WASHINGTON — As the nation ushered in 2025 on Wednesday, it also brought to a close a presidential election year that brought about a seismic shift in the political landscape.
From a single debate performance that led to the withdrawal of a sitting president months before the election, to multiple apparent assassination attempts on former presidents and leading candidates, to the nation’s highest court handing down monumental rulings in 2024. The most important events of the year are expected to reverberate throughout the new society in the year ahead.
Here are five of the most significant political events of 2024 and the questions they raise that will shape Washington in 2025.
Biden steps aside.
President Joe Biden has decided to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race following his performance in the June debate, which was widely considered a disastrous result against now-President-elect Donald Trump. It shocked the political world. Vice President Kamala Harris’ loss to Trump in the ensuing election raised big questions about who would take over the reins as the driving force behind the Democratic Party.
Next year will not only see the election of a new chairman of the Democratic National Committee, but also which Democratic Party figures will emerge as candidates for national leadership as we prepare to select a candidate in the 2028 presidential election. It is also likely that insights will be gained. .
Old guard passes the torch
Mr. Biden’s withdrawal from the 2024 campaign — a decision the then 81-year-old Mr. Biden privately called a choice to “pass the torch to a new generation” — comes as an elected official told his younger colleagues This was the most notable example of paving the way. But that wasn’t all.
Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell, the longest-serving Senate leader in U.S. history, announced in February that he would step down as the top Republican in the Senate at the end of 2024. Republican senators have already chosen their replacements for the 82 party senators. McConnell at 1: 63-year-old Sen. John Thune of South Dakota.
The decision appears to have permeated competition for key positions at the committee level, with several younger House Democrats challenging their longer-serving colleagues for top committee positions.
The political world is now wondering how Thune will lead the 2025 session, which McConnell has controlled for more than 15 years, and more broadly, how young leadership in Washington will emerge following the decision of older colleagues to step down. I’m looking forward to seeing what it will look like. aside.
Republicans win trifecta in 2024 elections
Republicans had a strong year in the 2024 election, winning the White House, the Senate, and the House of Representatives. In particular, Trump won all seven major battleground states and improved his standing in traditionally strong states. The president-elect is also making inroads with black and Hispanic voters, according to AP Vote Cast data.
In the new year, Washington will not only see what a second term for President Trump will look like and how a third term for Republicans in the nation’s capital will govern, but also how a Republican victory in 2024 will shape America’s future. is preparing to determine what he will say about his constituency.
assassination attempt
In July, an assassination attempt on President Trump occurred at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, resulting in the death of a participant who was struck by a gunshot to the ear, but prosecutors later announced in September that it was the second failed attempt to kill the then-presidential candidate. announced that it was. .
The event rocked the Beltway, exposed the failure of the U.S. Secret Service to adequately protect key presidential candidates in the first phase, and sparked conversations about the effects of intense political language. Mr. Trump and many Republicans directly blamed Democratic rhetoric for trying to threaten the candidate’s life.
It remains to be seen whether calls to tone down the language used in American politics will have any meaning in 2025, and whether any changes will be made within the Secret Service to address the flaws exposed by the assassination attempt.
The agency has been led by an acting director since late July, when the previous director resigned in the wake of Trump’s first attempt on his life. Mr. Biden has not named a new secretary, and Mr. Trump has not yet said who he wants to fill the role.
Supreme Court’s presidential immunity decision
The Supreme Court handed down a number of consequential decisions this year, including perhaps the most notable, ruling that the president of the United States is protected from criminal prosecution for most official acts. Ta. The decision was a major victory for Trump with the November election just months away.
The nation is currently waiting to see whether the nullification of President Trump’s second term, which would have removed the possibility of criminal prosecution for some official acts, will affect how the White House and the political world operate next year.
