, the Republicans retake the House of Representatives as the Democrats lose 63 seats.
- 2011 — U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords is severely wounded in an assassination attempt when a gunman went on a shooting spree, killing federal judge John Roll and five other people, and wounding at least 13 others, at an event Giffords was hosting in suburban Tucson, Arizona.
- 2011 — The ATF gunwalking scandal emerged, wherein thousands of guns were allowed to "walk" through interdiction to Mexico, supposedly to aid in the capture of criminals.
- 2011 — A series of tornadoes cause heavy damage in the South, Alabama being the hardest hit. 324 people are killed in the deadliest American natural disaster since Hurricane Katrina.
- 2011 — Osama bin Laden, leader of al-Qaeda and mastermind of the September 11 attacks, is killed in Abbottabad, Pakistan, by U.S. Navy SEALs.
- 2011 — Flooding devastates the Mississippi River valley causing $2 to $4 billion in damage.
- 2011 — A tornado devastates Joplin, Missouri, killing 154 and injuring over 1,000, making it the deadliest single U.S. tornado since the advent of modern weather forecasting
- 2011 - Casey Marie Anthony is acquitted of all charges related to her death of her daughter, Caylee; she was convicted of four counts of providing false information to a law enforcement officer. She was released a week later because of credit for time served.
- 2011 — STS-135: The Space Shuttle Atlantis touches down at the Shuttle Landing Facility at Kennedy Space Center, ending the 30-year shuttle program, which began with the launch of shuttle Columbia on April 12, 1981.
- 2012 — A gunman kills 12 and injures 58 at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado.
- 2012 — U.S. presidential election, 2012: Barack Obama reelected president, Joe Biden reelected vice president.
- 2012 — A gunman kills 26, including 20 children, at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.
- 2013 — President Obama and Vice President Biden begin their second terms.
- 2013 — Christopher Dorner murders three people in Southern California, starting the largest manhunt in Los Angeles history. His spree ends in Big Bear Lake, California where he barricades himself in a cabin, kills a second officer, before committing suicide.
- 2013 — Terrorists attack the Boston Marathon by detonating two bombs at the finishing line of the race, killing three and injuring 283 runners and spectators. Suspects Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev then led Boston police on a high-speed chase, killing one officer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Tamerlan was killed in a shootout with police and Dzhokhar was detained the day after.
- 2013 — A tornado devastates suburbs near Oklahoma City, killing 24.
- 2013 — The most destructive wildfire in Colorado history burns nearly 16,000 acres and killing two.
- 2013 — The Supreme Court strikes down the Defense of Marriage Act, which banned the federal recognition of same-sex marriages and refused to recognize the legal standing of proponents of Proposition 8, which resulted in the re-legalization of same-sex marriage in California.
- 2013 — Black Lives Matter emerges as a political movement, protesting against what it sees as widespread racial profiling, police brutality, and racial inequality in the United States criminal justice system.
- 2014 — A grand jury decides not to charge Officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of Michael Brown inciting protests and riots against racism and police brutality in the St. Louis area.
- 2014 - The Republicans win the Senate in the Midterm elections.
- 2015 — Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is convicted and sentenced to death for committing the Boston Marathon bombing.
- 2015 — Same-sex marriage is legalized in all 50 US states.
- 2015 – Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik carried out an attack at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino, California, killing 14 and seriously injuring 22 others.
- 2016 - Russia begins cyber warfare attacks on the United States.
- 2016 — Omar Mateen kills 49 people and injures 58 at the Pulse nightclub
- 2016 — U.S. presidential election, 2016: Donald Trump elected president, Mike Pence elected vice president
- 2017 – Esteban Santiago-Ruiz opens fire inside near the Terminal 2 baggage claim inside the Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport in Broward County, Florida, killing 5 and injuring 6. 30 to 40 others were injured in the panic that followed the incident.
Presidency of Donald Trump
- 2017 — Donald Trump becomes the 45th President, Mike Pence becomes Vice President. Trump is the first person without prior military or government service to hold the office.
- 2017 - Trump fires FBI director James Comey, precipitating the Meuller investigation.
- 2017 — A white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia leads to 3 deaths, leading to discussion about racism in modern American society. The term alt-right receives renewed popular consciousness.
- 2017 — Hurricane Harvey makes landfall in the United States, flooding broad swaths of Texas and Louisiana and causing tens of billions of dollars of damage, making it one of the costliest natural disasters in U.S. history.
- 2017 — Hurricane Irma makes landfall in Florida and causes tens of billions of dollars of damage. Irma also wrecks the Caribbean Islands.
- 2017 — Hurricane Maria made landfall on Puerto Rico as a Category 5 hurricane, killing hundreds and knocking out the island's power.
- 2017 — Stephen Paddock opens fire at a Las Vegas Strip concert, killing 58 people and injuring 546. This is the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.
- 2018 — A gunman kills 17 people and injures 17 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.
- 2018 — Donald Trump meets with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore.
- 2018 - The entire West Virginia Supreme court of Appeals is impeached.