Congress kicked off 2025 with an formidable agenda, however 12 months later, it has ceded a lot of its energy to President Trump and handed a document low variety of payments.
LEILA FADEL, HOST:
Congress began 2025 with a giant legislative agenda. Home Speaker Mike Johnson put it this manner in his first deal with to his chamber this 12 months.
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MIKE JOHNSON: Regardless of our nice challenges, and even our disagreements and our wholesome debates, this extraordinary establishment – the folks’s Home – will nonetheless be standing sturdy.
FADEL: However 12 months later, Congress has ceded a lot of its energy to President Trump and has handed a record-low variety of payments. NPR congressional correspondent Claudia Grisales has been following this and joins us now. Hello, Claudia.
CLAUDIA GRISALES, BYLINE: Hey, Leila.
FADEL: OK. So congressional Republicans began the 12 months with these formidable plans to go payments, to strengthen the economic system, deal with the border disaster, enhance the army. Did any of that occur?
GRISALES: Not precisely, except you take a look at their marquee tax and spending plan they referred to as the One Huge Lovely Invoice, which grew to become legislation. They might argue that’s the key laws that handed, however the jury’s nonetheless out if that is going to have the marketed affect on the economic system. And it was the exception to the rule. Congress ceded plenty of its energy to the president this 12 months. That included dismantling giant sections of the federal authorities, taking up the facility of the purse throughout the federal government shutdown by directing spending that was prohibited at the moment and triggering the clawback of billions of spending that had been permitted by Congress. And as you talked about, we heard from public affairs community C-SPAN. They reported the variety of legal guidelines enacted this 12 months are at that all-time low.
FADEL: Now, Republicans are the bulk in each the Home and Senate, however that could be very slender. How did leaders fare in 2025?
GRISALES: Yeah. It positively made it tougher for them. Within the Home, we noticed Speaker Mike Johnson lose extra management of his convention. By year-end, he confronted a uncommon collection of profitable discharge petitions. These are bipartisan efforts by rank-and-file members to bypass the speaker and go legislation. And none was extra noteworthy than the one securing the discharge of the Jeffrey Epstein information. He additionally noticed Republican pushback when he just about closed the home down throughout the 43-day authorities shutdown. He is going through a document variety of Home retirements. That features practically 30 Republicans.
FADEL: OK, so some division inside his personal occasion. What concerning the Senate? How did Majority Chief John Thune fare compared?
GRISALES: Effectively, he did not finish the 12 months with the identical stage of animosity, however he noticed challenges, too. I requested him about classes discovered. This is what he instructed me.
JOHN THUNE: You realize, I imply, typically you get annoyed that you do not get the issues executed you wish to get executed. However you bought to maintain making an attempt there.
GRISALES: In the end, the Senate permitted a majority of Trump’s nominees for the administration and federal courts. However not till lately did we see extra Senate Republicans push again publicly on the president with some points, such because the strikes on alleged drug traffickers at sea. Senate Minority Chief Chuck Schumer instructed me these challenges and the chaos we have seen with the federal authorities, the economic system, Trump’s tariff insurance policies have all created a gap for Democrats.
FADEL: Now, Congress will face even higher challenges subsequent 12 months with the midterms on faucet. What do you anticipate to see?
GRISALES: Effectively, lawmakers have their eye on precisely these midterms in November. Even with Republicans redistricting so as to add seats within the Home, it is nonetheless not clear they’ll maintain their majority. They face the prospect of one other authorities shutdown risk in January, and that is along with requires Washington to deal with an affordability disaster that we anticipate will dominate on the marketing campaign path. And there is additionally these spiking premiums for medical health insurance after Congress failed to increase subsidies for Obamacare plans. That is going to possible add gasoline to the fireplace that Congress will not be addressing plenty of pressing points for American households come November.
FADEL: That is NPR’s Claudia Grisales. Thanks, Claudia.
GRISALES: Thanks.
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