It was the least productive Congress since before the Civil War. When it went into its final recess Dec. 21, the 118th Congress had passed just 158 bills in two years. And many of those were uncontroversial and symbolic, like giving Shirley Chisholm a posthumous Congressional Gold Medal or requiring the Treasury to mint coins commemorating the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
A new Congress is seated every two years, and in the last century most Congresses have passed between 300 and 600 bills into law. To find a less productive Congress than the last one, you’d have to go back more than 150 years, before the industrial revolution, when America had just 32 states, a tiny federal government, and no standing army.
The gridlock is worst when there’s divided government, such as when Democrats are in charge of one chamber and Republicans the other. That was the case in the 118th Congress, which ran from January 2023 to December 2024. The previous congress, in which Democrats narrowly controlled both chambers, passed 362 bills into law.
The Senate filibuster rule also limits the number of bills that pass that chamber: The rule, which senators have been voting to reapprove every two years, requires 60 (out of 100) votes to advance most legislation. And increased political polarization means lawmakers often cater to their political base, and are less willing to compromise.
Today’s polarized Congresses can barely get it together to keep the government funded, much less pass enduring solutions to serious crises.
The Democrats need to reevaluate their priorities. They don’t have to reinvent just look back at what they stood for. Economics, strong middle class and freedoms. You can’t make changes and create new bills if you’re not understanding what is valued by your constituents. The only way in my opinion to thrive and become middle class is to join a union.