As 2025 ends, there’s a lot to unpack when it comes to sifting through the D.C. region’s top stories.
From the year’s first month, during which President Donald Trump was inaugurated and a plane crashed on approach to Reagan National Airport, to its penultimate month, which saw the election of a new governor in Virginia and the shooting of National Guard members in D.C., the nation’s capital has found itself at the center of America’s news cycle even more than usual.
That’s not even to mention a record-long government shutdown.
Relive some of the area’s biggest storylines and most captivating moments in the photos below.
Winter wonderland to kick off the new year
Before a year marked by chaos and division unfolded, D.C. residents came together to share in the childlike wonder that a snowstorm can bring. The area saw 5 to 12 inches of snow from Jan. 5 to Jan. 6, more than enough ammunition to fuel the annual Great Meridian Chill Battle seen above.
President Donald Trump returns to White House in atypical inauguration
One of the first of many moments in 2025 when D.C.’s local news intersected with national news came Jan. 20, when bitterly cold temperatures moved the inauguration of President Donald Trump indoors to the Capitol Rotunda. Afterward, Trump held an indoor version of the inaugural parade, during which he signed his first executive orders, and Elon Musk gestured in a way that resembled a Nazi salute, garnering more headlines.
More panda-monium at Smithsonian National Zoo
To the frustration of many in the D.C. area, 2024 was a panda-less year for the nation’s capital. Thankfully that was rectified in 2025 when Bao Li and Qing Bao made their public debut in late January. The pair were welcomed with a with a joyful opening ceremony, and have since been embraced by zoogoers.
Plane crashes on approach to Reagan National, kills 67
A busy first month of the year in the D.C. region came to a tragic close when, on Jan. 29, an American Airlines flight from Wichita, Kansas, making its approach to Reagan National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, collided with an Army helicopter and plummeted into the frigid waters of the Potomac River, killing 67 people. The collision prompted an investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board, led to changes in operations around Reagan National and was the first of several major stories surrounding air travel in 2025.
Musk, DOGE, take chainsaw to federal workforce
The so-called “Department of Government Efficiency,” known as DOGE, was created at the start of Trump’s term with the goal of shrinking the federal workforce and cutting government spending. But it was on Feb. 20 when the eye-catching photo was taken of DOGE’s leader, billionaire Elon Musk, wielding a chainsaw on the stage of the Conservative Political Action Conference in Oxon Hill, Maryland. Musk and DOGE would go on to reportedly cut hundreds of thousands of federal jobs before effectively disbanding later in the year.
Md. man becomes center of Trump’s immigration crackdown
The Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration has led to numerous deportations, the deployment of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in major cities, and a pause on the settlement of some refugees, but one man’s case drew particular ire. Kilmar Abrego Garcia was taken from his Maryland home in March and deported to a notorious prison in El Salvador, a move the U.S. government conceded was a mistake. After a series of twists and turns in his case, he was freed in December and returned to his Maryland home.
Commanders, DC partner up to bring NFL team back to hallowed ground
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser kept the Wizards and Capitals in the District in 2024, and she scored an even bigger win in 2025, reaching a deal with the Washington Commanders to return the NFL franchise to a newly built stadium at the old RFK Stadium campus on the banks of the Anacostia River. The deal was announced April 28 and received final approval from the D.C. Council on Sept. 17.
Trump’s military parade brings tanks, troops to DC
Members of the military, along with some of their mightiest equipment, rolled into D.C. on June 14 for a parade celebrating the Army’s 250th birthday. The parade, conceived by Trump and taking place on his birthday, was met with some opposition from critics who pointed out its optics, unnecessary cost and potential to damage D.C. streets.
Parade met with protests in DC, nationwide
On the same day as the military parade, those who oppose the Trump administration lined the streets in thousands of cities across the nation, including D.C. The nationwide protests, under the theme “No Kings,” were repeated in October. In many major cities, such as Los Angeles, New York, Chicago and Philadelphia, tens of thousands of people turned out, and some estimates have the total number of participants nationwide in the millions.
Federal agents, National Guard deployed in DC
Trump took his crackdown on immigration a step further in August when he announced he was deploying ICE and other federal agents, along with National Guard members, to D.C. and asserting more control over the city’s police department. While D.C. leaders largely complied with the effort, many residents decried the surge in law enforcement and reported instances of masked and unidentified agents aggressively confronting people in public areas.
A record-long government shutdown
A battle over health care subsidies in Congress led to the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, beginning Oct. 1 and ending Nov. 12. The shutdown had far-reaching implications on travel, with many air traffic controllers missing work as it wore on, which led to widespread flight cancellations. Food assistance was also greatly impacted, as the Trump administration announced it would let Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program payments lapse one month into the shutdown. During the 43-day shutdown, more than a million federal workers went without paychecks and federally-funded museums were closed to visitors.
White House’s East Wing demolished
Snowstorms, parades and protests come and go, but the demolition of the White House’s East Wing can’t be undone, and will serve as a longstanding symbol of the impact of 2025 in the nation’s capital. Much like many of the Trump administration’s actions, opponents and historians have condemned the hasty demolition, which began at Trump’s direction on Oct. 20 to make way for a new ballroom. On Dec. 12, the National Trust for Historic Preservation sued the Trump administration over the demolition.
Spanberger leads blue wave on Election Day in Virginia
Democrat Abigail Spanberger was elected as Virginia’s first female governor on Nov. 4, a historic and emphatic victory in which Democrats outperformed down-ballot, claimed all three statewide seats up for grabs and greatly widened their majority in the House of Delegates. Similar results were seen in New Jersey, California and New York and were interpreted by some analysts as a rebuke of the Trump administration.
WTOP remembers 2 of its steadiest voices
WTOP experienced great loss in 2025 with the passing of evening anchor Dimitri Sotis in January and business reporter Jeff Clabaugh in September. While their voices are gone from WTOP’s airwaves, they live in the hearts and minds of listeners across the D.C. area and of each of the colleagues they touched during their many years at the station. They truly were two of the best WTOP had to offer, and they remain deeply missed.
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