House Republicans prefer political theater to passing laws

2023 was the most unproductive session for the U.S. Congress in at least 50 years. The House of Representatives and Senate passed and President Biden signed fewer than 30 bills — far below the number when Republicans had majorities in one or both chambers and Democrats Bill Clinton and Barack Obama were in the White House. And much of the legislation enacted in 2023, like approval of names for Veterans Affairs clinics and a coin commemorating the 250th anniversary of the Marine Corps, was not substantive.

House Republicans are the main culprits of this congressional dysfunction. With a slim majority for their party, GOP extremists — for whom refusal to compromise has become a point of pride and doing nothing preferable to governing — have spent their time engaging in partisan political theater.

In 2023, the Republicans chose and then deposed a Speaker; spent 26 days without a Speaker, the longest such period since 1962; and censured three House Democrats, the most since 1870. Members routinely introduced “poison pill” riders to appropriations bills — limiting access to mail order abortion medication; prohibiting research on climate change; ending diversity, equity and inclusion programs; banning Pride Flags; and defunding the Office of Special Counsel Jack Smith — that virtually guaranteed the underlying legislation would be dead on arrival in the Senate. And three House committees, Oversight, Judiciary, and Ways and Means, continued to search for but not find evidence to justify a Biden impeachment.

Over the next few weeks, as Congress considers a supplemental aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan and appropriations bills to avoid a partial government shutdown, Republicans will have to decide how far to go with “just say no.”

Currently being negotiated by the White House and senators from both parties, the military aid bill is almost certain to contain initiatives to reduce immigration at the southern border, including tighter requirements for grants of asylum, triggers for expulsion, and resources to fast-track deportations. Since Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) and other progressive Democrats believe these provisions will “cause more chaos” and “throw immigrants under the bus,” the package will need votes from a substantial number of Republicans to pass the House.

Aware of polls indicating that around half of GOP voters believe the U.S. should reduce its global commitments, a substantial number of House Republicans oppose additional aid to Ukraine. More important, perhaps, they (and Donald Trump) appear to prefer letting the border crisis fester rather than supporting remedies embraced by Biden.

And so, even as Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer noted that “the world is watching. We know autocrats like Putin and Xi are hoping for us to fail” in Ukraine, Speaker Mike Johnson has indicated he does not feel obligated to bring a bipartisan Senate bill to the House floor.

“We are going to have a huge fight over spending in both January and February” 2024, Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), the minority whip, recently predicted. In the spring of 2023, Speaker Kevin McCarthy and President Biden cut a deal to raise the debt ceiling to prevent a government default, spending $1.59 trillion on the discretionary budget and an additional $69 billion on non-defense programs. 71 House Republicans voted against the compromise.

In the fall, House Republicans passed bills reducing the top-line number to $1.5 trillion, cutting domestic programs popular with Democrats, and reneging on the $69 billion. Senate Republicans and Democrats, who remain committed to the original agreement, ignored the House legislation.

With time running out — the deadline for approving appropriations bills was October 2023, and across-the-board cuts would go into effect when the continuing resolution to keep the government open expires — Johnson has hinted that absent “good conservative wins,” he will only support a budget extension if it has additional reductions in domestic spending.

75 percent of Americans believe politicians should not shut down the government to achieve their political or policy goals — but twice as many Republicans as Democrats say they should. Almost as many Americans indicate they would blame a shutdown on Biden and congressional Democrats as on Republicans. With so many House members in safe seats (thanks in no small measure to gerrymandering), that may be more than enough for GOP hardliners to ignore the advice of their conservative colleague Rep. Patrick McHenry (N.C.): “You can’t simply will your way into policy outcomes with a narrow majority. We need people to be realists — not just blind ideologues.”

The shutdown threat lets House Republicans stick with what they know best, political theater, come what may in Ukraine and damaging the U.S. economy and the lives of millions of Americans in the process.

Glenn C. Altschuler is the Thomas and Dorothy Litwin Emeritus Professor of American Studies at Cornell University.