by jpitney | Jan 26, 2026 | Congress, Ethics, Federalist, House of Representatives
Don Wolfensberger: All of the major ethics reforms of the past have succeeded because members realized that their reputations and that of Congress depended on agreeing to credible remedies that transcend the partisan divide. In Federalist 57, James Madison wrote that...
by jpitney | Jan 18, 2026 | Civility, Congress, House of Representatives
Mike Johnson on Steny Hoyer’s retirement announcement: Voters hold the key to the future, of course. They can change the dynamics that have disabled representative democracy and restore the balance of power among the branches of government. But voters today lack...
by jpitney | Jan 9, 2026 | Congress, House of Representatives
Don Wolfensberger at The Hill: According to a 2002 Congressional Research Service report by Rick Beth, between 1931 and 2002, the House adopted only 26 discharge petitions — 4.6 percent of 563 filed, though another 42 petitions, 7.5 percent, were considered by other...
by jpitney | Dec 28, 2025 | Congress, House of Representatives, Senate
Paul Kane at WP: With fewer than 40 bills signed into law as of Monday, the House and Senate set a modern record for lowest legislative output in the first year of a new presidency, according to data maintained by C-SPAN and Purdue University. Despite that lack of...
by jpitney | Dec 27, 2025 | Civility, Congress, House of Representatives
Annie Grayer, Molly English, and Alex Leeds Matthews at CNN: Rep. Michael McCaul — who is retiring after two decades in the House, where he has served as chairman of the Homeland Security and Foreign Affairs Committees — told CNN that Congress has changed for the...
by jpitney | Dec 13, 2025 | Civility, Congress, Uncategorized
On the Understanding Congress podcast, political scientists Kevin Kosar and Brian Alexander discuss congressional norms: Kevin Kosar: One thing that pops into my mind is a member of Congress being condemned for conduct unbecoming of a member; not so much that they...
