At Newsweek, Peter Weichlein explains why so many members and staff are leaving:
The current dysfunction on daily display in the House—and to a lesser degree the Senate—has resulted in a toxic workplace that is simply no longer worth the sacrifice. How many of us want to come to work every day at an organization defined by name-calling, bullying, backstabbing, procedural tactics employed for the sole purpose of punishing a colleague, and even physical altercations? Members and staff are headed for the exits, because in a legislative branch defined by chaos, actual legislating is neither possible nor prioritized. Those members who define their accomplishments through social media hits and soundbites on cable news, rather than solving the very real pain that is being felt in communities across the country, gleefully point to congressional brain drain as another measure of success.