With the books closed on 2023 it’s fair to say it was a year filled with turmoil both domestically and internationally.
The nation began the year with egg prices sitting at historic highs, struggling to overcome the lingering impacts of inflation, and dealing with increased energy prices driven by COVID-19 recovery and a war in Europe. The 2024 election had officially begun with former President Donald Trump’s announcement he would seek a second term for a second time.
The drama continued in January with a new Republican led U.S. House of Representatives, whose first action was to spend days struggling to select a speaker.
After 15 ballots, the most since the Civil War era, California Republican Kevin McCarthy won the gavel. He would hold it for only nine months, after members of his own party eventually moved to replace him with a relatively unknown U.S. Representative from Louisiana, now-Speaker Mike Johnson.
After the drama in D.C., in February the nation turned its eyes to the sky to watch a Chinese spy balloon transit the length of the continental U.S.. President Joe Biden eventually ordered it shot down over the Atlantic, but not until after it drifted over some of the nation’s most sensitive military sites.
The war in Ukraine, first begun by Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2014 when he ordered his nation’s army to annex parts of their democratic neighbor’s territory, entered into its second year of active military conflict, with both sides suffering heavy losses and little change in the frontline.
Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley announced she would seek the 2024 Republican nomination, entering a primary race already dominated by her ex-boss, former President Donald Trump.
In March, Trump became the first U.S. President in history to face indictment and arrest for crimes he allegedly committed before, during, and after he left office. Over 30 felony charges leveled in New York would be followed by dozens more in Florida, Washington D.C., and Georgia, many directly related to the 45th President’s alleged attempts to remain in the White House despite his loss in the 2020 election.
The Federal Reserve’s attempts to temper rising inflation through hikes to their key interest rate resulted in sudden drop in long term bond prices, leading to the failure of Silicon Valley Bank and the second largest bank collapse in U.S. history.
Finland joined NATO in April, becoming the 31st nation to do so and effectively doubling the treaty organization’s border with Russia. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Putin’s invasion directly led to the expansion of NATO.
As long expected and despite assertions he is too old to do so, Biden announced he would seek a second term at the end of April, officially beginning a sequel of 2020’s election contest.
A fight over the nation’s debt returned in May, when the Republican-controlled House demanded spending cuts to go along with any increase in the nation’s self-imposed borrowing limit. McCarthy and Biden eventually struck a deal, suspending the debt limit until 2025 and capping discretionary spending for two years.
King Charles III was crowned in the first British coronation held in since his mother took the throne in 1953.
The summer saw a surge in Republican presidential candidates, with the field expanded to include Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, former Vice President Mike Pence, U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum. Others, like New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo bowed out of consideration.
Massive heat waves across the country led to the hottest summer on record, according to NASA. The heat sparked wildfires across the continent, blanketing parts of the country in smoke, and a series of fires in Maui destroyed thousands of buildings and killed more than 100 people.
Biden’s plan to forgive student debt, a campaign promise, was overruled by the U.S. Supreme Court. The Federal Reserve stopped hiking interest rates after about a dozen increases, signaling it was closing in on the so-called “soft landing” the board was looking for.
The House held an impeachment inquiry into Biden’s presidency in September, while the nation anxiously watched to see if stalled spending negotiations would force a government shutdown. McCarthy eventually agreed to a temporary spending plan, but the deal with Democrats would eventually cost him his job as speaker.
Biden became the first sitting U.S. President to walk a picket line with striking workers, when he marched in support of United Auto Workers members seeking — and eventually receiving — historic pay increases.
On Oct. 7, with little apparent warning, terrorists entered Israel from the Gaza Strip under the cover of a prolonged rocket barrage. The terrorists killed approximately 1,200 Israelis in the hours before the IDF was able to push them back into Gaza. Some 240 Israelis were taken hostage and spirited into Hamas-controlled territory. Israel declared war on Hamas not long after.
By November, the Republican primary field had essentially narrowed to Trump — who still maintains a dominant lead, despite any legal complications and refusing to participate in party debates — Haley, DeSantis, Christie, and Ramaswamy.
Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, was indicted on tax related charges in December. Those charges are in addition to federal firearms charges he faces.
A court in Colorado ruled Trump was not eligible for the Republican primary ballot in December, followed later by the Secretary of State in Maine, guaranteeing the question of whether his actions — or inaction — on January 6, 2021, disqualify him from holding office will ultimately land before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Encounters with migrants at the U.S. border reached a historic monthly high in December, with more than 225,000 encountered by immigration authorities along the U.S.-Mexico border.
