Floor procedures tightened in pandemic’s wake
Source: WilsonCenter.org. In his latest column on Congress, Don Wolfensberger writes: As urgent times call for urgent measures, the House Rules Committee last Wednesday pulled the six-alarm emergency… Read More
Podcast: Congress’s proxy wars
Listen here. The House of Representatives has resolved to allow members of Congress to vote by proxy. Some members of the House, led by Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy… Read More
Three days a week
Senate Republicans consistently emphasized their performance confirming conservative judges in the months leading up to the 2018 midterm elections. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., pointed… Read More
Democrats support Trump’s judicial nominees
A recent Politico report examining “the Senate’s record-breaking gridlock” during Donald Trump’s presidency claims that Democratic “filibusters against the president’s nominees have hit historic highs.” The report claims… Read More
Republicans are responsible for confirmation process slowdown
A review of the Senate confirmation process in the 115th and 116th Congresses indicates that President Trump’s judicial nominees received more Democratic support than the standard view assumes. In short,… Read More
Filibusters and cloture
The standard account of Senate obstruction goes something like this: The Senate’s lax rules of procedure empower its increasingly polarized members to obstruct the majority party as it tries to… Read More
House bill passed with proxy votes becomes law
President Donald Trump signed the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act of 2020 (HR 7010) into law on June 5. Among its provisions, HR 7010 increases… Read More
A Plan for the People’s House Four Strategies to Reopen Congress and Restore America’s Voice
Benjamin Franklin once said, “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.” Recently, we called on Speaker Pelosi to establish a clear, safe, and effective plan for reopening… Read More
Podcast: Filibuster or filibusted?
Listen here. This week, Julia Azari, Lee Drutman, and James Wallner consider the filibuster. What purpose does it serve? Have its consequences gotten worse as the Senate has… Read More
Elizabeth Warren has the Senate’s gridlock problem all wrong
Elizabeth Warren wants to end gridlock in the Senate, and she believes eliminating the filibuster is the way to do it. In South Carolina’s presidential debate, Warren … Read More