House GOP Has a Majority in Name Only

Joe Perticone: “The Republican majority in the House of Representatives controls that chamber’s schedule, its business, and its committees. These are the perks of having a majority. But in its current form, the House Republican Conference has demonstrated an inability to form any kind of cohesive coalition or pass critical legislation without the help of Democratic votes—more Democrats than Republicans have voted for many of the bills that have passed—and they have been repeatedly embarrassed by showing up to the floor without having first counted their votes.”

“Their majority, vanishingly slim at 219–212, has become something of a political fiction. In terms of the actual legislative work of governing, it has mostly ceased being functional.”