Another year has come and gone, but it has been marked with major historic moments. 2023 started with a dramatic speaker race and ended with the first expulsion of a member from Congress in over 20 years. In between there was the first removal of a speaker from the position and lots of other activity in and around the Capitol.
So before we close the book on 2023, let’s take a look back at our favorite photos of the year.
Rep. Kevin McCarthy and John Leganski, the California Republican’s deputy chief of staff for floor operations, wait in the House chamber for the final tally during the Jan. 3 speaker vote. It would take 15 rounds for McCarthy to be elected speaker. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)
Miami Mayor and U.S. Conference of Mayors President Francis Suarez and his children, Gloriana and Andrew, introduce a speaker during the conference’s winter meeting at the Capital Hilton in Washington on Jan. 20. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)House Rules Chairman Tom Cole, right, and ranking member Jim McGovern are seen during a Jan. 31 meeting in the Capitol about a resolution “denouncing the horrors of socialism.” (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene displays her opinion of President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address in the House chamber on Feb. 7. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)Annapolis Alderwoman Eleanor “Elly” Tierney displays a prop check at the city’s flooded dock after a news conference with members of the Maryland congressional delegation on March 13 announcing a congressionally directed investment of $3.46 million to help mitigate flooding. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar points to the bust of fellow Minnesotan, former Vice President Hubert Humphrey, in the Capitol on March 15. Busts of other past Vice Presidents Alben Barkley and Lyndon Johnson are also seen. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)Actress and writer Mindy Kaling receives the 2021 National Medal of Arts from Biden during a ceremony in the White House’s East Room on March 21. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)McGovern is hugged by actor and activist Richard Gere during a news conference outside the Capitol on March 28 about a bill aiming to bring a peaceful end to the conflict between Tibet and China. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)Florida Sen. Rick Scott speaks to students from the Sunshine State as he leaves the Capitol after the last votes of the week on May 4. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)Sen. Dianne Feinstein is seen in the Capitol’s Ohio Clock Corridor on June 1 as the Senate worked on the debt limit bill. The California Democrat would later pass away in September. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)A spectator in the Republican section at Nationals Park reaches for a foul ball during the Congressional Baseball Game on June 14. The GOP team routed the Democrats 16-6. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)Lawmakers show off their footwear during Congressional Sneaker Day on June 21 in the Capitol’s Will Rogers corridor. Clockwise from bottom left are Sen. Edward J. Markey of Massachusetts, Sneaker Caucus co-Chair Jared Moskowitz of Florida, Rep. Morgan McGarvey of Kentucky, Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Texas, Rep. George Santos of New York, Sneaker Caucus co-Chair Lori Chavez-DeRemer of Oregon and Rep. Melanie Stansbury of New Mexico. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell prepares to testify during a Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee hearing in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on June 22. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)New York Republican Rep. Brandon Williams arrives at the Capitol on June 22 before the House voted to send an impeachment resolution against Biden to committees. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)Florida Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz speaks to the media on the House steps on Oct. 3 after his “motion to vacate” was adopted and McCarthy was ousted as speaker. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)From left, Republican Reps. Cole of Oklahoma, Harold Rogers of Kentucky and Steve Womack of Arkansas look at their phones in the House chamber on Oct. 20 during the third unsuccessful vote to elect a new speaker. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)Following weeks of infighting among House Republicans, Louisiana Rep. Mike Johnson is sworn in on the House floor after the chamber voted 220-209 to elect him speaker on Oct. 25. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer walks by an electric school bus parked outside of the Capitol on Nov. 15 for an event marking the bipartisan infrastructure law’s two-year anniversary. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)The November full moon, also known as the Beaver Moon, rises over the Capitol Dome on Nov. 27. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)Former Rep. George Santos leaves the Capitol on Dec. 1 after the House voted to expel him from Congress. The New York Republican was the first member to be expelled from the chamber since July 2002. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)
