Comparing the 118th Congress to past GOP majorities.

Washington, D.C.—It’s a well-known fact in the United States that the 118th Congress, which started in 2023 and will end next year, is one of the worst, most malevolent, inefficient, and lackluster congresses in US history, joining the ranks of the 112th and 113th Congresses. The Republican majority, prodded, nagged, and coerced by a far-right caucus that doesn’t even make up the majority of the GOP conference, has been unproductive, controversial, impudent, and harmful. They have reached a record low regarding the number of legislative items passed, run through an astounding number of speakerships, and can’t get anything done within their caucus. As their majority slims to one vote with the looming resignation of Mike Gallagher (R-WI), why don’t we look back on some other GOP-led Congresses and see how much they got done?

In this article, we’ll explore the accomplishments of the 80th, 83rd, 104th, 112th, and 118th Congresses, shining a light on how much legislation they passed, comparing their speakerships, taking a look at their overall efficiency, and examining how worthwhile each Congress previously listed was, for the duration of their tenures.

The 80th Congress, from 1947-1949, was the first time the Republicans had held both branches of Congress since the 71st Congress. This Congress ended a 14-year Democratic trifecta. This congress was elected in a midterm, two years before Harry S. Truman was elected. Franklin Roosevelt was re-elected two years prior. The Senate was split 51R-45D, whereas the House was split 245R-187D originally, ending in a 242-186 Republican majority.

The 83rd Congress, 1953-1955, was the first time Republicans had full control since the 80th. President Eisenhower was elected in ‘52, so the Republicans were granted a trifecta. The Senate was split 48R-47D, and the House was split 221R-211D at the beginning, ending with a 213R-212D majority.

The 104th Congress, from 1995-1997, was the first time since the 83rd that Republicans had control of both chambers. This Congress took place during the end of Clinton’s first term, so there was quite a stir between the legislative and executive. The Senate was split 53R-47D, and the House was split 230R-204D at the beginning, ending with a 235-197 R majority.

The 112th Congress, 2011-2013, was the first time the branches were controlled by different parties since the 107th and the first to begin like that since the 99th. The 112th was the only congress between the 79th and 117th that did not include a member of the Kennedy family. The Senate had a 53D-47R majority, while the House had a 242R-193D majority, later reduced to 240-191.

Our current Congress has a 51-49 Democratic majority in the Senate, with an ever-decreasing 218-213 R majority in the House. You all already know how bad it is, I don’t have to explain it.

Starting with the amount of legislation they’ve all passed, we have the following numbers:

80th Congress: 906 Public Bills.

83rd Congress: Not readily available, but estimated between 1,000 and 1,300.

104th Congress: Not readily available, but estimated between 300 and 500.

112th Congress: 283 Public Bills.

118th Congress: 42 Public Bills.

…Uh. Yeah. That speaks for itself.

Moving on! Next, we’ll look at how many speakers each Congress had.

80th Congress: 1 (Joseph Martin Jr.)

83rd Congress: 1 (Joseph Martin Jr.)

104th Congress: 1 (Newt Gingrich)

112th Congress: 1 (John Boehner)

118th Congress: 3 (Kevin McCarthy; vacated, following his election after 18 different ballots, Patrick McHenry; served as Speaker Pro Tempore during his absence; Mike Johnson, was elected Speaker following McCarthy’s departure.) The 118th Congress has had a total of 19 floor votes to name a Speaker.

Now, when it comes to overall efficiency, it’s very easy to score this type of thing subjectively, so we’ve done our best to compile the bare-bone facts of each of these Congresses and how well they functioned, how long it took for noncontroversial bills to get through, and how many long-term disruptions there were in the legislative process. We will be scoring from 1-10, decimals included.

