Congress is not the same, retiring lawmakers say. Can the institution still do its job?
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Caitlin Babcock Staff writer
Voters routinely give Congress rock-bottom approval ratings, saying the institution is unaccountable and ineffective.
Some members of Congress would appear to agree. A near-record number of 68 lawmakers have said they will not run for reelection this cycle. Some are eyeing higher office, while others are leaving public service entirely.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e looking for a better life,鈥� quips Democratic Sen. Peter Welch of Vermont.
Why We Wrote This
Retiring legislators, and some who have been on Capitol Hill a long time, say they can hardly recognize the institution in which they serve. The changes could lead to a very different type of candidate who seeks to join the House or Senate.
Lawmakers and voters alike have long complained that Congress has become an environment where legislating takes a back seat to fundraising, media appearances, and partisan battles. But experts say those trends are increasing so much that the institution is repelling policy-minded candidates who actually want to pass laws.
鈥淚t may not be the case that you鈥檙e getting ordinary Americans shuffling through Congress, but you鈥檙e instead getting a very small minority of people鈥� who may not be the ones willing to take on that wonky but important legislative work, says Ruth Bloch Rubin, an expert in American politics at the University of Chicago.
Whether they鈥檙e staying or going, many veteran lawmakers agree, as Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts puts it, that Congress is 鈥渁bsolutely not鈥� the same as when she started serving in 2013. (Senator Warren is running for reelection.)
The Monitor interviewed five retiring lawmakers, and several others who have served for over a decade. Most say their work has been fulfilling, but they see increasing drawbacks. The constant pressure to fundraise is growing. They fear more than ever for their safety. And working across the aisle has become nearly impossible.
A chorus of lawmakers also says Congress has ceded more and more of its power to the executive branch, a concern particularly of the party that is not in power.
鈥淭he institution鈥檚 not doing the job that it鈥檚 assigned to do,鈥� says Senator Welch. 鈥淲e all know it.鈥�
Republicans echo that sentiment, with Nebraska Rep. Don Bacon calling the political parties in Congress 鈥渄ysfunctional.鈥�
Maryland Democrat Steny Hoyer, who鈥檚 retiring after 45 years in the House, including over two decades in leadership, laments the loss of bipartisanship and says he鈥檚 鈥渄eeply concerned鈥� that the body is not fulfilling its duties under the Constitution.
Public opinion polls show that most people think Congress might work better with term limits on members. But some experts say the fact that so many are leaving early highlights how the challenges in Congress 鈥� the difficulty of passing policy, and the institution鈥檚 deference to the president 鈥� means members who came to get things done are increasingly turning away frustrated.
For some who are staying 鈥� and for some would-be members running 鈥� legislating might not even be the priority.
Congress is increasingly for those 鈥渨ho are more interested in scoring political points on social media or on cable news than it is for people who want to try to make bipartisan deals,鈥� says David Barker, a professor of government at American University. 鈥淚t鈥檚 just not built for that anymore.鈥�
鈥淭here doesn鈥檛 seem to be a 鈥榤iddle鈥欌��
Retiring Democratic Rep. Julia Brownley first got into politics when she ran for her local California school board to advocate for students like her daughter, who has dyslexia. After arriving on Capitol Hill in 2013, she used her position on the Veterans鈥� Affairs Committee to help pass bills, like one expanding travel reimbursement for veterans seeking medical care, with Republican support. She鈥檚 still on that committee, but collaboration has waned.
鈥淭here doesn鈥檛 seem to be a 鈥榤iddle鈥� to work with,鈥� she says on a video call from her district office in Southern California.
Since the 1970s, studies show Democrats in Congress have steadily grown more liberal, and Republicans have grown even more conservative. A realignment took place over decades as many conservative Southern Democrats became Republicans and liberal Northeastern Republicans left the GOP. Partisan gerrymandering 鈥� when districts are redrawn to benefit a certain party or candidate 鈥� has further hollowed out the center.
Republican Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas, chairman emeritus of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, says he joined a 鈥渕ore respectful and collegial鈥� House 22 years ago. Back then, the retiring congressman says, 鈥渨orking across the aisle was not a bad thing.鈥�
The lack of bipartisanship has an effect: The 118th Congress, spanning 2023-2025, passed the fewest bills since the Civil War.
President Trump鈥檚 influence has sped up the exodus of moderate Republican members. Several, like North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis, belong to a tiny group of Republicans who have publicly criticized the president and his administration. Of 10 GOP House members who voted to impeach Mr. Trump in 2021, most are gone. Only one, California Rep. David Valadao, is running for reelection; the other, Washington Rep. Dan Newhouse, is retiring.
The House and Senate leadership have deferred to the president, says Dr. Barker. 鈥淪o if you鈥檙e a member who really just wants to make policy and wants to try to get stuff done, then you don鈥檛 really get a lot of chances to do that.鈥�
Not the 鈥淪choolhouse Rock!鈥� process
Former Chairman McCaul has spent over two decades in the House after working in counterterrorism for the Texas state attorney鈥檚 office. Reflecting on his time as a congressman during a phone call between votes and meetings, he said a major point of frustration has been working hard to get things passed in the House only to see them go nowhere in the Senate.
He鈥檚 learned 鈥渋f you want to get something passed, you鈥檝e got to attach it to a must-pass bill鈥� like appropriations, he says.
A 2024 study conducted by researchers at Pennsylvania State and Colorado State universities found that as polarization rises in Congress, fewer bills get passed 鈥� but those that do tend to be more sweeping. Partisanship, and slim majorities in the House and Senate, mean it鈥檚 often more effective for leadership to put their priorities into special bills that need fewer votes to pass, or into must-pass bills like yearly funding packages.
鈥淐ongress has moved further and further away from following regular order in lawmaking,鈥� says Kevin Kosar, a senior fellow at the right-leaning American Enterprise Institute.
He cites, for example, the recent recurrence of government shutdowns when lawmakers can鈥檛 agree on annual funding.
Dr. Kosar says the commonly understood 鈥淪choolhouse Rock!鈥� process, where a member introduces a stand-alone bill that makes its way through a committee and is voted on, is becoming more rare. Lawmakers must stay on leadership鈥檚 good side, he says, hoping they can add their priorities into a massive spending package.
鈥淚t鈥檚 very disempowering,鈥� says Dr. Kosar. A lot of members are 鈥渏ust kind of shocked at how impotent they feel.鈥�
This year, 12 members of Congress, 11 of whom are Republicans, are leaving to run for governor in their home states 鈥� an executive office that allows for much more action and immediate results.
Rep. Ralph Norman, a Republican member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, is running for South Carolina governor. He joined Congress in 2017, after working for his father鈥檚 construction business and then serving in state government. During an interview at his office overlooking the Capitol, he says he regrets that he wasn鈥檛 able to do more to reduce government spending.
In his tall-backed chair, he leans away from his desk. 鈥淎s governor,鈥� he says, 鈥淚 can cut the budget. I鈥檒l have direct control.鈥�
鈥淚t shouldn鈥檛 be that way鈥�
One challenge in particular has become far more acute in recent years: Members of Congress, and prominent politicians across the country, are facing a surge in threats. In 2025 Capitol Police investigated 14,938 cases of 鈥渃oncerning statements, behaviors, and communications鈥� against members and their families. That鈥檚 nearly a 60% increase from 2024.
Events like last year鈥檚 arson attack at Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro鈥檚 home and the deadly shooting of Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk highlight a growing culture of political violence that鈥檚 causing some members like Maine鈥檚 Democratic Rep. Jared Golden, who is leaving office in a swing district, to question whether the cost of their work is growing too high. 鈥淎s a father, I have to consider whether the good I can achieve outweighs everything my family endures as a result,鈥� he wrote.
In the wake of Mr. Kirk鈥檚 assassination, Congress voted to allot each member $10,000 per month to cover personal security costs, up from $5,000 previously. Representative Norman says he now has a security guard who accompanies him to town halls.
鈥淚t shouldn鈥檛 be that way, but it is what it is,鈥� he says. 鈥淵ou saw what happened to Charlie Kirk. 鈥� That鈥檚 just part of it now.鈥�
Sound bites and cameras
Jonathan Lewallen, a professor at the University of Tampa who has written about the decline of legislating in Congress, says a shift in the media environment has changed the way members think about their jobs. His research shows coverage of Congress has shifted more toward TV and radio and away from print as many newspapers have closed. At the same time, social media has expanded and popularized quick sound bites. Dr. Lewallen says this shapes the day-to-day business of Congress, as lawmakers focus more on issues they think the media will cover.
Several members who have built a strong online presence during their time in Congress, like Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and former GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, were never the primary sponsors of any bill that passed into law.
鈥淎nd if that鈥檚 the case, what鈥檚 the point of being in Congress?鈥� asks Dr. Lewallen. 鈥淚f you鈥檙e just issuing press releases and giving speeches anyway, why not just have a podcast?鈥�
In a changed Congress, who fits in?
This year鈥檚 turnover, which is tilted more toward Republicans, could help Democrats take control of the House, and possibly the Senate. But it could also reshape Congress in other ways, bringing in a wave of different types of Republicans and Democrats.
The ability to attract attention through social media tends to reward candidates who lean into controversy and conflict more than those who want to work across divisions on policy. Still, Dr. Kosar says a new class of members could make things better, by refusing to treat having a majority as a 鈥渨inner-takes-all鈥� situation.
鈥淵ou sometimes get these influxes of members who have broadly shared ideas about what鈥檚 wrong with the way Congress is working, and they want to work to change things,鈥� he says. Given how 鈥渕iserable鈥� many now appear to be, he doesn鈥檛 think it would take too many new voices to spur change.
Democratic Sen. Mark Warner, who is running again, says he values bipartisan wins he had earlier in his Senate career, which began in 2009. That spirit of bipartisanship 鈥渇eels gone,鈥� the Virginian says, 鈥渂ut I think it鈥檚 got to come back.鈥�
