This Won’t Be the Last Breakdown in the House

Jonathan Bernstein: “Republicans already had a tough road ahead in the majority given their very slim margin of power. With only 222 Republicans, all it takes is five (combined with all the Democrats) to defeat any measure brought to the House floor. It’s hard to keep that many members of Congress together even if they are from a unified party with experienced leaders who have a reputation for winning votes. This party is anything but unified. And we’ve just seen in as dramatic a form possible that the party leadership can be rolled.”

“Granted, it’s also the least ambitious new majority in decades. I listened to most of the speeches from Republicans nominating speaker candidates this week, and I don’t think I heard them mention a single piece of legislation that they intended to pass. They talked about problems — the border, fentanyl, inflation, budget deficits — but they didn’t come close to proposing bills to address these challenges.”

“It’s been a post-policy party for a long time… So don’t expect much legislating.”