The Bipartisan Mirage: Congress Fails to Show Up

If you blinked, you missed it. Somewhere between performative hearings and partisan press conferences, Congress managed to pass a grand total of two major bipartisan laws in President Trump’s second term. This is not satire. This is legislative reality. The House is preoccupied with theatrics and the Senate is gridlocked, yet lawmakers still find time to fundraise and tweet like governance is optional. The result? The 119th Congress is shaping up to be the most unproductive, hyper-polarized chamber in recent American history.

The Historic Drought

The United States has seen divided government before. Even the Nixon and Clinton eras produced landmark legislation across party lines. But what we are witnessing now is something different. The 2025 Congress is not just sluggish — it is almost allergic to collaboration. Fewer bills are being introduced, even fewer are reaching the floor, and only a microscopic percentage pass both chambers with votes from both parties. Most lawmakers would rather pass blame than pass laws.

Legislative paralysis is no longer a symptom — it’s the system. Congress has been reduced to a ceremonial echo chamber, broken up only by an occasional funding deal or the rare, low-risk bill that no one wants to vote against. The result is a political drought so dry that even the Desert Southwest would ask for shade.

What Actually Passed

Let’s give credit where it’s due. Two pieces of bipartisan legislation actually made it through the fire. Both are useful, necessary, and surprisingly effective — which explains why they barely happened.

• The Laken Riley Act (Public Law 119-1): Named after a Georgia nursing student murdered by an undocumented immigrant, this law requires federal authorities to detain any noncitizen charged with serious crimes such as theft, assault, or drug offenses. Sponsored by Republican Rep. Mike Collins and supported by a grieving public, it crossed party lines in a rare emotional moment. The House passed it 264–159, including 48 Democrats. In the Senate, it sailed through 64–35, backed by 12 Democrats. It remains the only immigration bill in recent memory to earn that kind of bipartisan margin. Emotional urgency trumped ideological rigidity — briefly.
• The TAKE IT DOWN Act: This legislation targets the spread of non-consensual explicit imagery online, especially AI-generated deepfakes. Sponsored by a coalition led by Rep. Maria Salazar (R-FL) and Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-NY), the bill mandates platforms remove flagged content within 48 hours and establishes penalties for those who share it. The Senate passed it unanimously — which almost never happens — and the House followed with a near-total 409–2 vote. It was backed by both sides, media advocates, and even tech giants desperate for a win on privacy policy. When privacy, victim rights, and AI harm intersect, apparently Congress can agree — just this once.

These laws passed because they hit emotional chords or posed little political risk. Neither demanded ideological sacrifice. Neither reshaped national policy. But they were bipartisan, and in this era, that earns a trophy.

Still Waiting in the Wings

Several proposals have bipartisan branding but remain stuck in committee or collecting dust behind closed doors. They may pass eventually, but in the current climate, don’t hold your breath.

• Sanctioning Russia Act: Introduced by Sens. Lindsey Graham and Richard Blumenthal, this bill proposes sweeping economic and diplomatic sanctions on Russia and on any country continuing to buy Russian energy. It has over 70 co-sponsors, including prominent Republicans and moderate Democrats, but it remains stalled as the administration weighs its own foreign policy agenda. This could see action, but not before the 2026 midterm calculus kicks in.
• Trade Review Act: Sponsored by Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA), this bill seeks to reestablish Congressional control over tariffs by requiring the president to justify new trade restrictions and seek Congressional approval after 60 days. It is a check on executive power — which makes it popular in theory but unpopular in practice. It has bipartisan authorship and endorsements from trade groups, but Trump’s team is not eager to give up tariff tools.
• Quantum Sandbox Act: The least controversial of the bunch, this bill would fund public-private “quantum sandboxes” to accelerate development of new tech applications across energy, manufacturing, and health care. It has bipartisan interest from senators with STEM backgrounds, but no political urgency, which usually means no progress. It’s easy to support, easier to ignore.

Where Policy Goes to Die

The 119th Congress is a museum of missed opportunities. We’ve normalized a system where gridlock is the default, and legislation is the exception. Most lawmakers are more afraid of being primaried than being ineffective. Bipartisan governance requires political courage. Right now, Washington is out of stock.

Instead of legislation, we get executive orders. Instead of compromise, we get cable news segments. Americans are left wondering whether Congress will ever function again — or if it has simply become a symbolic arena, incapable of fulfilling its constitutional role.

If you’re wondering where functioning governance ran off to, you’re not alone. Turns out, some experts have been trying to answer that question for years. Spoiler: it’s not just laziness — it’s structural decay, political self-preservation, and the art of doing absolutely nothing while sounding very serious about everything.

Of course, if you’re still holding out hope for a sensible diplomatic strategy, you might enjoy a trip down memory lane in our Foreign Policy section — where bipartisan handshakes were once more common than press briefings about drone strikes.