Congress has passed fewer bills in this term than any other; some speculate a split congress is to blame, but what happens if Democrats lose their grip on the Senate?
WASHINGTON, DC – MARCH 07: Members of Congress wear white as a symbol of Women’s Rights during U.S. President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address during a joint meeting of Congress in the House chamber at the U.S. Capitol on March 07, 2024, in Washington, DC. This is Biden’s last State of the Union address before the general election this coming November. Biden was joined by Vice President Kamala Harris and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA). (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
By Maliyah Simone, CRDN
Wednesday, September 4, 2024
The 118th Congress has already proven itself to be more proactive in 2024 than it was in the year 2023. In fact, only 27 bills passed across President Joe Biden’s desk after being signed by lawmakers in 2023; compared to the 51 bills of this year.
The slow start to the Congressional term dated from January 3rd, 2023-January 3rd, 2025 has quite a bit to do with the climate of our current era of divided government. Previous state elections have left us with quite a split between Democrats and Republicans. Currently, there are 47 Democratic seats held in the Senate and 211 seats in the House while Republicans hold 49 seats in the Senate and 220 seats in the House.
Although Republicans hold more seats in the House, Democrats– along with 4 Independents who often caucus with them– hold the Senate. This split of Congress is suggested to be one of the main reasons that bills have been either stalled or rejected by one side or the other.
As of 2024, there have only been three spans of time previously in which the US has had a split Congress. The first time this happened was in Ronald Regan’s Presidency; a period from 1981-1987 during the 97th-99th Congresses when Democrats held the Senate and Republicans held the House. The next time this occurred was when George W. Bush Jr. was President and the same type of split was held from 2001-2003. Then, the last and most recent occurrence of a split Congress occurred during Barack Obama’s Presidency with the 112th Congress.
While a split Congress doesn’t always mean chaos and division, we have seen that it often results in quite a few standoffs between the two parties. The 118th Congress is the result and a direct reflection of America today and the division we all face. Despite the goal of Congress to keep America moving forward, it seems that those holding office have sought to stick to party lines rather than conceding to one or the other for the good of the country.
This November brings a total of 468 seats up for election including 33 Senate seats and all 435 House seats. Political analysts say that there are ten states that are most likely to flip seats in the Senate: West Virginia, Montana, Ohio, Michigan, Arizona, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Texas, and Maryland. Of these ten state’s seats, 9 are Democrat-held seats; this means that in each of these states besides Texas there is a high possibility that Democrats may face a devastating blow to their Congressional number causing them to lose their hold of the Senate.
Despite the speculation, Democrats are still holding out hope that they can maintain their majority of the Senate by only conceding a few of its seats to the Republicans. If, however, the Senate did flip, Democrats will have to lean heavily into the House to get their bills through. The possibility of Presidential hopeful Kamala Harris taking the ticket would also soften the blow.