Some Democrats believe the only viable strategy for slowing and eventually halting the Trump steamroller is all-out resistance on every issue in every forum. Others prefer giving Trump plenty of rope, confident they will pursue radical policies that will prove so unpopular that Republicans will lose the next two elections. The first approach is likely…
Brendan Buck, a top aide to former Republican Speakers John Boehner and Paul Ryan, posted an eloquent essay in the New York Times today recounting the many ways in which Congress has allowed its legislative muscles to atrophy and its power to be usurped by a succession of presidents. The essay echoes many of the…
New York Times columnist Ezra Klein offered an insightful column last weekend on the utter failure of Congress to assume its role as a check on the hostile takeover of the federal government now being carried out by President Trump and his billionaire henchman, Elon Musk. Like us, at Fixing Congress, he assigns some blame…
One way to understand the unfolding constitutional crisis in Washington is as the inevitable result of 30 years of congressional dysfunction. For starters, Congress’s failure to address and resolve the major challenges facing the country – – immigration, runaway budget and trade deficits, climate, rising inequality of income, opportunity and health and education outcomes, regulating…
Paul Kane of The Washington Post recently featured the work of Fixing Congress at Penn Washington in his article about lawmakers’ desires to change how the legislative body functions. He discussed how a potential Democratic House majority, led by a new generation of leaders, could bring about reforms to address a broken system. Kane also highlighted Fixing Congress’…
About the Author Steven Pearlstein was a Pulitzer-prize winning columnist for the Washington Post. He is now the Robinson Professor of Public Affairs at George Mason University and a senior fellow at Penn Washington’s Fixing Congress Initiative. According to recent polls, more than three quarters of Americans believe democracy is on the line in this year’s presidential…
The Senior Fellows will lead two programs focusing on higher education and Congress and policy. Penn Washington, which serves as the physical and programmatic home for the University of Pennsylvania in the nation’s capital, is pleased to appoint distinguished scholars, The New York Times best-selling author Julian Zelizer and Pulitzer Prize-winning business and economics columnist Steven Pearlstein of The Washington Post, as…
In a recent article by Carl Hulse of The New York Times, the focus was on the ongoing challenges that Congress faces. The piece sheds light on the structural issues that hinder legislative progress, as discussed at the inaugural “Fixing Congrees” seminar held at Penn Washington. Former lawmakers highlighted institutiPennsylvania’ssuch as short workweeks, deep-seated partisan…
On June 18, 2024, Interim President J. Larry Jameson and Provost John L. Jackson Jr. announced the creation of Penn Washington, a physical and programmatic home for the University of Pennsylvania’s engagement in the nation’s capital.
Their ideas ranged from a major rethinking of how the body works to symbolic changes that could be implemented next month if anyone had the willpower. Eliminate partisan gerrymandering for House districts. Reshape campaign laws to give candidates almost full power over their own races. Make even modest tweaks to the legislative calendar to produce…