The 119th Congress ends with a whimper, not a bang

Speaker Mike Johnson called the 119th Congress one of the most productive sessions in U.S. history, but congressional bill data shows it passed 1,000 pieces of legislation, fewer than the 118th Congress's 995 wasn't actually fewer, it was slightly more, and well behind the 117th Congress's 1,127. A Snopes review found the 93rd Congress under Nixon passed more than 1,600 bills, undercutting claims of an 80-year record.

About 700 of the roughly 938 House-originated bills remain stuck in the Senate, where Johnson blames Democrats for the gridlock even as he touts the House's output. The session included the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, tied to expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies, and a second partial shutdown after federal immigration agents killed two American citizens in Minneapolis.

Congress also ceded substantial authority to the White House, with Johnson calling concerns about the administration shuttering agencies like USAID and the Education Department a 'gross overreaction' despite his self-description as a 'jealous guardian' of legislative power. Lawmakers have said little about the president's $600 million demolition of the White House East Wing for a new ballroom, a project critics say should have required congressional approval.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.