Zane Gonzalez #47 of the Washington Commanders celebrates with his teammates after making a 37 yard game winning field goal against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to win the NFC Wild Card Playoff at Raymond James Stadium on January 12, 2025 in Tampa, Florida.

A moment nearly two decades in the making: burgundy-and-gold made the playoffs in January. Pictured: Zane Gonzalez #47 of the Washington Commanders celebrates with his teammates after making a 37-yard game-winning field goal against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to win the NFC Wild Card Playoff. Photo: Julio Aguilar/Getty Images

Priscilla Chan, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Lauren Sanchez, businessman Jeff Bezos , Alphabet's CEO Sundar Pichai, and businessman Elon Musk, among other dignitaries, attend the United States Capitol on January 20, 2025 in Washington, DC. Donald Trump takes office for his second term as the 47th Presi

Tech leaders and billionaires gathered on Capitol Hill as Donald Trump took office in January: Priscilla Chan, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Lauren Sanchez, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos , Alphabet's CEO Sundar Pichai and Elon Musk, among other dignitaries. Photo: Shawn Thew-Pool/Getty Images

DC street fenced off with metal barricades labeled "National," littered heavily with trash including bags, bottles, and discarded items, between tall buildings under daylight.

Inauguration-goers left seas of trash and abandoned belongings outside Capital One Arena. Trump launched his second term with an address that vowed to prioritize America's interests with a "golden age" for the country, while taking on "a radical and corrupt establishment." Photo: Valerie Plesch/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Children from the Yu Ying Public Charter School sing at the Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington, DC, before Giant pandas Bao Li and Qing Bao make their public debut on January 24, 2025. The pandas arrived at the zoo on October 15, 2024, in the latest chapter in China's campaign of international

The only thing better than seeing the National Zoo's new pandas for the first time: Hearing kindergarteners from the Yu Ying Public Charter School sing in panda hats before racing down the Asia Trail to be the first to greet Bao Li and Qing Bao. Photo: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

A moment of joy: Sledding on Capitol Hill during D.C.'s February winter storm, which dropped more than 5 inches of snow around the DMV. Photo: Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images

A moment of winter joy: sledding on Capitol Hill during D.C.'s February winter storm, which dropped more than 5 inches of snow around the DMV. Photo: Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images

Go go music fans dancing to the grooves at the new Go Go Museum & Cafe in Washington, DC on February 19, 2025. PICTURED, PriscillaThompson (center) Trina (Trina Boo)Edwards (right) go go music's very famous go go music dancer. (Photo by Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

The Go Go Museum & Cafe, the first ever dedicated to D.C.'s hometown music, had visitors dancing when it debuted in February. Photo: Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post via Getty Images

Ambassador Samantha Power embraces fired employees. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Former USAID head Samantha Power embracing former employees outside the agency's headquarters in February as they came to collect their belongings. Thousands of USAID workers who were terminated or placed on leave were given 15 minutes to clear out their offices after the Trump administration and DOGE shuttered the agency. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

A person in a white shirt and blue jeans pulls a pastel pink and mint green suitcase, waving a small American flag, while another person walks ahead carrying a beige bag and wearing blue pants.

Former USAID employees quickly packed their offices in boxes, shopping bags and suitcases. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Visitors crowd around the cherry blossoms in the Tidal Basin DC

Visitors crowded the Tidal Basin in late March to catch the cherry blossoms at peak bloom. Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

Teammates mob Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8) after he breaks the NHL scoring record with 895 goals during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the New York Islanders at UBS Arena in Queens, NY on April 6, 2025. (Photo by John McDonnell/For The Washington Post via Getty Im

Ovi FTW! Teammates mobbed Washington Capitals star wing Alex Ovechkin (#8) after he broke the NHL's all-time-career goal record with 895 scores. The victory happened during the second period of an away game against the New York Islanders in April. Photo by John McDonnell/For The Washington Post via Getty Images

A large crowd in pink shirts carries a giant rainbow pride flag down a tree-lined street toward the U.S. Capitol building under a partly cloudy sky.

Over 1 million people gathered in D.C. for WorldPride in June, dashing fears that the Trump administration's anti-LGBTQ+ policies would deter the weeks-long celebration. Pictured: Activists carry a 1,000-foot rainbow flag in the parade. Photo: Kent Nishimura/Getty Images

Armored vehicles move across the Memorial Bridge during the Army 250th Anniversary Parade in Washington, DC, on June 14, 2025.

President Trump's "Army 250th Anniversary Parade," held on his 79th birthday, drew troops and tanks across Memorial Bridge in June. Meanwhile, demonstrators across the country held some of the biggest "No Kings" protests since his return to power. Photo: Annabelle Gordon/AFP via Getty Images

A tourist visiting from Shenzhen, China, poses for a photograph with armed members of the National Guard at the base of the Washington on the National Mall on August 27, 2025 in Washington, DC. The Trump administration has deployed federal officers and the National Guard to the District in order to

The hottest tourist trend this summer: Snapping pics with members of the National Guard, which President Trump deployed in August as the federal takeover began. Photo: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Tens of thousands protest US President Donald Trump's use of national guard soldiers and federal agents to carry out routine policing operations, Washington D.C., Sept. 6, 2025. (Photo by Dominic Gwinn / Middle East Images via AFP) (Photo by DOMINIC GWINN/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)

Tens of thousands gathered along 16th Street and beyond to protest President Trump's use of National Guard soldiers and federal agents to carry out policing operations in DC in early September. Photo: Dominic Gwinn / Middle East Images via AFP via Getty Images

A driver is detained at a traffic safety checkpoint conducted by the Department of Homeland Security and the Washington Metropolitan Police Department along New York Avenue Northeast on September 8, 2025 in Washington, DC.

Checkpoints manned by D.C. police and federal officers — including masked immigration agents — became a fixture around D.C. in September. Here, a driver is detained at a traffic safety checkpoint conducted by Homeland Security and MPD along New York Avenue. Photo: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Isaac Stein, a lawyer at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) who is currently furloughed due to the U.S. government shutdown, sells hotdogs at his hotdog stand, Shysters Dogs, in the NOMA neighborhood on October 31, 2025 in Washington, DC.

During the record-long government shutdown, we saw Smithsonian museums closed, businesses stepping up to help workers and some creative pivots. Pictured: Isaac Stein, a furloughed IRS lawyer, set up a hot dog stand in NoMa in October. Shysters Dogs' motto: "The Only Honest Ripoff in DC." Photo by Al Drago/Getty Images

Spirits players in neon yellow jerseys cheer with the crowd

Washington Spirit players celebrate with their teammates and fans — who packed Audi Field this season — after they defeated the Portland Thorns in November's 2025 NWSL Playoffs to go on to the finals. Photo: Scott Taetsch/NWSL via Getty Images

Workers affix signage adding US President Donald Trump's name on the facade of the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, US, on Friday, Dec. 19, 2025. The board of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts voted Thursday to rename Washington's premier arts venue after President Donald Trump as

President Trump's takeover of the Kennedy Center, which started shortly after he took office, got a physical push forward on Dec. 19. Workers affixed signage adding Trump's name on the facade of the Kennedy Center after the Trump-appointed board approved the name change — ignoring pushback from Kennedy family members and Democratic leaders. Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images

2025 in D.C. photos: Trump, protests and moments of joy

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