Congress in 2023 was a wild ride. McCarthy's ouster, Santos' expulsion and other key moments

The past year on Capitol Hill provided several historic and unprecedented moments.

Just perhaps not in the ways lawmakers expected.

Between Kevin McCarthy's rise and fall from the speakership, to several censures and a dramatic expulsion, here are some of the highlights from Congress in 2023.

Trouble started at the very start of the 118th Congress with Kevin McCarthy's fraught path to becoming speaker of the House.

Things got so heated that at one point a lawmaker, Republican Rep. Mike Rogers, had to be physically restrained by colleagues as he attempted to lunge at GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz, the chief critic of McCarthy.

After 14 rounds of voting that spanned Monday through Friday, McCarthy finally clawed his way to victory in a post-midnight ballot.

«I hope one thing is clear after this week: I never give up» McCarthy said as he finally held the gavel — a phrase that would be put to the test again in just nine short months.

Twice, the government looked as if it were heading for financial calamity.

First, paralysis between the two parties threatened the first-ever U.S. default on the nation's debt in the first half of 2023. After months of back-and-forth negotiations, McCarthy and the Biden administration struck a deal with just days to spare until the estimated June «X» date.

Then, in late September, the U.S. seemed to be barreling toward what would have been one of the largest government shutdowns in history but again struck an eleventh hour agreement to keep the government open.

Lawmakers will face this problem again this upcoming January and February, with two key funding deadlines to keep government agencies in operation.

Sen. Mitch McConnell, the chamber's longtime Republican leader, experienced alarming episodes twice in separate