Editor's note:

Our series returns after a midterm election that delivered historic numbers of women to Congress.

Their energy, perspective and determination will reshape one of the power centers in a man's town.

Their arrival also gives fresh life to a question we first posed in early 2017, when Hillary Clinton had just lost the presidency. What did that mean for women in the years to come?

That story line is still unfolding, as women from different backgrounds and generations step into positions of power -- and, in some cases, hold onto them for years.

These are the stories of Badass Women all around Washington.

— Dana Bash, Bridget Nolan, Abigail Crutchfield & Rachel Smolkin