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…
President Trump is often misinformed and misguided. He lies and exaggerates about a lot of things, but he’s not completely wrong about everything. He’s not wrong that the immigration system is broken and illegal immigration had got out of hand, straining local budgets, overwhelming local culture in some places, and undermining the rule of law.…
Many Americans have been shocked recently as Republican senators set serious concerns and supinely vote to confirm patently unqualified and inappropriate nominees for the most powerful positions in government. For secretary of defense, a philanderer with a reported (and unrefuted) drinking problem and a well-documented disrespect for females in combat. A political henchman who promises…
The problem with the Democrats’ response to President Trump’s hostile takeover of Washington is not that Democratic politicians aren’t unified or outraged enough, as if those would accomplish anything. No, the problem with the response is the same as their problem with the last election campaign: a stubborn refusal to talk honestly about the problems…
Contact New York Times best-selling author Julian E. Zelizer has been among the pioneers in the revival of American political history. He is the Malcolm Stevenson Forbes, Class of 1941 Professor of History and Public Affairs at Princeton University and a CNN Political Analyst, a regular guest on NPR’s “Here and Now,” a guest host on…
Contact Steven Pearlstein is the Robinson Professor of Public Affairs at George Mason University and Senior Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania’s Penn Washington. For 35 years, Pearlstein wrote about economics and business for the Washington Post, winning the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for commentary for columns anticipating and explaining the recent financial crisis and global…
Contact Coralyn Maguigad is the Events and Administrative Assistant at Penn Washington, where she supports all aspects of Penn Washington office administration and events. Coralyn joined Penn Washington from Nadia’s Initiative, where she assisted the organization’s president and special advisor with events and advocacy projects. She graduated summa cum laude from American University, receiving a…