Bundling Special Rules

Don Wolfensberger at The Hill: Back in the old days, if the House Rules Committee had four bills before it seeking a special rule for floor consideration, the committee would grant one special rule for each.  In modern times, the committee, in order to save on time...

The Test

Mike Johnson (the former Michel guy, not the current speaker): The framers of the Constitution were in good measure geniuses who had a vision for the future and took lessons from the accomplishments and failures of the budding European democracies. That genius is not...

Restoring Trust in Congress

Don Wolfensberger at The Hill: Restoring trust in Congress will take a concerted effort over time to move overly zealous executive officials back into their proper constitutional boxes. To restore trust in Congress requires that Congress first regain trust in itself....

Stopping Time to Keep Tariffs

In 1987, Speaker Jim Wright (D-TX) created a new day in order to rush passage of a bill. Philip Wallach at The American Interest: Most dramatically, as Wright sought to push through a revenue-positive reconciliation bill following “Black Monday” in October 1987, his...

Congressional Review Act

Don Wolfensberger at The Hill: Data compiled by Sarah Hay with the Regulatory Studies Center at George Washington University, covering the 115th Congress (2017-2018) through the 118th Congress (2023-2024), shows that 368 disapproval resolutions were introduced over...