2011 Washington Photos of the Year (91 images)

It was a busy year around Washington, D.C., with the presidential election heating up, budgetary talks threatening to shut down the government, accusations and insults hurled in all directions and every now and then, something that didn't revolve around politics.

U.S. President Barack Obama meets with French President Nicolas Sarkozy in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on January 10, 2011. UPI/Roger L. Wollenberg

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Rep. Trent Franks (D-AZ) holds his children Joshua and Emily during the swearing-in ceremony for House Speaker-designate John Boehner (R-OH) in the House Chambers of the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington on January 5, 2011. UPI/Kevin Dietsch

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President Obama's dog Bo plays with a soccer ball on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington on October 6, 2011. UPI/Kevin Dietsch

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A man holds a sign reading "Debt is death" during a Tea Party rally outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington on April 6, 2011. A showdown over cutting spending in the 2011 budget may lead to a government shutdown if Congress doesn't act by April 8. UPI/Roger L. Wollenberg

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