But whether it’s money, maps, media, mingling or masochism, there are no easy solutions. Nor are they entirely the responsibility of the politicians to address.
Map mess
The redistricting process, including how congressional districts are drawn and the lack of competitive seats, gets a lot of blame for the dysfunction in Congress.
the following article by Rachael Bade was posted on the Politico website July 24, 2018:
The California Republican aiming to be speaker backs away from a promised vote on a guest worker program.
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has been asking members to support him for speaker next year, when Paul Ryan is set to retire. But the standoff on a vote McCarthy promised could alienate some would-be allies. Credit: Alex Wong, Getty Images
House GOP leaders are reneging on a vow to hold an immigration vote before the August recess, a move that puts House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy in a particularly awkward spot as he seeks to become the next speaker.
In June, McCarthy (R-Calif.) personally promised several rank-and-file members a vote on a new guest-worker program for farmers, an offer backed by Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.). The assurance was critical at the time: It persuaded Reps. Dennis Ross (R-Fla.) and Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.) not to sign on to an effort — which Republican leaders were desperately trying to stop — to force a vote on legislation creating a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers, the immigrants brought to the country illegally as children. The so-called discharge petition ultimately fell two signatures short.
But now, Republican leaders have no plans to take up the guest-worker program before the summer break, according to four sources in leadership. Ryan does not want to hold a vote that’s certain to fail, they said—though proponents of the guest-worker bill said McCarthy’s original promise to hold a vote was unconditional.
The following article by Eric Boehlert was posted on the ShareBlue website May 25, 2018:
Trump’s latest attempt to sink the Russia investigation completely collapsed, even with his own party — and he’s very unhappy about it.
Credit: AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File
Somebody forgot to tell Trump than the GOP’s bigger-than-Watergate “spy” scandal flopped spectacularly on Thursday. Because on Friday he was still flailing around on Twitter, pushing the dopey narrative.
He’s ranting and raving while his own Republican Party has gone quiet regarding its latest failed attempt to cover up for Trump.
The following article by Griffin Connolly was posted on the Hill website May 22, 2018:
House given classified briefing on what DHS, FBI, DNI are doing to secure elections at state, local levels
Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, and Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, left, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee address the media after a briefing on election security with House members in the Capitol Visitor Center on May 22, 2018. FBI Director Christopher Wray and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats also attended. Credit: Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call
Democrats and Republicans struck drastically different tones about their confidence in federal agencies’ efforts to secure voting systems and stamp out foreign state-sponsored influence campaigns ahead of the 2018 midterms after a classified meeting on the subject for House members Tuesday.
Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen, Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats, and FBI Director Christopher Wray were among the officials who briefed lawmakers and answered their questions about what their agencies are doing to combat potential Russian, Iranian, Chinese, and other nations’ attempts to undermine the midterms.
Roughly 40 to 50 lawmakers showed up to the meeting, which House Speaker Paul D. Ryan organized for all House members.
The following article by Mallory Shelbourne was posted on the Hillwebsite March 18, 2018:
Lawmakers on Sunday rallied to the defense of special counsel Robert Mueller after concerns were raised over his job security following the abrupt firing of FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe.
McCabe said his firing was an attempt to undermine the Mueller investigation into Russia’s election interference and possible collusion between members of Trump’s campaign and Moscow. The president targeted Mueller’s investigation in a series of tweets over the weekend, further alarming many lawmakers.
Democrats on Sunday were calling for proactive measures to protect Mueller and his investigation. Republicans insisted Trump has no intention of firing the special counsel, although the White House also acknowledged Trump is “frustrated.” Continue reading “Lawmakers rally to defend Mueller after McCabe exit”
The following article by Sheryl Gay Stolberg and Nicholas Fandos was posted on the New York Times website January 27, 2018:
If tensions between Republicans and Democrats in Congress do not cool, the parties might careen toward another fiscal showdown in February. Credit Eric Thayer for The New York Times
WASHINGTON — As lawmakers recover from a dispiriting government shutdown and prepare for President Trump’s State of the Union address on Tuesday, Capitol Hill is absorbed with concern that Mr. Trump’s presidency has pushed an already dysfunctional Congress into a near-permanent state of gridlock that threatens to diminish American democracy itself.
The sense of gloom is bipartisan. A group of Republicans in the House and the Senate are warning of a secret plot in the F.B.I. to overthrow the Trump government. Democrats speak of corruption and creeping authoritarianism, unchecked by a Congress that has turned into an adjunct of the executive. Continue reading “As Gridlock Deepens in Congress, Only Gloom Is Bipartisan”
The following article by Jim Acosta and Barbara Starr was posted on the CNN website November 14, 2017:
(CNN) — A decades-old presidential authority to use nuclear weapons is suddenly coming into question as US allies and some lawmakers from both parties want the Trump administration to assure them that President Donald Trump cannot rashly launch a nuclear strike, according to multiple sources.
The potential that Trump could use existing law to authorize the deployment of a nuclear weapon on his own is becoming the subject of frequent conversation — and bipartisan anxiety — on Capitol Hill. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker will hold a hearing Tuesday on the authority of the President to maintain sole authority to launch nuclear weapons. Continue reading “Lawmakers, US allies seek assurance that Trump won’t rashly launch nuclear”
The following article by Stephanie Akin was posted on the Roll Call website November 11, 2017:
Dorena Bertussi filed Hill’s first successful harassment complaint in 1988
Shortly after Dorena Bertussi’s name was published in one of the first major sexual harassment scandals in the House of Representatives, she came home to the sound of a ticking clock on her home answering machine.
The police told her she might want to find someplace else to stay for a while.
It was one of many episodes that help Bertussi understand — perhaps more than most — why 29 years later a national firestorm over sexual harassment in American institutions has been slower to ignite in Congress.
Bertussi has since shared the details of her story countless times when women who worked in Congress or other government jobs approached her about following in her footsteps. It is no surprise to her, she said in a recent interview, that most of those women never came forward — and that even today, amid the cascade of public complaints against high-profile figures in other industries, members of Congress have been largely spared. Continue reading “Congress Took Three Decades to Come This Far, Sexual Harassment Victim Says”
The following article by Mike DeBonis and Karoun Demirjian was posted on the Washington Post website July 22, 2017:
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) left, speaks with reporters during the Speaker’s weekly news conference on June 8 on Capitol Hill. House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) is to the right. (Cliff Owen/AP)
A weeks-long impasse over imposing new financial sanctions on Iran and Russia broke late Friday, with the House preparing to vote next week on a measure that would prevent President Trump from lifting measures against Moscow.
House leaders agreed to vote on an expanded version of the bill after incorporating sanctions aimed at freezing North Korea’s nuclear program and draining the government of revenue it uses to fund it. The measures against Pyongyang, which passed the House 419 to 1 as a stand-alone bill earlier this year, were inserted at the request of House Republican leaders.
While some details have yet to be finalized, congressional aides said, the bill is set for a vote Tuesday, according to a schedule circulated Saturday by House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.). It will proceed under special expedited procedures for noncontroversial bills expected to pass with a two-thirds majority.
Lawmakers on Sunday rallied to the defense of special counsel 
