Here it is, the annual look back at the great things that happened in 2022. The Democrats accomplished a lot with this Congress, and as always, it was nice to see some serious consequences dished out to Republicans who deserved it.
As always, thank you for reading Political Charge! I’ll look forward to seeing you in 2023!
January
The Democrats kicked off the year by winning a special election in Florida’s 20th district
The Georgia Attorney General launched a grand jury to look into Trump’s election interference — a move that caused him a lot of grief all year
February
Maus shot up to the top of Amazon’s bestseller list after conservative school boards tried to ban it
Sandy Hook families got a landmark $73M settlement from gunmaker Remington
A jury found the three white men who killed Ahmaud Arbery in 2020 guilty of all charges in their federal hate crimes trial
March
RT America, a Russia propaganda network, ceased operations
Congress reauthorized the Violence Against Women Act, after Republicans had let it lapse under Trump
Congress passed the Emmett Till Anti-Lynching Act
April
Biden’s historic nominee, Ketanji Brown Jackson was confirmed by the Senate to the Supreme Court
Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers vetoed 9 voter suppression bills
Maryland’s legislature overrode Governor Larry Hogan’s veto, which will expand abortion access in the state
May
Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont signed legislation to protect abortion seekers from out of state
An Arizona judge ruled that an election-denying county clerk be barred from overseeing the midterm election
Scandal-ridden Madison Cawthorne lost his primary
Illinois banned untraceable “ghost guns”
June
A Texas judge barred Governor Greg Abbott from ordering investigations into parents of trans kids
The FDA approved a COVID vaccine for kids under 5 year old
Biden signed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act into law, becoming the first major piece of federal gun reform in 30 years
July
New York added the right to abortion to their state constitution
In the wake of Roe v Wade being overturned by SCOTUS, Biden signed an executive order to protect access to reproductive healthcare
Steve Bannon was found guilty of contempt of Congress
August
Congress passed the PACT Act which expanded VA healthcare for injured veterans
Biden signed the CHIPS and Science Act into law
Kansas voters overwhelmingly voted against a constitutional amendment to ban abortion
Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act, which among many things caps insulin at $35/month for people on Medicare
Judge ruled that DeSantis’ Stop Woke Act was unconstitutional
September
Alaska voters flipped their sole House seat to the Democrats for the first time in 50 years
The VA announced they would provide abortion services in federal facilities
Judge blocked an Arizona law that aimed to stop the filming of cops
California Governor Gavin Newsom rented billboards in red states to inform citizens how to get an abortion
Congress passed a bill to increase infant formula production
October
One of the former leaders of the Proud Boys pled guilty to seditious conspiracy which started the domino effect; by the end of the year several Proud Boys and Oath Keeper leaders had been convicted
Biden pardoned everyone with a federal marijuana conviction
SCOTUS refused to help Trump in his stolen documents case
White House announces Biden has shrunk the federal deficit in half ($2.8T down to $1.4T)
November
Gas prices had come down by 25% since the summer
MIDTERMS!! There was no red wave; John Fetterman flipped the Pennsylvania Senate seat; no Dem-held governorships flipped but we did flip two GOP governors; both the state house and senate in Michigan flipped to the Democrats, giving them a trifecta; Fox/GOP melted down over GenZ and women voters; and all of the attempts to ban abortion failed.
Dems sued and won to make sure Georgia voters could vote on the weekends leading up to the GA Senate runoff
Trump lost his final appeal to SCOTUS to prevent the Dems in Congress from seeing his tax returns
December
The U.S. added 4.6 million jobs under Biden this year.
Senator Raphael Warnock won the special election in Georgia to give the Democrats a solid 51-49 majority in the Senate for the upcoming Congress
Congress passes the Respect for Marriage Act
Biden successfully brought Brittney Griner home
Congress passes the omnibus which funds the government through next September and included an update to the Electoral Count Act, the law Trump tried to exploit with VP Mike Pence on January 3rd
Categories: Uncategorized
Thank you, this was uplifting to read today.
Great! Glad you enjoyed it.
I so needed this! Thanks!
I’m delighted that you enjoyed this look back at 2022.