No wonder Troy Nehls’ summary of the 118th Congress was “dysfunctional”
The 118th Congress is in its final recess before the election, and one thing is for sure: House Republicans have cemented their legacy as the least productive Congress in nearly a century, failing to deliver anything for working families.
As they head home to make the case to voters for why they deserve to keep their dysfunctional House majority, Republicans have little to point to in terms of accomplishments. Must-pass legislation like raising the debt ceiling and spending bills to avoid ever-looming government shutdowns moved forward slowly, and only because Democrats supplied most of the votes to pass those bills.
Mr. Johnson has had to look over his shoulder and take into account what former President Donald J. Trump and the MAGA members in his conference demand. But those dictates often end up dividing Republican lawmakers, leading to failed votes, muddled messaging and internal power battles that have left Democrats more optimistic about recapturing control of the House in November.
Consumed by intraparty warfare and personal disputes, Republicans have over and over again stood in the way of their own partisan messaging bills, blocking them from receiving votes on the floor.
Republicans also failed at priorities they set for themselves, like completing individual appropriations bills before the deadline.
Republicans, [Rep. Bob Good] said, “don’t have anything to show for having controlled the House for two years.”
Rep. Warren Davidson of Ohio… said some of his colleagues are so inflexible that the House GOP conference hasn’t really been able to make strong opening bids in negotiations with Democrats.
[F]irst-term Rep. Cory Mills (R-Fla.) said in an interview with POLITICO… “This is why I don’t want to stay in Congress, because nothing is changing. It is a broken institution. I’ve never seen such dysfunction.”
As [one] member put it: “I feel completely justified going back home and saying, ‘Why would I sign up for this again?’
In 11 months as speaker, Johnson has led the House Republicans not to the promised land but into deeper water, where they have been thrashing, splashing and dog paddling without end.
Today, Johnson’s run looks anything but heaven-sent. In the first 18 months of this Congress, only 70 laws were enacted. Calculations by political scientist Tobin Grant, who tracks congressional output over time, put this Congress on course to be the do-nothingest since 1859-1861 — when the Union was dissolving. But Johnson’s House isn’t merely unproductive; it is positively lunatic.
They lapsed repeatedly into fits of censure resolutions, contempt citations and other pointless acts of vengeance.
“I think, with the dysfunction in the house, that anybody’s agenda is going to have a tough time getting through,” Representative Garret Graves of Louisiana, who is retiring, told The Independent. “This place has become more reality TV than actually serving the public in [terms of] functionalities.”