2023: A year of political firsts, lasts
Politics saw a year unlike any other, starting with a historic 15-round vote for Speaker of the House and wrapping up with the removal of former president Donald Trump from Maine and Colorado’s 2024 primary ballot. Photo collage by RENEE ELEFANTE, Editor-in-Chief
From Congress chaos to commotion on the campaign trail, The Panther recalls the most significant moments in politics throughout the year.
Kevin McCarthy was voted out of the Speaker of the House position
The year started with the early-January election of a new House of Representatives Speaker, Kevin McCarthy, after a historic 15 rounds of voting. This marked the first time in over 100 years that electing a Speaker took more than one round.
House Republicans were unsure about choosing McCarthy, but he ultimately won with 216 of 428 votes, just over the required half of House votes needed for the majority.
In a historic turn of events, McCarthy was ousted from his position in a 216-210 vote on Oct. 2, following criticism received from fellow Republican representatives for supporting a Democrat-backed bill to avoid a government shutdown.
McCarthy is the first Speaker to ever be voted out of office and he recently announced that he plans to leave Congress by the end of the year. Along with the exit of former Republican Councilmember George Santos, this could leave the party with a very narrow clutch on the House majority.
George Santos was also ousted after lots of controversy
On Dec. 1, George Santos was voted out of his position as a House representative for New York. Two-thirds majority was required, which was met when 73% of the voting members opted to expel Santos.
This makes him only the sixth member of the House to be kicked out.
Santos has been caught lying about a multitude of claims he made in his campaigning for Congress; he claimed having gone to universities that had no records of him attending and companies he supposedly worked for reported that he had never been employed there.
He also lied about his financial status and legal history, as well as faking a Jewish heritage. He was indicted on his false claims, along with multiple cases of theft and fraud, in October.
John Eastman is on trial for his involvement in tampering 2020 election results
The worlds of American politics and Chapman University intertwined in an infamous scandal when former law professor John Eastman, who was also the founding dean of the Fowler School of Law, went down with former president Donald Trump for efforts to tamper with the 2020 presidential election results.
California State Bar Judge Yvette D. Roland’s preliminary finding in early November found Eastman, who was Trump’s personal lawyer, culpable of ethics violations associated with Trump’s attempts to overturn the election results.
This case, which was originally brought up in January, is charging the attorney with 11 counts of ethics and conduct violations.
It’s now up to Roland to decide Eastman’s fate — and whether or not he gets his law license revoked — which he can then appeal to the California Supreme Court.
A former president and current candidate indicted
Trump became the first former president in the history of the United States to be indicted in March. In four states and four different trials, Trump faces a total of 91 counts of criminal charges against him.
In Florida, he’s being charged for allegedly hiding classified government documents in his Mar-a-Lago home. In his hometown of New York, he’s accused of fabricating documents to conceal hush money given to porn star Stormy Daniels, who claimed she had a sexual encounter with the former president.
He’s being charged for his involvement with the Jan. 6 attacks in Washington D.C., and in Georgia, he faces charges regarding his alleged conspiracy to overturn the state election. Eastman is listed as a key co-conspirator. In light of his involvement, Maine and Colorado both removed Trump from their 2024 primary ballots. Both cited their decisions based on Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which prohibits elected officials who previously held office and took an oath if they “engaged in insurrection or rebellion.”
Despite the indictments, Trump’s ratings have been boosted far above the other Republican candidates running for the presidential seat.
Supreme Court rules on affirmative action, free speech and more
Aside from the Supreme Court’s ruling that Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan was unconstitutional, the Court also ruled to end affirmative action in public and private colleges and universities. The decision meant that colleges and universities would no longer be able to decide admissions based on an applicant’s race.
The Court issued another controversial ruling for a case focusing on whether a Christian web designer could refuse to create sites for same-sex marriages even though a state law outlaws discrimination against one’s sexual orientation. Here, the Court ruled that the web designer had a First Amendment right to refuse this service despite the state law stating otherwise.
The Supreme Court also discussed race and a redistricting map in Alabama, while another ruling surrounded the Environmental Protection Agency and another ruling focused on tribal rights. The Court also ruled on a case regarding a postal worker who was refusing to work on Sundays for religious reasons and was disciplined after not showing up to work multiple times; the Court sided with the postal worker.
Republican presidential candidate take the debate stage
Six other Republicans are pushing for the GOP spot on the ballot. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is second to Trump in the polls, following with a gap of nearly 50 points. DeSantis, who was once polling within 10 points of Trump, saw a sudden decline while Trump’s numbers rose in March, immediately following the latter’s first charges.
Trump has been noticeably absent at Republican debates, as well as on other aspects of the campaign trail, opting instead for a more personalized approach with events he organizes.
Still, other candidates like former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy have been fighting their way through the debates and trying to convince their party members to choose them over Trump.
While each of the candidates are receiving some percent of the polls, presidential historian Douglas Brinkley stated during his visit to Chapman that he believed Trump would be the Republican nominee.
Approval ratings for Biden take a dip
Brinkley also told the Chapman community that President Joe Biden has “no competition” for the Democratic nomination, but he also said that “most of the people in (Biden’s) party wish he wasn't running.”
