23 lasting images from a chaotic year in politics













2023-12-30T13:06:01Z












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Off years in US politics are supposed to be relatively quiet. Heading into 2023, we expected a divided Congress to pass very little sweeping legislation. We knew that Republicans would be jockeying for the GOP presidential nomination. And you can always expect a surprise or two.Oh, how quaint that seems now.Congress was so dysfunctional that even by modern standards the chaos in the Capitol was hard to escape. Multiple times, it appeared that a fight might break out. There was an unprecedented criminal indictment for a former president. Then it happened again, and again, and again. But Donald Trump was not deterred as his campaign raked in donations. And for a brief moment, we looked to the skies not with wonder but with morbid curiosity as a suspected Chinese spy balloon sucked up our attention before fighter jets were dispatched to shoot it down.Hamas terrorists staged a brutal attack on Israel, killing some 1,200 people in the worst mass killing of Jews since the Holocaust. President Joe Biden's response has roiled key elements of his party. Ukraine, the conflict that once captivated world attention, is now desperately trying to get the West to continue to support its war against Russia's invasion.Here in 23 images is a look back at the year in politics.

















Fists nearly fly amid a historic House speakership drama


















Rep. Mike Rogers, an Alabama Republican, has to be held back as he tries to confront fellow Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida.



Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images






It didn't take long for tensions to boil over in the Capitol. In January, House Republicans were on their way to needing the most ballots to select a speaker since before the Civil War. Some just couldn't take it anymore. 








Democrats tried to find ways to pass the boredom


















Rep. Katie Porter, a California Democrat, reads an aptly titled book to pass the time.



Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images






House Democrats had little to do during the GOP's struggles.









A spy balloon captivates the country


















An American U2 pilot tries to get a closer look.


A U.S. Air Force U-2 pilot looks down at a suspected Chinese spy balloon.



Department of Defense via AP






In February, a large object was spotted in the sky. The US government quickly announced that it was not aliens but rather the Chinese government that was responsible. The suspected spy balloon was later shot down.








Biden tears into "MAGA Republicans" during the State of the Union


















Joe Biden speaks during his 2023 State of the Union address



Jacquelyn Martin-Pool/Getty Images






At times, President Joe Biden triggered the outrage of congressional Republicans during his annual State of the Union address. He promised to work with the party in some areas but tore into "MAGA Republicans" who he labeled a threat to democracy.









Trump draws eyebrows with his big 2024 comeback kick-off rally


















Donald Trump exits his first major 2024 campaign rally in Waco



Brandon Bell/Getty Images






Former President Donald Trump could have chosen anywhere for his major election rally. He picked Waco, Texas, on March 25, which fell during the 30th anniversary of the deadly standoff between a cult and the government.








SBF falls from grace


















Sam Bankman-Fried is escorted out of court.



David Dee Delgado/Reuters






Former FTX Chief Executive Sam Bankman-Fried was once a major political player and highly-touted tech wiz. In 2023, his empire fell. SBF, as he is known, was convicted on all charges during a major fraud trial.









Tennessee Democrats remain defiant after their expulsion


















Tennessee State Reps. Gloria Johnson, Justin Jones, and Justin Pearson leave the state Capitol in Nashville.



Cheney Orr/Reuters






Three Tennessee angered their Republican colleagues when they halted proceedings to join with protestors raging against the lack of gun violence legislation in the wake of a school shooting. Republicans would later expel state Reps. Justin Jones (center) and Justin Pearson (right) while sparing state Rep. Gloria Johnson (left). The trio gained national acclaim for their defiance.








Biden and McCarthy huddle just before a potential default


















Biden and McCarthy meet in the Oval Office



Alex Brandon/AP






Financial markets were jittering in late May as Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Biden met in the Oval Office to discuss the debt ceiling. The pair later struck a last-minute deal to avoid default. But McCarthy's actions angered some conservatives who would later plot his demise.









The year of the strike


















WGA members picket outside of Fox studios.



Ashley Landis/AP






2023 became the year of the strike for labor unions nationwide. In May, The Writers Guild of America, the union representing television and movie writers, went to the picket for the first time in 15 years. Hollywood effectively shut down after the actor's union launched its strike. After nearly five months, major studios reached a new deal with the WGA. While a deal with the actors soon followed. 








Feinstein's absence sparked concern in the Capitol


















Sen. Dianne Feinstein exits the Capitol



Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times via Getty






Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a California Democrat, then the chamber's oldest serving member, took an extended absence as her health worsened. Her return in May tried to calm the growing calls for her resignation. She later passed away in September after a trailblazing career.









O say, can you barely see


















The Statue of Liberty is seen through a hazy sky.



