President Donald Trump holds up the "One, Big Beautiful Bill" Act that he signed into law on the South Lawn of the White House on July 4, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Alex Brandon - Pool/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — This year produced a seemingly endless array of history-making events and nearly constant change to immigration policy, tariffs, the Education Department and federal health care programs.

President Donald Trump came back into office emboldened by a decisive 2024 election victory and empowered by Republican majorities in both chambers of Congress. The unified GOP government enacted a major tax cuts and domestic spending law in July, but hit a roadblock in late September when the federal government shut down for a record-breaking six weeks.

Here’s a look back at some of the biggest news stories from Washington, D.C.

January 

The U.S. House began the year reelecting Louisiana Republican Mike Johnson as speaker and pushing through a series of GOP-favored bills focused on immigration and transgender student athletes. 

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., officially took over the role from Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., pledging to protect the legislative filibuster, the 60-vote procedural hurdle that requires at least some bipartisanship for major legislation to advance. Meanwhile, several committees began the confirmation process for Trump’s nominees.

Just days ahead of his second inauguration, a judge sentenced Trump in the New York hush money case for paying off an adult film star in the leadup to the 2016 election. 

Trump, who moved his inauguration indoors amid arctic weather, marked the first day of his second term by signing a series of executive orders addressing immigration and birthright citizenship, as well as climate change and LGBTQ rights. He also pardoned 1,500 people who were convicted of various crimes related to the Jan. 6. 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. 

Just before the end of the month, Trump signed the first bill approved by the Republican-controlled Congress, the Laken Riley Act. And he announced plans to implement tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China, the start of one of his signature economic policies. 

February

Lawsuits against Trump’s actions began piling up within weeks as Democratic attorneys general, immigrant rights organizations and civil liberties groups accused the administration of overstepping its authority. 

Trump and other administration officials sought to reduce the size and scope of the federal government by firing thousands of probationary workers and called on the heads of all federal agencies to submit reorganization plans by mid-March. He also fired 20 immigration judges.

Republicans in Congress started working through the several complicated steps of the budget reconciliation process that would eventually lead to the “big, beautiful bill.” 

March

Trump’s efforts to dismantle the Department of Education began advancing shortly after the Senate voted to confirm Linda McMahon as secretary. In one of her first acts leading the department, she wrote in a memo its “final mission” would be to “to send education back to the states and empower all parents to choose an excellent education for their children.”

Trump signed an executive order later in the month directing McMahon to “take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure” of the Education Department, though much of that authority rests with Congress. 

Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Roberts issued a rare public statement defending the judicial branch against criticism from Trump. 

The Republican chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee asked the Defense Department inspector general to look into the use of the Signal messaging app by high-ranking officials to discuss an imminent bombing in Yemen. A journalist at The Atlantic was inadvertently added to the chat and later published a series of articles about the experience. 

April

The Trump administration admitted in court filings that officials mistakenly deported Kilmar Abrego Garcia of Maryland to a notorious mega-prison in El Salvador. 

The Supreme Court became more involved in the national debate about Trump’s policies toward immigrants, first ruling that the administration didn’t need to bring Abrego Garcia back before reversing course and ruling officials must “facilitate” his return to the United States. 

El Salvador President Nayib Bukele, sitting alongside Trump in the Oval Office, later said he wouldn’t send Abrego Garcia back.

Separately, Trump’s tariff policies were the focus of a Senate hearing. Republicans in Congress settled on an outline for their “big, beautiful bill” and later began advancing different parts of that package out of House committees. 

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he would refocus autism research funding on environmental factors. And Trump signed a series of executive orders addressing education policy. 

May

The Supreme Court ruled that a ban on transgender people serving in the military could remain in place while the case continued at a lower level, that the Trump administration violated due process rights when it tried to deport some Venezuelans under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, that the administration could end temporary protected status for 350,000 Venezuelans, and that the Trump administration could proceed with deportations for 500,000 people from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela who had been granted temporary protected status. 

Republicans in the House voted to approve a 1,116-page package that combined 11 bills into what would eventually become the “big, beautiful bill,” sending the measure to the Senate. 

Former President Joe Biden was diagnosed with “a more aggressive form” of prostate cancer.

June

Trump doubled tariffs on steel and aluminum, from 25% to 50%, saying during a trip to a U.S. Steel plant in Pennsylvania that he would increase them even further if he thought it would be necessary to “secure the steel industry in the United States.” The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office reported later in the month that his tariff policies would reduce the country’s deficit but likely slow the economy. 

Immigration continued to be a central part of the news cycle with Abrego Garcia returning to the U.S., California Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla being forcibly removed and handcuffed while attempting to ask Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem a question during a press conference in Los Angeles and the Supreme Court weighing in on lower courts issuing nationwide injunctions. 

Trump said the U.S. military had bombed “three key nuclear facilities” in Iran before calling for peace.   

July

The Senate approved the final, much reworked version of the “big, beautiful bill,” sending it back to the House, which voted along party lines to clear the sweeping tax and health care package for Trump, who signed it on the Fourth of July. 

The legislation included several policy goals for the GOP, including on Medicaid, immigration and deportations and a national private school voucher program. The Congressional Budget Office expects the law will increase the federal deficit by $3.394 trillion during the next decade and lead 10 million people to lose access to health insurance.

The Supreme Court ruled the Trump administration could continue with its plans for mass layoffs and downsizing at the Education Department.

Trump was diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency, a “benign and common” condition for people over the age of 70, according to U.S. Navy Capt. Sean Barbabella, the president’s physician.

Senators from both parties expressed frustration that Department of Agriculture officials didn’t consult with Congress before proposing to move thousands of jobs out of the Washington, D.C., area. 

Trump announced a deal with European Union leaders that would result in a 15% tariff on most goods coming into the U.S. from those 27 countries.

August

Trump started off the month instituting a 15% tariff on goods brought into the U.S. from about three dozen countries, though he raised that amount for several nations, including 18% on products from Nicaragua, 30% on imports from South Africa and 50% on goods from Brazil.

A New York State appeals court ruled the $465 million civil penalty against Trump in the case where he was found liable for financial fraud for inflating the worth of some of his real estate holdings was excessive.

Republican and Democratic state legislatures, urged on by the president and members of Congress, sought to begin the November 2026 midterm elections early by redrawing maps for U.S. House seats to give their party a baked-in advantage. 

Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook sued Trump after he attempted to fire her, arguing in court documents his actions were an “unprecedented and illegal attempt” that would erode the board’s independence. 

September

A federal appeals court ruled that Trump did need to pay an $83 million penalty for defaming writer E. Jean Carroll. 

The Supreme Court ruled that federal immigration agents could racially profile Latinos in Southern California as a lawsuit over the issue continued through the federal courts. 

Former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Susan Monarez testified before a Senate committee that she was fired from that role after less than a month because she refused to pre-approve vaccine recommendations. 

Trump and several other high-ranking Republicans spoke at the memorial service for conservative political activist Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated during an event at Utah Valley University. 

Kirk’s death was one of several instances of political violence this year that also included the killing of Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, the arson at the official home of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and the shooting at the CDC’s headquarters in Atlanta.

A group of U.S. investors reached an agreement to take over TikTok, the immensely popular social media app, avoiding the need for it to go offline in the United States. 

October

Congress failed to approve the dozen full-year government funding bills before the start of the new fiscal year, leaving an opening for a government shutdown. Democrats tried to bring attention to health care costs and other issues throughout the weeks-long debacle. 

The funding stalemate impacted nearly every corner of the federal government, including pay for federal employees like air traffic controllers, food aid for lower-income families, Head Start and public lands.  

The No Kings day protests highlighted some Americans’ discontent with Trump and Republican policies a little more than a year before the 2026 midterm elections will measure that frustration at the ballot box. 

Trump demolished the East Wing of the White House to make way for construction of a ballroom that will be nearly double the size of the 55,000-square-foot residence and workplace. 

November 

The shutdown stalemate ended after Senate Majority Leader Thune promised Democrats a vote on a health care bill of their choosing before the end of the year. 

The funding bill approved by Congress and signed by Trump included three full-year funding bills but a stopgap for the rest of government, setting up the possibility of a partial government shutdown beginning in February if lawmakers don’t broker a deal before then. 

The final days of the shutdown included a tug-of-war between the judicial branch and the Trump administration over whether they needed to pay full benefits for the 42 million people enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.

The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case that will determine whether Trump overstepped when he instituted tariffs using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. 

Separately, the justices allowed the Trump administration to continue issuing male or female passports based on a person’s assigned sex at birth. 

Congress approved a bill forcing the Trump administration to release the Epstein files. 

A gunman opened fired on two National Guard members from West Virginia who were just blocks from the White House. U.S. Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom, 20, died the next day as a result of her injuries. 

December 

The man charged with shooting the two National Guard members pleaded not guilty during an arraignment hearing and was denied bond in the case, which was later moved to federal court as prosecutors contemplated whether to seek the death penalty.  

The Trump administration moved to limit legal immigration and pressed for mass deportations, raising concerns about the shooter, an Afghan national who worked alongside allied troops and was granted asylum in the United States.

Separately, the FBI charged a 30-year-old Virginia man with placing pipe bombs outside the Democratic National Committee and the Republican National Committee offices ahead of the 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. 

A federal judge ordered immigration officials to release Abrego Garcia.

The House and Senate were unable to come up with a bipartisan agreement to avoid a spike in health insurance premiums for the 22 million Americans enrolled in the Affordable Care Act marketplace who have benefited from an enhanced tax credit created during the coronavirus pandemic to make coverage less expensive. But a discharge petition in the House will force a floor vote early in the new year to extend the subsidies for three more years. 

The Department of Justice released tens of thousands of documents linked to the investigation into deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein before announcing officials had received a million more pages that will be published in the coming weeks. 

President Donald Trump addresses the nation in an address from the Diplomatic Room of the White House on Dec. 17, 2025. (Photo by Doug Mills - Pool/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — As Americans continue to face rising prices ahead of year-end holidays, President Donald Trump blamed inflation and health care costs on his predecessor during a prime-time speech Wednesday in which he also claimed to have fixed the issues.

Trump “inherited a mess” and has turned the United States into the “envy of the entire globe” by imposing an immigration crackdown, tariffs and tax breaks, he said. 

“Over the past 11 months, we have brought more positive change to Washington than any administration in American history. There’s never been anything like it, and I think most would agree I was elected in a landslide,” Trump said.

Standing before a backdrop of Christmas decorations, Trump also promised $1,776 checks would arrive for members of the United States military by Christmas.

And he continued to blame Democrats for health care costs that are projected to skyrocket next month when tax credits for Affordable Care Act marketplace plans expire.

Nearly a year into his second term, Trump remains fixated on blaming former President Joe Biden even as his own approval ratings sink, according to numerous recent polls.

A plaque below Biden’s photo in Trump’s newly installed “Presidential Walk of Fame” display reads “Sleepy Joe Biden,” according to reports from journalists present at the White House Wednesday.

“When I took office, inflation was the worst in 48 years, and some would say in the history of our country, which caused prices to be higher than ever before, making life unaffordable for millions and millions of Americans. This happened during a Democrat administration, and it’s when we first began hearing the word ‘affordability,’” Trump said.

Consumer price index data released Thursday for September through November show the overall cost of goods rose 2.7% over the past 12 months, after rising 3% for the 12 months recorded at the end of September, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. When Trump took office in January 2025, it was 3% over the previous 12 months. The bureau did not analyze data for October 2025 because of the government shutdown.

In recent weeks, Trump has said “affordability” is a “hoax.”

Yet the bulk of Trump’s somewhat hastily scheduled address — the White House announced it Tuesday — focused on lowering costs for housing, electricity and health care.

Trump announced he will send a $1,776 “warrior dividend” to every U.S. servicemember. The amount is in honor of the year of the country’s  founding, Trump said. Checks are “already on the way,” he said.

That could add up to as much as $2.6 billion, according to a White House estimate Wednesday night that 1.45 million service members would receive the payment.

Health care costs

He also touted trumprx.gov, where he said Americans can find “unprecedented price reductions” on prescription drugs starting in January.

“These big price cuts will greatly reduce the cost of health care,” Trump said.

He boosted a Republican plan on Capitol Hill to fund individual health savings accounts, or HSAs, in annual amounts of $1,000 to $1,500 depending on age and poverty level. An HSA is not health insurance.

“I want the money to go directly to the people so you can buy your own health care. You’ll get much better health care at a much lower price,” Trump said.

Four House Republicans defected Wednesday to sign a Democrat-led petition to bypass Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and force a floor vote in January on extending health insurance premium subsidies for people who buy insurance on the Affordable Care Act marketplace.

‘My favorite word’

Trump spent several minutes addressing the economy, stating that prices on groceries and fuel are coming down. Both claims are false, according to government data.

“I am bringing those high prices down and bringing them down fast,” Trump said.

The latest consumer price index for September showed gasoline prices rose 4.1% over the past 12 months, and “was the largest factor in the all items monthly increase,” increasing 1.5% over the previous month.

Food prices rose faster than overall inflation in recent months, according to the government’s latest data. Food prices in August were 3.2% higher than a year ago, according to the data.

Still, Trump claimed an economic turnaround that he credited to his international trade policy.

“Much of this success has been accomplished by tariffs — my favorite word ‘tariffs’ — which for many decades have been used successfully by other countries against us, but not anymore,” he said.

The U.S. ended fiscal year 2025 with a deficit reaching nearly $1.8 trillion, or roughly 6% of the domestic economy’s gross domestic product.

Trump unilaterally imposed a global 10% tariff on all foreign goods in April, plus higher tariffs on many major trading partners, including the European Union, Japan, South Korea and Vietnam. The Supreme Court is expected to rule soon on whether Trump’s emergency tariffs are legal.

The U.S. collected nearly $195 billion in customs duties in fiscal year 2025, up from $77 billion in fiscal 2024, according to the U.S. Treasury’s monthly statement.”

Americans have lost faith in Trump’s ability to handle the economy, according to an NPR/PBS News/Marist poll published Wednesday.

Trump received a 36% approval rating on his economic strategy, the lowest rating over the past six years that the survey has asked voters the question.

A Fox News poll released Nov. 19 found 76% of respondents saw the economy negatively. Of all voters polled, 41% approved and 58% disapproved of Trump’s performance. That’s down from the conservative news network’s poll of Biden’s approval ratings during the same point in his presidency, which the network says was 44%.

Mum on Venezuela

The president did not spend much time addressing his military campaign off the coast of Venezuela, despite declaring just 24 hours beforehand that the U.S. had formed a “blockade” in the Caribbean Sea.

Trump posted on his own social media platform Truth Social Tuesday night that Venezuela is “completely surrounded by the largest Armada ever assembled in the History of South America.”

The campaign, which has become top of mind for many lawmakers on Capitol Hill, is about preventing drug smuggling to the U.S., Trump and Republican lawmakers have repeatedly said.

Democratic lawmakers are pressing the Trump administration to release unedited footage of a Sept. 2 strike that killed two shipwrecked individuals who were clinging to what was left of a boat after an initial strike.

Kia had a plan just six months ago, one that mapped out several new electric models for the North American market. Now, that plan seems to have hit a wall, stalling before it ever gained momentum.

At the recent Los Angeles Auto Show, Kia America’s vice president of marketing, Russell Wager, shared a candid update. The fate of both the EV4 sedan and Kia’s upcoming pickup truck now hinges on something entirely beyond the company’s reach: tariff stability.

Read: Hyundai And Kia EV Sales Collapse After Tax Credits Vanish Overnight

Speaking to Car and Driver, Wager called out tariffs as the reason that Americans haven’t had access to the EV4 to this point. The car has suffered one delay after another.

What’s the Hold-Up?

When asked about that delay, Wager said “Can you give me the answer of when the tariffs are going to be resolved in Mexico, Canada, and Seoul? If you give me that answer, I’ll be as specific as possible.”

Wager made it clear that the Korean automaker isn’t waiting for tariffs to go away altogether, either. It just wants to see them set at a specific stable figure.

“At that point in time we look at it and say, are we at 25 [percent], are we at 15—and then we can build our business case,” he said. “It was originally designed and engineered when the tariffs were zero percent.”

For now, it’s the uncertainty that keeps cars like the EV4 and Kia’s planned EV pickup out of the USA. Of course, customer demand might not be strong enough anyway after the end of the federal tax EV credits.

Wager admitted that both factors are playing a role. “We’ve got a great portfolio of EVs that are on sale in a lot of other places in the world that we could choose from,” he added. “We just need resolution, and then we also need the consumer market here to want them.”

Get Ready for Price Increases

Between now and whenever Kia decides what to do with the pickup and EV4, it might have to bump prices up.

“Others have raised prices,” Wager said. “I’m not going to name names, and we’ve seen their sales drop. The takeaway is we can’t do it forever. We’ve made it eight months since April so far. If tariffs don’t get resolved or they’re that high, we’ll have to make the business decision. As far as parts tariffs and import tariffs, at some point in time, we can’t absorb it all.”

