Make Congress Be Congress

By Jerry Climer

At long last, the 2024 presidential election is over. Voters seemed to have cast as many votes against the two candidates as they cast in favor. Peggy Noonan, (WSJ, Nov. 9-10, 2024, pg. 15) observed her note from earlier in the year, “This will be a path election, not a person election.” By “path” election she was referring to the direction of federal policy and the country.

Pre and post-election polling proved her right. Voters were not happy with Trump or Harris and voted instead against the other candidate, and to change the direction of the country. Voters also changed the majority in the Senate and retained the previous outpost, the House, thus reducing the ability of each to blame the other for inaction. All three arms are now in the hands of the Republicans.

So, the challenge begins.

The modern norm is for one-party dominance to exist for a single term of Congress, two years. Will Republicans in Congress seize this brief opportunity to set a new direction (change), or will they simply become the cheering squad for President Trump?

Congress faces a significant challenge if it is to avoid that two-year trap, which has been created in the modern past by constituents firing congressional candidates since they can’t directly vote on the presidency during mid-term elections. Congress, as the first branch of the federal government, needs to reassert its power as Congress. It has been decades since that last happened. During the lifetime of most voters, congress has been a cheering squad for the President or the opposing team trying to thwart that presidency.

The most recent example of Congress forfeiting its unique branch responsivity began with Speaker Denny Hastert and was perfected by Speaker Nancy Pelosi. In some respects, it is easy to see why they acted as they did.

Before becoming a Member of Congress, Hastert was a coach, and thus, team unity was ingrained in his psyche. Early in his Speakership, he announced that almost any small number of his Republican Conference members could stop a legislative proposal without a publicly recorded vote.

Pelosi came from a long line of strong-arm politicians; she grew up with her father, Thomas D'Alesandro Jr., serving as mayor of Baltimore for 12 years, some would say as the boss of Baltimore. She enjoyed using power. She used power behind the scenes, as well as in public, to squash any deviant behavior of members of her Caucus and to embarrass the other team.

As the country listened to the presidential candidates in 2024, you would have thought each candidate had unfettered power to change the federal government. And, if the Hastert/Pelosi pattern continues, they will try to do so again, stopped either by the courts or by the 2026 election when the Republicans will probably lose one or both houses of Congress. If Members remember they are an independent branch of government, they will listen to the president’s recommendations but write legislation needed by their constituents and the country, bipartisan where feasible. In doing so, they will focus on policy change.

There are numerous reasons for this breakdown in congressional accountability that go beyond the behavior of recent Speakers. In chapter 14 of our book, Fixing Congress: Restoring Power to the People, Michael S. Johnson and I discuss several:

·      Excessively large congressional districts;

·      Super-expensive congressional campaigns, funded mainly by out-of-district sources;

·      The role of special interest and political action committees; and

·      The 100+ year-old change to the nature of the US Senate that undermined its unique role.

To better understand the background explaining how Congress got to this point and review our suggestions for reform, order a copy of Fixing Congress: Restoring Power to the People from your favorite online bookstore. Both Mike Johnson and I have had long (40-year+) experience in the congressional world and thus have seen monumental shifts in the nature of the institution. Too many Members today worry most about how their bombastic behavior will earn media coverage and thus generate campaign donations as opposed to focusing on what the people want and the country needs.

It is time to make Congress be Congress again.