Leadership
Mister Chairman: Reversing Trends for Women Chairing House Committees
Katina Slavkova | February 12, 2025
Last December, shortly before House Majority Leader Steve Scalise released the Republican Steering Committee’s recommendations for committee chairs in the incoming 119th Congress, former Republican representative from Virginia, Barbara Comstock, objected strongly to initial reporting that no women were being selected for these positions. Two days later when the majority leader’s office formally
Josh Huder | December 18, 2024 Laura, Matt, and Josh discuss the holiday CR, Democrats and Republicans organizational decisions, and things to look for in the 119th Congress. GAI | December 12, 2024 Guest Post by Lorelei Kelly , Research Faculty Lead on Congressional Modernization at GeoDES, Georgetown Democracy, Education + Service, McCourt School of Public Policy Hidden beneath divisive campaign season headlines, Congress has a positive story to share. Prompted by an inefficient, outdated workflow and historically low public trust in government, Democrats and Republicans have worked Josh Huder | April 15, 2024 As Congress struggles to act on a myriad of challenges, much of the blame – rightly or wrongly – is being laid at Speaker Johnson’s feet. Currently, he stands in the way of foreign aid packages to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan, an FAA reauthorization, the farm bill, and more. However, the scope of Laura Blessing | March 12, 2024 Another shutdown threat barely averted, and another stopgap spending bill passed with more to follow, while major legislation stagnates. If this feels familiar, you’re not alone. But how difficult is this moment we’re in? Congress has been derided as a “do nothing” institution before: in 1880, in 1948, and more recently with the divided government GAI | August 1, 2023 By Matthew Green, Professor, Department of Politics (The Catholic University of America) The past seven months have made it abundantly clear that the House speakership is one of the most difficult jobs in Washington. In January, for the first time in a century, the majority party’s nominee for speaker – Kevin McCarthy of California – Laura Blessing | June 7, 2023 Normally, we remember what we were doing when great triumphs or tragedies take place on the world stage. Fiscal policy is not typically on that list of events. And yet, I remember clearly what I was doing in the lead up to Treasury’s “X date” in 2011. I was in grad school, and I had GAI | July 22, 2022 By Professor Julia Azari, Marquette University Presidential power is a bit at odds with democracy. Presidency scholars have noted this for years, suggesting that “greatness” is often uncomfortably close to the kind of norm-busting, authoritarian action that our constitution is supposed to avoid. Presidents also face a dilemma about who they represent. Josh Huder | October 7, 2021 Debt ceiling politics is front and center in Congress as the US is scheduled to default on its accrued debt October 18. (For a good explainer on the debt ceiling I recommend my colleague Laura Blessing’s piece.) So far, Senate Republicans have filibustered Democrats’ attempts to raise the debt ceiling. Instead, Minority Matt Glassman | September 8, 2021 On August 24th, the House adopted S.Con.Res.14, the congressional budget resolution for Fiscal Year 2022 previously adopted by the Senate on August 11th, setting up consideration of a $3.5T package of spending under the reconciliation process. The budget resolution was adopted 220-212 in the House and 50-49 in the Senate, with every Democrat
The Holiday CR, Organizing Congress, and what to look for in the 119th
Modernization in Congress: Keeping the Momentum Going
Speaker Johnson: Speaker of the House but not of the Majority
Disarming the Speaker
The Worst Job in Washington: Kevin McCarthy and the Challenge of the Speakership
Debt Limit Déjà Vu? What Can We Learn from the Close Calls of 2011 and 2023?
The Presidency: Bending Institutions to Save Them? By Professor Julia Azari
Democrats and the Debt Ceiling
Democrats in disarray? The surprisingly normal politics of infrastructure negotiations