Hyundai Motor Group has already proven that it can bend a little but part of its biggest draw is being a solid value proposition against rivals. The near future will determine if it can bend enough to keep that reputation without breaking.

For the first time in nearly twenty years, the CEOs of Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis may once again share a table before Congress. The Senate Commerce Committee has called on Ford’s Jim Farley, GM’s Mary Barra, and Stellantis’ Antonio Filosa to testify on January 14 in a high-profile hearing exploring the auto industry’s outlook on federal transportation policy and vehicle affordability.

The session will also delve into the uneasy transition toward electrification, a subject that continues to divide policymakers and automakers alike. Tesla’s VP of Vehicle Engineering, Lars Moravy, has been invited to join the discussion, adding an electric perspective to the mix.

More: Lawmakers Demand Answers From Hertz On AI Rental Damages System

The last time all three Detroit bosses appeared together on Capitol Hill was late 2008 during the financial crisis, bailout negotiations, and a moment when the industry’s future looked genuinely uncertain. This time, the pressure points are different but no less significant.

Why Bring Them Together Now?

Senator Ted Cruz, who’s spearheading the hearing, has titled it “Pedal to the Policy: The Views of the American Auto Industry on the Upcoming Surface Transportation Reauthorization.”

Based on reporting from the Union-Bulletin, the sessions will probe fuel economy and emissions mandates, tariffs, federal EV policy, new-vehicle pricing, and how automakers plan to navigate the next decade. Cruz frames the meeting as a long-overdue reality check on affordability.

“The average price of a car has more than doubled in the past decade,” said Cruz, blaming “onerous government-mandated technologies and radical environmental regulations.”

What’s Driving Up Costs?

No doubt, the average transaction price (ATP) of a new car is quite high these days. Data from Cox Automotive shows that it surpassed $50,000 in September.

A decade ago, that figure was in the low $30,000s. Notably, analysts think the shift is due to several factors, including, but not limited to, regulation. Inflation, tariffs, higher-end trims, and the introduction of more EVs all have a part to play.

Also: EVs Now Sell Faster Than Gas Cars In The Used Market

Republicans say policy changes earlier this year, including repealing federal EV mandates and CAFE targets under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, are steps toward lowering prices. However, Cruz argues lawmakers need to go further. This is all happening at a critical point in the U.S. automotive industry too.

The debate comes at a pivotal moment for the U.S. auto sector. The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) faces renewal or renegotiation by July 1. If it lapses, the fallout alone could drive vehicle costs higher, regardless of any new legislation.

Source: Union-Bulletin

Seven years after Canadian leaders last met their Chinese opposite numbers, Prime Minister Mark Carney is sitting down with Chinese President Xi Jinping. At stake are billions of dollars worth of trade, but Carney hinted that the trade agreement many are hoping for might not materialise, at least not from this first face-to-face.

The two leaders are getting together at the summit of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation in Gyeongju, South Korea, and in the run-up to the meeting, some news reports suggested that Canada could be ready to axe the 100 percent tariff on imported Chinese EVs put in place in 2024.

Related: China Turns Up The Pressure As Canada Reconsiders Its EV Tariffs

Canada is under pressure to hit eco targets, and giving access to more affordable EVs could help. But the real pressure to cancel the EV tariffs is coming from Canada’s farmers.

The country’s Canola industry is worth billions of dollars, with a healthy chunk of that revenue coming from China. But exports to China have tanked since the Chinese placed a 75.8 percent tariff on canola seed in response to EV tariffs.

So a simple “you drop your tariffs and I’ll drop mine” handshake could sort everything, right? It’s not that easy, and Carney was careful not to suggest that he expected to come back from this initial meeting with an oven-baked trade agreement.

“We will explore what we can build on. This is our second largest trading partner. This is the second largest economy in the world,” Carney told the media in the build-up to the meet, as reported by CTV News.

“[But] there’s no preset offer. This is the difference between relationship and transaction,” he added, explaining that the relationship between the two countries needed to “deepen” and that there were many other topics up for discussion besides EVs.

Another reason Carney might hesitate before lifting EV tariffs is concern over the welfare of Canada’s own auto industry, which is already taking a beating from US President Donald Trump’s tariffs, and the current US-Canada tensions aren’t likely to ease those problems soon.

The last thing it needs is an influx of bargain-priced competitors from China.