What makes Senate leaders so powerful?
By James Wallner The floor leaders of the Democratic and Republican parties dominate today’s Senate. They play a central role both in crafting major bills and in shepherding them… Read More
Resignations, appointments, and the 2018 U.S. Senate map
By Tim Lynch Senators Tina Smith (D-MN) and Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) have more in common than a surname. They are the two most junior senators and both… Read More
Diversity and consensus in Senate committees
By Jason Mycoff In an era of party polarization and congressional infighting, many wonder if Congress can get anything done. My research focuses on how diverse perspectives… Read More
Considering Impeachment Resolutions in the House
By Matt Glassman Last Friday, as Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein was announcing new indictments related to the special counsel investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election,… Read More
Want results from Congress? Former governors may be the answer
Image source By Misty Knight-Finley and Alex Keena In this year’s general election, 33 Senate seats are up for grabs. While much of the focus of these races is on… Read More
Kavanaugh nominated to protect Trump? What some senators are getting wrong.
Image source: WSJ By Anthony Marcum Within minutes of Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court nomination, opponents were quick to highlight a 2009 article written by Kavanaugh for the Minnesota Law… Read More
Library plan to publish CRS reports falls short of the law, and is unduly expensive
By Daniel Schuman, Kevin Kosar, and Josh Tauberer Civil society, students, librarians, and the general public were elated when Congress decided to make the non-confidential non-partisan reports issued by… Read More
Are courtesy meetings nuked?
Image source: National Review By Mark Owens Process and procedure have begun to dominate debates about controversial or salient nominations to the federal bench. Frustration emerged when the regular procedures… Read More
Sen. Flake has options to force a vote
Jeff Flake wants to force Senate action on President Trump’s tariffs by delaying the confirmation process for judicial nominees. But the gambit already appears to have fallen short. According… Read More
The discharge petition doesn’t have to be dead
The immigration discharge petition died last week. Essentially, leaders killed the discharge effort by pulling the underlying bill (H.R. 4760) to the floor. That meant that even though the… Read More