Will Congress score headlines or legislative wins in next session?

The 116th Congress may be doomed before it even begins. Less than one month before the new session gavels in for the first time, members of both the House and Senate already face pressures to continue the cycle of using their legislative power to do everything they can but legislate.

In the House, a young and diverse Democratic freshman class has arrived following a successful campaign message that focused more on health care than on the president. But such policy goals highlighted on the campaign trail face substantial roadblocks. Like Republicans in past years, Democrats are facing leadership challenges and frustrations with the old guard of the party. With this new freshman class comes differing views on both the political future of the party and how to find success despite working with the  Senate and White House under Republican control.