Many Democrats aren’t enthusiastic about Biden taking on a second term. Polls by FiveThirtyEight show his approval rates taking a dip from 53.1% at the beginning of his term to 39.3% as of Dec. 29.
Concerns have risen among citizens surrounding Biden’s age; he would be the oldest president to be sworn in at age 82, only beating his own record, when he was sworn in for his first term at age 78. The White House physician declared him “healthy” and “vigorous” earlier this year.
Two other Democratic candidates are also running for presidency: Minnesota representative Dean Phillips and author Marianne Williamson. As of Dec. 29, FiveThirtyEight reported Biden leading the Democratic primaries with 68.1% of votes, followed by Williamson with 7.1% and Phillips with just above 3.8%.
Biden Administration launches SAVE plan to help address student loan debt
The Supreme Court rejected Biden’s plan to cancel $400 billion worth of student debt in June, saying that his administration could not be authorized to provide such relief.
This would have erased debt for nearly half of the more than 40 million student borrowers.
Then in September, the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) Plan was launched by the Biden-Harris administration. This plan focuses on the incomes and family sizes of borrowers. Millions of Americans are already signed up, looking for a chance to decrease their monthly loan payments and get rid of unpaid interest.
On Dec. 6, the Department of Education approved the relief of $5 billion more in federal student loan debt. This makes the total amount of relief provided by the Biden administration $132 billion.
Dianne Feinstein and Sandra Day O’Connor passed
This year brought the deaths of two powerful figures who influenced how women are viewed in the political sphere. Dianne Feinstein, California’s first female senator, passed on Sept. 29 at age 90 while still in office, and first female Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor died Dec. 1 at age 93.
While the two weren’t always viewed with the most positive perceptions from the public, they undoubtedly broke standards that allowed the women that came after them to succeed in the world of American politics.
Feinstein is credited with renovating San Francisco’s famous cable car system and dealing with the spread of the AIDS/HIV crisis during her time as mayor in the late 70s through late 80s. As senator, she contributed to the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban and the bill that would ban the use of torture against prisoners.
O’Connor was appointed to the Supreme Court in 1981 by former President Ronald Reagan and served as a swing vote for many major court decisions. She was a moderate conservative who voted in support of affirmative action in college admissions and in favor of maintaining Roe v. Wade. She also took more conservative actions like emphasizing states’ rights, and she was also involved in the 2000 Bush v. Gore case.
Florida removed DEI majors and minors from colleges
A new Florida bill, introduced in March by Rep. Alex Andrade (R-2), prohibits colleges in the state from funding diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. The bill was signed in May and became effective July 1.
Majors and minors related to gender studies, intersectionality and critical race theory are all eligible to be removed under this action. The bill stops funding for “any programs or campus activities that espouse diversity, equity or inclusion or Critical Race Theory rhetoric.”
This aligns with other conservative actions taken by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis regarding schools. He has proposed closing diversity offices and programs, and removing DEI factors in consideration of hiring new faculty. He most notably signed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill last year, banning any discussion in Florida classrooms surrounding sexual orientation and gender identity.
Similar changes are happening here in Orange County. On Sept. 7, the Orange Unified School District unanimously voted yes on an action that requires parents to be notified of their children identifying as transgender in school. This alert includes instances when children use a different name or pronoun than that which aligns with their biological sex, as well as when they choose to participate in gender-divided activities on the team of the opposite biological sex.
Mike Johnson became House Speaker
Conservative values are also being promoted in the House of Representatives, through the election of new House Speaker Mike Johnson. Following McCarthy’s historic removal from office, Johnson was sworn in on Oct. 25.
In his first speech as House Speaker, the Louisiana representative said, “I believe God has ordained and allowed each one of us to be brought here for this specific moment.” His religious beliefs highly motivate his previous statements and actions.
Johnson has spoken out about the division of church and state, stating his belief that this separation is not a constitutional value. He also supported GOP efforts to overturn the 2020 election results, and in 2004, he called homosexuality “inherently unnatural” and “dangerous.”
Johnson and his wife, Kelly Johnson, are members of Cypress Baptist Church in Louisiana. His wife is a licensed pastoral counselor.
Israel/Hamas and Ukraine/Russia War
In international affairs, this year has seen the continuation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, as well as increased conflict in Israel and Gaza following the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas.
Russia first invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24 of last year. Since then, Ukraine has put up an impressive fight, surprising the rest of the world. The United States has been sending financial aid to Ukraine since the beginning of the war, but Republicans in Congress have blocked recent attempts to continue the nation’s financial involvement.
Following Hamas’ attack on Israel in early October, which left over 1,000 people dead, tensions have continued with Israel sending troops and airstrikes to Gaza, where Hamas is located. This war is just the latest development in conflicts dating back decades.
Now, the reported Palestinian death toll has surpassed 17,000 in Gaza, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. U.N. officials have condemned the violence from both sides, calling for both Israel and Hamas to “take all precautions to avoid civilian casualties there.”
The war has extended onto college campuses throughout the United States. At Chapman, student clubs and organizations have released statements and held vigils. Both Israeli and Palestinian flags were planted in the grass by the Atallah Piazza in the days following the Oct. 7 attack.
