Powerful 2022 Images That Defined Politics This Year

Cassidy Hutchinson’s Shocking Testimony

Former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson made headlines in June after her shocking testimony before the House committee investigating the Jan. 2021 Capitol riots. Among her bombshell claims was that then-President Donald Trump was aware his supporters were armed in D.C. on Jan. 6, and that he lunged at his Secret Service detail in the car in an attempt to reach the Capitol that day.

Elsewhere in her testimony, Hutchinson offered other insights in Trump’s temper, telling the committee that she once walked in to a room in the White House to see a valet cleaning up “ketchup dripping down the wall and a porcelain plate shattered on the ground.” The valet allegedly told her that Trump was angry at an interview Attorney General Bill Barr gave to the Associated Press. Trump, she said, had “thrown his lunch against the wall.”

The Fall of Roe v. Wade

In June, the U.S. Supreme Court announced it had overturned the landmark 1973 case, Roe v. Wade, which granted women the right to an abortion in every state, The official decision came a month after a 98-page opinion obtained by Politico — allegedly authored by Justice Samuel Alito and leaked to the press in a major breach of confidentiality — stated that “Roe was egregiously wrong from the start,” and that “we [the Supreme Court majority] hold that Roe and Casey [another ruling on the right to abortion from 1992 which upheld the previous court decision] must be overruled.”

The process of overturning Roe v. Wade began when Mississippi’s ban on abortions after 15 weeks was struck down by a federal court. The state then asked the Supreme Court to either overturn Roe v. Wade or allow states to pass pre-viability abortion bans.

In the hours after the decision was announced, demonstrations quickly erupted on the streets outside of the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C.

Ketanji Brown Jackson Makes SCOTUS History

Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson became the first Black woman on the nation’s highest court following her formal swearing-in in October. An image captured by New York Times photographer Sarabeth Maney during Jackson’s historic confirmation hearings in March shows the judge out of focus in the foreground with her teenage daughter, Leila, beaming with admiration behind her.

“I just remember seeing Judge Jackson smiling a lot, and I think she was receiving compliments and praise. And then I noticed how proud her daughter was of her,” Maney told her paper of glimpsing an opportunity to document a mother-daughter moment amid the formality of the first day of testimony. “It gave me chills when I saw this look that her daughter gave her.”

Russia Invades Ukraine

Russia launched its military attack on Ukraine on the morning of Feb. 24. Black smoke from explosions could be seen shooting up in the sky as photographers captured the devastation on the ground.

This image of Ukrainian teacher Olena Kurilo, whose home was destroyed by an air strike, circulated around the world almost immediately after Russia’s invasion began, representing the harsh realities of Ukrainians’ new normal.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was hailed for his courageous wartime leadership in the wake of the initial attacks, which continue nearly a year later, but have been stymied by the Ukrainian people. Russian President Vladimir Putin, meanwhile, was branded a “war criminal” by U.S. officials — including President Joe Biden — as countless civilian sites were targeted throughout the invasion.

Nancy Pelosi Steps Back

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced in November that she would not seek reelection as the Democratic House leader — a position she’s held for 20 years — once Republicans took over the congressional body in January.

Speaking from the House floor, 82-year-old Pelosi offered an emotional assessment of her decision, saying: “Scripture teaches us that for everything there is a season … And with great confidence in our caucus I will not seek reelection to Democratic leadership in our next congress.”

Pelosi made history in January 2003 as the first woman chosen to lead a party in either chamber of Congress. She is also the only woman to have served as House speaker, a position she’s held two separate times during her tenure.

Iranian Women Fight Back

When a 22-year-old Iranian woman died in police custody after being detained for allegedly wearing a hijab too loosely, women took to the streets.

Facing violence and even death themselves, protesters burned their own hijabs to publicly denounce Iran’s morality police, which the U.S. State Department has described as an organization that “arrests women for wearing ‘inappropriate’ hijab and enforces other restrictions on freedom of expression.”

As U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield told PEOPLE in an earlier interview, “The fact that these women are being forced to dress in a certain way, that many can not be educated, many are not allowed to work, not allowed out of their homes … We need to be aware of these things so we can add our voices to the chorus of others and give these women whatever support we can give them.”

The Mar-a-Lago Search

The controversy surrounding Donald Trump’s storage of potentially classified documents began shortly after he left office in Jan. 2021 and returned to Mar-a-Lago. The National Archives and Records Administration retrieved 15 boxes of documents that Trump had brought to Mar-a-Lago shortly after his presidency ended — but believed some were still missing.

The Justice Department then issued a subpoena for additional records, and the FBI collected an additional 38 classified documents, along with a signed letter from the Trump team certifying that “a diligent search” of the property had been conducted and all classified documents had been handed over. But according to a court filing, the FBI later uncovered “multiple sources of evidence indicating that … classified documents remained at the Premises” after that June visit.

So, on Aug. 8, the FBI executed a search warrant at Mar-a-Lago, with Trump breaking the news in a statement sent via email to his supporters, explaining that his “beautiful home, Mar-A-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, is currently under siege, raided, and occupied by a large group of FBI agents,” and declaring the raid “prosecutorial misconduct.”

Herschel Walker’s Senate Race Implodes

Former football star Herschel Walker announced his Republican candidacy for a Georgia Senate seat in Aug. 2021, at the urging of prominent Republicans including former President Donald Trump.

But Walker’s campaign was consumed with controversy from the beginning as he was caught in a string of lies about things like his education, his employment history and COVID cures that he claimed to have at the start of the pandemic.