Yuki Iwamura/AP






More than 75 million Americans came under air quality warnings as wildfires raged in Canada in June. The haze was so thick that in visibility was difficult in places like New York.








McConnell's freeze up caused Republicans


















Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's colleagues rush to tend to him after he freezes up.



J. Scott Applewhite/AP






Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell led to further concern about the state of America's so-called "gerontocracy" after he froze up multiple times while speaking to reporters. His office would later release a note from the Capitol physician clearing him of any major ailments. 









The mugshot sent 'round the world


















Trump's mugshot



Fulton County Sheriff’s Office via AP






Despite his multiple indictments, Trump had avoided a mug shot until August. That's when the Fulton County Sheriff's office released what may become one of the most lasting photos of our time. His campaign and many others quickly hawked merch with the image.








Jack Smith delivered another bombshell


















Special counsel Jack Smith prepares to address reporters.



Jonathan Ernst/Reuters






Special counsel Jack Smith was already prosecuting Trump for refusing to turn over classified documents. In August, he announced that a grand jury had indicted the former presidentfor efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.









Somehow the stage still felt empty


















The stage at the first GOP presidential debate



Joshua Lott/The Washington Post via Getty






The stage at the first GOP presidential primary debate seemed so crowded and yet there was one glaring absence. Trump had decided not to participate, leaving eight primary foes to fight it out amongst themselves. By the end of the year, Trump was still skipping the events. While the rest of the field shrank considerably ahead of the Iowa caucuses. 








Biden makes history on the picket line


















President Joe Biden makes history as he speaks to autoworkers on a picket line.



Evan Vucci/AP






Biden, who the White House touts as the most pro-union president ever, made history when he decided to join workers on the picket line. United Autoworkers later reached a major deal with car makers after an unprecedented strike against the three major companies.









Matt Gaetz soaks in his moment after orchestrating McCarthy's demise


















Rep. Matt Gaetz, a Florida Republican, speaks to reporters after engineering Speaker Kevin McCarthy's historic ouster.



Win McNamee/Getty Images






Rep. Matt Gaetz, a Florida Republican, made history of his own when he teamed up with seven Republicans to engineer Speaker Kevin McCarthy's ouster. The eight Republicans along with House Democrats formally vacated the speakership, throwing the chamber into chaos. 








Mike Johnson's rise from obscurity


















Then-Rep. Mike Johnson pauses to listen to a reporter as he's surrounded by scores of House Republicans after becoming the GOP's latest nominee to be Speaker of the House.



Win McNamee/Getty






No one expected Rep. Mike Johnson of Louisiana to become the top House Republican. But after multiple high-profile Republicans, including Steve Scalise, Tom Emmer, and Jim Jordan, failed to show they had the votes his colleagues decided to turn the lawmaker some of his congressional colleagues had never heard of before.









Abortion rights continued to win on the ballot


















Abortion rights supporters celebrate in Ohio upon the news that voters in the state enshrined some abortion rights into the Ohio constitution.



Andrew Spear/Getty






Abortion rights advocates entered November in the middle of an unprecedented winning streak. They found out pretty quickly on election night that their victories would continue, including a major win in Ohio that enshrined protections for abortions up to the point of fetal viability. 








Biden embraced Israel after a deadly attack


















Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hugs President Joe Biden



Evan Vucci/AP






Biden has long been an outspoken proponent of US relations with Israel. In the wake of the horrific October 7 Hamas terrorist attack that killed some 1,200 people, the president was quick to assure the US ally that America would stand with them. 









Protests over Biden's response quickly mounted


















Anti-war protestors display "bloody" hands as Secretary of State Antony Blinken testifies before senators.



Kevin Lamarque/Reuters






Outrage over Biden's response quickly began to spread. Key groups within the Democratic Party questioned the White House's strong allegiance to Israel. 








George Santos gets booted out of Congress


















Now-former Rep. George Santos, a New York Republican, leaves Congress after his colleagues voted to formally boot him from the House.



Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty






For months, enough fellow Republicans protected Rep. George Santos as the serial fabulist braced their the scandal du jour. Over time, his fellow New York Republicans' patience ran out. In the wake of a damning House Ethics Committee report, their effort to expel Santos from Congress succeeded. For the first time in decades, a sitting lawmaker was cast out of Congress.









Zelenskyy returns to Washington with a desperate call for help


















President Joe Biden leaves a news conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy



Andrew Harnik/AP






Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy returned to Washington near the end of the year with a desperate message: without more US aid his nation's efforts to repel Russia's invasion would falter. He didn't seem to find a receptive audience. Some lawmakers tried to broker a deal whereby more Ukraine aid would be exchanged for tougher immigration laws. But senators left the Capitol just before Christmas with no deal in sight.


































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