80th Congress: 6.4. While they passed a significant number of bills and made huge strides with some large pieces of legislation (such as the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan), they faced significant opposition from President Truman, who labeled them as a “do-nothing Congress”, and failed to pass many of his Fair Deal programs, as well as passing and overriding the veto of the Taft-Hartley act, which is objectively one of the most oppressive and repressive Right To Work laws on the books today.

83rd Congress: 8.9. One of the most efficient and well-worked Congresses in United States history, the 83rd Congress passed tons of bombshell legislation (such as the Small Business Act, the Refugee Relief Act, the Submerged Lands Act, the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, and the Atomic Energy Act), censured the late Senator Joseph McCarthy, who had a steep fall after his famous speech in which he asserted that some members of the State Department worked with the USSR, and streamlined practically every bill with their unbreakable congressional majorities and the support of the republican President, Dwight Eisenhower. The only reason we aren’t ranking the 83rd as a 9.5 is because of the Communist Control Act of 1954, which is a rushed and unconstitutional bill that violated several pre-existing federal and constitutional statutes upon its passage and signature.

104th Congress: 4.9. This Congress was okay for what it was; Clinton’s first midterm, and Republicans took hold of both chambers. They passed a few important pieces of legislation, such as the Congressional Accountability Act and the Paperwork Reduction Act. They got what they needed to get passed, and the executive opposed and largely vetoed what needed to go. This Congress created the budget impasse with President Clinton that resulted in the federal shutdown of ‘95 and ‘96, which is why they aren’t ranked higher. Some noncontroversial items of legislation got stuck and ultimately did not go through, which is another reason as to why we haven’t bumped up the ranking.

112th Congress: 1.1. The 112th Congress was elected in Obama’s first midterm year, and left us with a Republican House + Democratic Senate. This Congress had constant infighting, passed a minimal amount of legislation with almost no notable or bombshell pieces, and was just generally a clown show. Small, noncontroversial bills took months to move through the House, the Senate was a disaster because of the constant filibusters and the executive rarely did anything about it. It’s safe to say that this is one of the worst Congresses on record.

118th Congress: 0.2. There is no explanation needed, but we’ll give one anyway. Three Speakers, cult-like behavior, tyranny by the minority (The Freedom Caucus controls the entire GOP side of the house), 42 public bills passed into law, the extreme sides of both caucuses lashing out at each other, dangerous, harmful, and violent rhetoric that directly addresses the livelihood, wellbeing, and personal characteristics of the executive branch leaders, and a loud, outspoken quarter of the Congress believing the election was stolen by the incumbent President? No thanks. The only upside to this Congress is that we saw the expulsion of George “Kitara” Santos, also known as Anthony Devolder, who hid an entire identity from the world and lied on record many times.

…Do you see it now? Not only has the GOP gradually gotten worse when it comes to the federal legislature, they’ve turned into a pigsty of back—and—forth nonsense, hyperpartisanship, and underperforming rich hogs that crave profit and fame at the expense of the people. The fact that such dangerous rhetoric as the incumbent President being a pedophile and a rapist while also being a lizard that stole the 2020 election from an orange-bloated pig who just so happens to be the second coming of Christ is, quite frankly, insane. Enough is enough. How did we get to the point at which half of our Congress believes Russian social policy is better than the notion of staying in international unions built on strengthening the economic prosperity and social opulence of the North Atlantic? How do we allow those who abandon benevolence for reactionary equivocation to govern a nation of diverse natures? In what world is it okay for one man to behold to himself the rights of his peers, able to snatch them away via a simple legislative process under the jurisdiction of our governing laws? These are the questions you must take with you to the ballot box, to the next community meeting, or your keyboard (if you’re that socially inept). 

Very obviously, what we have as of now is not working. Our Congress is falling apart, as are our societies that tend to swing politically. We’re employing a hyper-partisan mindset that keeps failing, and quite frankly, it’s time to stop. Keep in mind that you can vote for inefficiency, violence, and equivocation, or you can opt for pragmatism, understanding, and patience. That’s up to you, though. We’ll all die soon anyway.