Political divides

WASHINGTON—Voters delivered a referendum on President Donald Trump in 2018, while he delivered on campaign promises about trade and the Supreme Court. The president also continued his bitter battle against special counsel Robert Mueller, who served up a steady stream of indictments. Meanwhile, the judiciary and immigration became fierce battlegrounds in an era of increasing political polarization. Here are the top political stories of the year.

Split decision

The protracted battle over border wall funding and the resulting partial government shutdown are just the beginning of a rocky road for President Donald Trump in the second half of his first term after voters delivered a split verdict in midterm elections. Democrats won control of the House of Representatives by picking up a net of 39 seats. One California race remains uncalled but is leaning left, while another North Carolina race could face a do-over after accusations that a Republican political operative engages in illegal absentee ballot harvesting. Democrats have vowed to launch a volley of investigations under the leadership of Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., who is gearing up to make a comeback as speaker of the House after she agreed to limit her term to four years. Meanwhile, Republicans strengthened their hold on the Senate, earning a 53-seat majority. These gains mean they can advance the president’s judicial nominations with considerable more ease and rely less on Vice President Mike Pence to break ties.

According to exit polls, healthcare topped voters’ concerns, followed by immigration and the economy. Split control in Congress means Trump’s agenda may languish while the parties pull harder in opposite directions. Democrats will sift through a thick field of potential candidates to determine their challenger for the 2020 presidential election, while Republicans will game how best to woo back key voting blocs such as suburban women, who fueled midterm gains for the Democrats. —H.P.

Confirmation crisis

A predictably rocky confirmation process for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh quickly hurtled into a full-fledged crisis in September. California professor Christine Blasey Ford accused Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her at a high school party in the 1980s, the Senate Judiciary Committee to call both of them to testify. Protesters staked out the Senate building and amplified an already bitterly partisan process—police arrested more than 200 demonstrators during the hearing. Kavanaugh denied Ford’s claims and the claims of two other women. After an additional FBI inquiry didn’t produce evidence to corroborate Ford’s accusations, the Senate voted to confirm Kavanaugh on Oct. 6. —H.P.

On the docket

Special prosecutor Robert Mueller continued his probe into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election this year, an effort President Donald Trump blasted as a witch hunt even as Mueller handed down indictments. More than a dozen Russians were indicted for hacking into Democratic email servers. A handful of Trump associates, including former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and former national security advisor Michael Flynn reached plea agreements with Mueller, but Manafort’s agreement fell apart after the FBI accused him of lying to investigators. A recent flurry of charges has led some observers to speculate the probe could be wrapping up. But the cloud over Trump is likely to remain as Democrats take control of the House in January, increasing talk of an impeachment attempt.

Mueller and other federal prosecutors also charged former Trump attorney Michael Cohen with crimes.Cohen pleaded guilty in August to campaign finance violations and tax evasion and in November to a charge brought by Mueller’s office that he lied to Congress about Trump’s past business dealings. The campaign finance charges stemmed from hush money payments Cohen allegedly made to two women who claimed to have had affairs with Trump. —Anne K. Walters

Families under pressure

The Trump administration implemented a new “zero tolerance” border security policy in April, a change that led to the separation and detainment of thousands of children away from their parents. The policy drew widespread condemnation from human rights organizations and sparked multiple lawsuits, forcing Trump to reverse course in June and end the practice. But efforts to reunify parents and children have been rife with bureaucratic problems as agencies struggle to determine who is a legal guardian and how to find them. More than 14,000 migrant toddlers, children, and teens are currently in U.S. government custody. —A.K.W.

NAFTA 2.0

Trump renegotiated the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) this year, following through on a signature campaign promise. Trump, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and outgoing Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto signed the new deal, dubbed the United States–Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) on Nov. 30. Now the agreement must be ratified by all three countries. Conservative U.S. lawmakers could hold up ratification over sexual orientation and gender identity language that Canada snuck in the agreement. But Trump could also pull the United States out of the old NAFTA agreement entirely, putting pressure on critics to sign.—H.P.

In memory

A number of politicians and influencers died in 2018, but their statesmanship and service left an indelible mark. Among them: