These days, Congress, which hosted President Trump’s State of the Union address on Tuesday night, is often seen as the third wheel of the federal government, forever overshadowed by the presidency and Supreme Court, with a truly dismal approval rating. But Kevin R. Kosar, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, thinks Americans might have […]
Congress Remains the Heart of Our Consti...
Congress is a frustrating and sometimes ridiculous institution. Yet it is the heart of our constitutional system. Not the presidency. Not the judiciary. I admit this is not an easy argument to make these days. Every time any of us go online or turn on a news program or read about Capitol Hill, we see […]
What’s Wrong with Congress?
The 119th Congress returned to the U.S. Capitol recently. They have an immense amount of work to get done, policy matters that they should have addressed last year. Top on the list is completing the federal budget process for the current fiscal year, which began on October 1, 2025. It has passed only six of […]
Legislative Tool to Circumvent House Lea...
Congress returned to work in Washington, and one of the first issues lawmakers addressed was government health insurance subsidies. These temporary, emergency subsidies were first enacted during the coronavirus pandemic and expired at the end of last year. On Jan. 8, 213 Democrats and 17 Republicans voted to extend the Obamacare subsidies for three years….(Read more)
House Republicans Want to Show Voters Th...
The House has spent much of the last two months of this year trying to catch up on its work. It passed 22 bills in one recent day and held 13 committee meetings and hearings the day after. All told, the House has passed 41 bills since the end of the government shutdown on Nov. […]
Senate and Trump on a collision course o...
Gene L. Dodaro is not a household name. He is a mild-mannered man who is rarely seen without a necktie and dark suit, and who speaks in a flat, matter-of-fact tone. He has worked for the federal government since 1973. Yet, his retirement in December may well set off a separation-of-powers battle royale between President […]