In October, more of Walker’s familial and relationship history made headlines when the Daily Beast reported that the anti-choice candidate had once paid for a woman to abort a pregnancy in 2009 — a claim he vehemently denied. Days later, the Beast was back with a new report, this time alleging that not only did Walker know the woman, but he also has a child with her. A second woman then came forward with similar accusations, which he also denied.

When comedian Jason Selvig handed Walker a roll of condoms at one of his campaign events in October, it pointed to a larger problem for the Senate hopeful: His incredibly turbulent campaign had become the butt of jokes nationwide.

In a Dec. 6 runoff election, Walker underperformed expectations, losing the race to incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock.

The Obamas Are Cemented in History

Former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama returned to the White House in September for a ceremony to unveil their official White House portraits, more than five years after moving out of the president’s mansion.

The former president’s portrait, by artist Robert McCurdy, features a stark white background that encourages viewers to focus exclusively on the subject: Obama himself, wearing a black suit, gray tie and American flag pin.

Michelle’s portrait, by artist Sharon Sprung, shows the former first lady seated on a sofa in the Red Room, wearing a bright blue dress with an off-the-shoulder sleeve that proudly exposes her famed arms.

Though the Obamas had said goodbye to politics years before, their 2022 portrait unveilings served as a reminder of the integral role they played in pushing the United States forward: For the first time in American history, depictions of a Black president and Black first lady would live on the walls of the White House among other greats who helped define the nation.

Beto O’Rourke Fights for Gun Safety

One day after the tragedy at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, then-Texas gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke interrupted a press conference where state politicians were providing updates on the mass shooting.

Footage of the press conference shows Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, beginning to speak when O’Rourke, a Democrat, walks up to the officials, points his finger at them and calls them out.

“You’re doing nothing!” O’Rourke shouted, adding: “You said this is not predictable. This is totally predictable,” before being escorted out.

The viral moment was one of many passionate outbursts in O’Rourke’s political career, and perhaps the one that best defined Texas’ stark division in 2022.

Congress Enshrines Marriage Equality

Democratic lawmakers celebrated in December as the Respect for Marriage Act passed both the House and Senate before heading to President Biden’s desk for a signature.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, in her final days as the Democratic House leader, hosted an enrollment ceremony for the legislation on Thursday, where she and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer signed the final bill before onlookers.

In joyous photos from the event, Pelosi was seen planting a kiss on former Rep. Barney Frank, the first congressman to voluntarily come out as gay, who’d returned to the Capitol for the historic moment.

A Groundbreaking Press Secretary

Karine Jean-Pierre walked into the White House press briefing room on May 16 with a big smile on her face, as she ran her first meeting as a leading face in the Biden administration. Jean-Pierre became the first Black and first openly gay White House press secretary after Jen Psaki stepped down from the role.

“I am a Black, gay, immigrant woman. The first of all three of those to hold this position,” Jean-Pierre told reporters in her first briefing.

She added: “If it were not for generations of barrier-breaking people before me I would not be here. But I benefit from their sacrifices, I have learned from their excellence and I am forever grateful to them. Representation does matter – you hear us say this often in this administration, and no one understands this better than President Biden.”

Biden’s Fist Bump with the Crown Prince

President Biden elicited criticism during a four-day tour of the Middle East when he was photographed fist-bumping Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.

The meeting came four years after the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi Arabian journalist who was assassinated at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in late 2018.

A 2019 report by the United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner ruled that Khashoggi’s killing was the result of elaborate planning “overseen, planned and endorsed by high-level officials.” And in 2021, the Biden administration released a declassified intelligence report which concluded that bin Salman himself approved an operation to capture or kill the journalist.

The president faced backlash from both sides of the aisle for his hand movement, with many believing that the move effectively reset U.S.-Saudi relations, which had been tense prior to the meeting.

Maryland Chooses Its Leader

The November midterm elections saw Democrats fend off a red wave that polling — and history — warned was imminent. While congressional races took the spotlight, gubernatorial campaigns were also prominent.

In Maryland, Democrat Wes Moore was victorious in his bid to succeed outgoing Republican Gov. Larry Hogan, making history as the first Black governor in the state.

Photos of Moore and his family watching TV pundits call the gubernatorial race in his favor became a heartwarming portrait of progress for Black Americans — a feat that’s only ever happened three times nationwide.

A White House Wedding

A long-anticipated White House wedding took place on a Saturday morning in November, as President Biden’s granddaughter Naomi Biden married Peter Neal in a private ceremony on the South Lawn.

The all-day celebration — attended by both the president and first lady —included a White House luncheon for the wedding party and close family members, followed by an evening reception at the executive mansion with dessert and dancing.

Naomi’s nuptials — the first time a grandchild of a sitting president has been married at the White House— came as authorities investigate her father, Hunter Biden, for his tax dealings. Hunter has been a target of the political right, and was largely kept out of the spotlight in images shared of the ceremony.

Pelosis Push Forward

Weeks after being attacked by a home intruder in October, Paul Pelosi made his first public appearance at the 45th Kennedy Center Honors in November.

Paul was accompanied by his wife Nancy Pelosi, both 82, and received a standing ovation from an audience that included President Biden.

Paul was violently attacked in the couple’s San Francisco home by a suspect wielding a hammer on Oct. 28. During the overnight assault, his wife was in Washington, D.C., per U.S. Capitol Police, when the intruder allegedly “confronted the speaker’s husband” and shouted, “Where is Nancy, where is Nancy?” per CNN sources.

The attack became a harrowing demonstration of growing political violence in America, prompting bolstered security for elected officials and their loved ones.