The 118th US Congress has been historically unproductive in 2023, putting itself on track to pass less legislation than any of its predecessors in modern times amid ongoing chaos in the House of Representatives.
The New York Times reports that as of Tuesday, the House had passed just 27 bills that had become law this year, despite a total of 724 votes — evidence of unprecedented infighting within the House Republican Conference.
Axios, citing data from analytics firm Quorum, notes that even in the first years of the 104th, 112th and 113th Congresses (in which Republicans also controlled the House of Representatives under a Democratic president), the legislature managed to pass between 70 and 73 bills.
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Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz speaks to reporters after revealing his plan to impeach House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on October 2, 2023.
SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty
The GOP’s House year got off to a rocky start, even after Republicans narrowly regained the House majority in January. From that moment on, the party immediately divided over who to elect as the president of the House of Representatives. The majority leader — at the time, Kevin McCarthy — was generally easily elected, but members of the far right refused to support him, resulting in the first deadlocked House Speaker election in more than a century. He was ultimately chosen for the role after 15 rounds of voting.
McCarthy’s presidency ended similarly just months later when he was removed from the role in a shock impeachment vote in October. His ouster as Speaker of the House came after Freedom Caucus member Matt Gaetz filed a “motion to leave,” which automatically triggered a vote of confidence in McCarthy. Gaetz’s proposal marked the first official attempt to remove the Speaker of the House of Representatives in 113 years.
Former Speaker of the House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy announced his resignation after almost 17 years in Congress
In the end, McCarthy’s ouster didn’t help House Republicans rally around a replacement. Instead, the divided House Republican Party once again found itself at loggerheads over who to choose to replace McCarthy as president. Several candidates were nominated to replace him, each of whom failed to secure the necessary votes to win and was forced to withdraw from the race.
After weeks of congressional gridlock, the Republicans’ fourth choice for the role — little-known Louisiana Rep. Mike Johnson, known as one of the staunchest religious conservatives in the House — emerged as an unlikely unity candidate to become the 56th speaker of the House.
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The House Republican Conference nominated Mike Johnson for Speaker on October 24, 2023.
Tom Brenner for The Washington Post via Getty
House Republicans – who have devoted an unusual amount of time this year to criticizing three Democratic lawmakers and debating whether to oust embattled Rep. George Santos – have also been criticized for launching an impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden despite evidence of the president’s corruption.
The investigation comes at a crucial time for the House of Representatives, which has failed to reach a consensus on preventing a government shutdown. Members of the House of Representatives have stalled for nearly a year on passing most of the appropriations bills to fund the US government, with the January 19 deadline (when funding for the government will expire) now approaching.
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education