2017 was a monumental year for American politics. With so much in the news and with more people engaged in the political process than in recent years, 2017 had several important political moments in American history. Democrats, Republicans, and everyone in between recognized the impact certain events had on American political history. As the Three Branches go on winter vacation in the upcoming days, the important political headlines of 2017 are being reflected on by political enthusiasts in order to analyze 2017 for American politics.

President Donald Trump’s Inauguration

On January 20th, Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th President of the United States. His campaign and subsequent election brought a new attitude towards politics with his populist-style momentum. His presidency has been marked by several ongoing controversies and will go into the New Year with an almost completely new team of staff and advisers than who he started with.

Neil Gorsuch is confirmed to the United States Supreme Court

The Conservative judge was confirmed by the Senate on April 10th to replace late Justice Antonin Scalia. His placement keeps the Supreme Court at a Conservative majority.

President Trump fires FBI Director James Comey

James Comey was a critical figure during the 2016 Presidential Election. After several hearings with Senate Committee, where he discussed the FBI’s ongoing investigation between Russia and the Trump Campaign, Trump fired the FBI Director. Trump cited his firing, which came on May 9th, as being due to Comey’s handling of the Clinton email investigation.

The Affordable Care Act remains intact

After many attempts by Congressional Republicans, Congress was unable to repeal or replace ObamaCare with the proposed American Healthcare Act. In a maverick style move, the final nail in the coffin of the AHCA came from Republican Senator John McCain, who voted against what he was expected to, and tilted the votes against the repeal of the ACA.

Me Too Movement affects American officials

The Me Too Movement came to Washington as several high profile politicians were accused of sexual misconduct. Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore was accused of having inappropriate relationships with minors while he was a judge in the 1970’s. These accusations were strong enough to help Democratic challenger Doug Jones win the election by a narrow margin. Among the other high profile allegations of sexual misconduct, Democratic Senator from Minnesota Al Franken was accused of misconduct, with photo evidence to support the allegations. He subsequently announced that he would resign from office.

Republicans put forward a new tax plan

After the failure of the repeal and replace of ObamaCare, the Republicans launched the next step on their legislative agenda, the tax bill. The proposed tax bill would increase the deficit and likely reduce taxes for middle class families and also for businesses. The Bill has gone back and forth in the Senate and House for the past few weeks, but will likely be finalized as the year comes to a close, and the Republicans will achieve their goal of reforming the tax system.