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As 2024 comes to a close and we await the inauguration of the 47th president of the United States, we can't help but reflect back on the biggest political moments of the year.

From assassination attempts on President-elect Trump to political pardons, election shakeups to controversial nominees and more, here are the most defining political moments of 2024.

Trump had a busy year leading up to the presidential election:

E. Jean Carroll suit: In January 2024, a jury ordered Trump to pay E. Jean Carroll, a writer who sued Trump for sexual abuse and defamation over an incident in the 1980s, $83 million. 

34 felony convictions: In May, Trump became the first former president to be convicted on felony charges when he was found guilty on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to cover up a hush money payment to a porn actor during the 2016 campaign. 

Trump denied the claims and called the proceedings "a rigged, disgraceful trial."

As The Hill's Ella Lee and Zach Schonfeld reported: "Trump’s conviction does not prevent him from running for the office of the presidency or returning to the White House should he win in November, but it hurls the country into uncharted waters as he has firmly secured his spot as the presumptive Republican nominee."

Assassination attempts: Two assassination attempts were made against Trump in the second half of the year. In July, a gunman opened fire at a rally in Butler, Pa., killing one attendee, injuring two others and grazing Trump's ear. The gunman was killed by a sniper moments after firing his shots.

This attempt put the Secret Service under a microscope, with many questioning just how rigid the agency's security protocols were.

In September, authorities say a man staked out Trump's West Palm Beach golf club, hiding in the bushes. He fled after Secret Service officers spotted his rifle poking through the trees and was later arrested in a neighboring county. 

President Biden started the year as the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, batting away concerns about his age and fitness for office as the oldest sitting president in U.S. history. 

June debate: But the trajectory of the election was upended when Biden delivered a disastrous performance in his June debate with Trump, during which the president struggled to stay on topic, stuttered, mumbled and lost his train of thought. His team said he had a cold, and Biden claimed he "had a bad night." 

His performance horrified Democrats, many of whom called for him to step down as the Democratic nominee and find a replacement. Biden initially pushed back, insisting he was the only person who could beat Trump.

But in late July, he decided to drop out of the race and endorsed Vice President Harris as his replacement.

“My fellow Democrats, I have decided not to accept the nomination and to focus all my energies on my duties as President for the remainder of my term,” Biden posted on the social platform X.

Harris jumped right into the fray. Her campaign sparked hope amongst Democrats and energized the party, putting concerns that the country was barreling toward a second Trump victory in the backseat.

She tapped Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) as her running mate, a move that was widely embraced. At the Democratic National Convention, Harris became the first Black woman and woman of South Asian descent to be nominated at the top of a party's ticket. 

Her campaign took the internet by storm over the summer, participating in the viral "brat" trend and leaning on memes and quirky clips of the vice president to boost their audience. Who could forget the coconut tree video? 

Harris and Walz soundly lost the presidential election, dealing a blow to Democrats and forcing a reckoning within the party. 

2024 election: On Nov. 5, 2024, Trump beat Vice President Harris to become the country's 47th president and the House and Senate both went red, giving Republicans a trifecta heading into the 119th Congress. 

While the GOP was expected to win back control of the upper chamber and Trump's victory wasn't necessarily a shock given the tight polling leading into Election Day, the widespread red shift seen in the results was less anticipated. Democrats' losses have raised difficult questions for the party and left many scrambling for answers — and pointing fingers — in the election's aftermath.

As the presidential transition approaches, both Biden and Trump have raised contention with some of their choices.

Cabinet nominees: Once Trump secured the presidency, he announced a slew of Cabinet nominees, many of whom were seen as controversial:

• Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for Department of Health and Human Services Secretary. Kennedy is an environmental lawyer and prominent vaccine skeptic.

• Former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (R-Hawaii) to head the CIA. Gabbard has no intelligence experience, and lawmakers have expressed concerns about her ties to Russia.

• Pete Hegseth to lead the Department of Defense. Hegseth is a veteran and former Fox News host who lacks experience running a major organization like the Pentagon and faces allegations of sexual assault in his past. 

• Former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) for attorney general. Gaetz, who was under a yearslong Ethics Committee investigation for allegations of sexual misconduct, faced an uphill battle from the beginning and eventually dropped out when it became clear he had no path to confirmation. 

Pardons: Despite numerous pledges during his presidency not to pardon his son Hunter Biden for tax and weapons charges, the president ultimately reversed course.

On Dec. 1, 2024, the Biden signed a full and unconditional pardon for his son, claiming the charges against him were politically motivated, a move that was met with fierce backlash.

“No reasonable person who looks at the facts of Hunter’s cases can reach any other conclusion than Hunter was singled out only because he is my son — and that is wrong,” Biden said in a statement.

Read the full pardon here.

Commutations: Biden also in December commuted the sentences of 37 inmates on federal death row, adjusting their sentences to execution to life without the possibility of parole and leaving three "hard cases."

As a result of the yearslong investigation into Gaetz and allegations he has faced of sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, the House Ethics Committee released a bombshell of a report earlier this month.

The investigation found “substantial evidence” Gaetz "violated House Rules, state and federal laws, and other standards of conduct prohibiting prostitution, statutory rape, illicit drug use, acceptance of impermissible gifts, the provision of special favors and privileges, and obstruction of Congress."

While Gaetz has admitted to “embarrassing, though not criminal” past behavior, he denied any sexual contact with a minor. 

Billionaire Elon Musk joined Trump's team and will co-lead the impending Department of Government Efficiency. Since attaching himself to Trump, Musk appears to have garnered significant influence within the Republican party, prompting mockery from Democrats and criticism from some Republicans.

UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was killed in New City, sparking a cultural discussion about the state of health care in the United States. The suspect, 26-year-old Luigi Mangione, was arrested after a dayslong manhunt and has been heralded as a hero across swaths of the internet.