Congress Is Struggling to Do the Bare Minimum

Wall Street Journal: “The House recently passed a measure reopening most of the Department of Homeland Security after a 76-day shutdown. Its passage after a monthlong logjam was hailed as a breakthrough. It wasn’t. Rather, it papered over the increasingly shaky state of Congress, with big implications for the institution and the people who run it.”

“The public perception of Congress remains near a record low, according to recent polling by Gallup, which showed 10% of voters approve of Congress and 86% disapprove—a net of minus 76 percentage points. The current GOP-controlled Congress reached a peak of 31% approval in March 2025 but saw a steep decline during last year’s record-long shutdown of the full government. Congress hasn’t been above water in more than two decades.”

“Two and a half years after rebel Republicans ousted their own speaker of the House, Congress is at a new nadir, marked by intense partisanship that deters dealmaking and slim majorities that empower any small group to defy party leaders.”