The year began with President Donald Trump completing his political comeback and claiming a mandate for change.
“The golden age of America begins right now,” he said in his inaugural address.
Armed with the conservative blueprint “Project 2025,” Trump wasted no time.
On Day 1, he pardoned the more than 1,500 people charged with storming the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
He sealed the southern border, authorized ICE raids and mass deportations, and tapped billionaire Elon Musk to lead a government cost-cutting blitz, also known as the U.S. DOGE Service.
Trump signed a record number of executive orders, enacting huge chunks of his campaign platform and erasing much of President Joe Biden’s legacy. He repealed regulations, boosted oil and gas drilling, and banned diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
Then Trump upended the global economy by imposing sweeping tariffs on imports from most countries.
“My fellow Americans, this is Liberation Day,” the president said at an April 2 event.
It triggered nation-by-nation negotiations and a legal challenge heard by the Supreme Court.
“If we don’t have tariffs, we don’t have national security,” Trump said Oct. 15.
The president and Musk oversaw the mass firings of federal workers, the shutdown of agencies and huge cuts to foreign aid — all of it triggering nationwide protests.
Trump and Musk then had a public falling out.
“Look, Elon and I had a great relationship," Trump said in June. "I don’t know if we will anymore. I was surprised."
The president deployed the National Guard to several cities, mostly over the protests of local leaders. Two Guard members were shot — one of whom was killed — just two blocks from the White House on Thanksgiving eve.
“We will not be deterred from the mission these service members were so nobly fulfilling,” Trump said Nov. 26.
The Republican-controlled Congress allowed the tariffs to stand and rubber-stamped legislation known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, cutting taxes and health care and enacting much of the Trump agenda.
But as the summer ended, the president faced fierce headwinds.
After vowing to release the government’s files on sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, he said folks should move on.
“They’re trying to somehow tie President Trump to the scandal," House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said Nov. 18. "President Trump has nothing to do with it.”
But enough House Republicans wanted the investigative files made public, ensuring a bill to release them would pass. Trump flip-flopped again, agreeing to it.
The Epstein debate unfolded during a record 43-day government shutdown over expiring health insurance subsidies.
The shutdown ended without a deal to extend the tax credits, but Republicans appeared to pay a political price for opposing the aid.
“The American people know that Donald Trump and Republican control of the House and the Senate has been a disaster for them,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said Dec. 4.
In October, millions turned out for so-called “No Kings” protests to push back on the president’s agenda. And in November, Democrats scored surprising election wins by focusing on affordability.
The president largely dismissed anxiety about the economy.
“Affordability’s a hoax that was started by Democrats,” Trump said in December.
He also faced criticism for renovating the White House — by paving over the Rose Garden and knocking down the East Wing to build a ballroom.
“It’ll be the most beautiful ballroom anywhere in the world, I think,” he said in October.
The GOP-led Congress and the Supreme Court enabled Trump to stretch the power of the presidency. But he’s ending the year with the worst poll numbers of his second term.
Washington is gearing up for elections in 2026, when voters will decide whether to put a check on the president.
Trump also turns 80 in June, facing questions about his health that he waves off.