Congress has increasingly been described as chaotic! In a new piece for @bipartisanpolicy.org, @michaelthorning.bsky.social & I argue that the nature of the chaos is in the eye of the beholder stemming from the model that one prefers the institution operate under. 🔗👇

Congress has increasingly been described as chaotic! In a new piece for @bipartisanpolicy.org, @michaelthorning.bsky.social & I argue that the nature of the chaos is in the eye of the beholder stemming from the model that one prefers the institution operate under. 🔗👇

Whoah. As @hoyer.house.gov is arguing to member COLA, court issues opinion that says (cursory look) 27th amendment stops approps from varying pay in the way it has for 15 years. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

Thanks to the hard work of the Modernization Subcommittee continuous progress is being made to implement Select Committee recommendations! 84% of recs have been Closed or are In Progress towards implementation! Check out the details in the newly updated @bipartisanpolicy.org tracker 🔗👇

It's Tax Day! Here's a thread on what we know about how the tax filing season has gone so far. 🧵 REFUNDS: ⬆️ than last year, ⬇️ than some predicted. Current average is $3,462, which is $346 (11%) higher than 2025. Some were predicting $3,800 or $4,000+. Haven't seen that yet.

New data for the 2024 election and the 119th Congress is available here: www.brookings.edu/articles/vit...

ICYMI, the recording is now live!

Most people talking about the 25th Amendment have inaccurate or ill-informed views on its history, purpose, and potential use. The 25th Amendment is not a the tool you think it is. @bipartisanpolicy.org 🔗👇from July 2024.

If folks are interested, I've just posted an updated draft of The Chadha Presidency, with revisions accounting for the Supreme Court tariffs case, Iran WPR resolutions of disapproval, and more. ssrn.com/abstract=536...

These days I'm largely known as a "House guy" but what you may not know is I started my career studying the U.S. Senate. Since it seems to be a heavy topic of conversation right now, I was happy to join @michaelthorning.bsky.social in putting together this explainer for the @bipartisanpolicy.org

1/ The federal government now has the largest political workforce in 40 years and the smallest career senior leadership in 25 years — simultaneously. In a new report I authored at @ourpublicservice.bsky.social: ourpublicservice.org/publications...

It's everyone's favorite time of year, Approps season! While many of the larger bills garner most of the attention, I tend to think the smallest one is the most important! That's the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act which funds all of the inner workings of Congress and its support entities. 🧵

“Despite decades of bipartisan offenses and bipartisan critiques, nothing seems to change.” In @pkcapitol.bsky.social's final @washingtonpost.com column, he cited our own @jdrackey.bsky.social and @michaelthorning.bsky.social's latest analysis of Congress.

As usual, Paul Kane gets it right: Year after year, decade after decade, past House and Senate leaders brushed aside warnings about the disappearing Congress...The result, almost everyone agrees, is a weakened legislative branch... An honor to be cited, look forward to following your next chapter.

Hot take. 2026 does not represent America’s 250th birthday because the USA began in 1789 when the Constitution was ratified. This is America’s 237th year. The Declaration of Independence did not establish a country. It didn’t even end the war for independence.

Lobbying ≠ campaign contributions. Treating them as the same isn’t just wrong—it distorts how we understand influence in American politics. New piece w @clarebrock.bsky.social & @alexanderfurnas.com: why the overlap is smaller than most think and why that matters. www.promarket.org/2026/03/20/t...

There's still time to register for Monday's event! More info: ncapsa.org/events.html

Congress is inundated by outreach from constituents and has been slow to modernize. But bit by bit it is working to improve how the institution interacts with and internalizes constituent demands. bipartisanpolicy.org/article/list...

Congress is inundated by outreach from constituents and has been slow to modernize. But bit by bit it is working to improve how the institution interacts with and internalizes constituent demands. bipartisanpolicy.org/article/list...

With tonight's SOTU, it's worth remembering that continuity planning for the House of Reps is insufficient and full of questionable gaps! bipartisanpolicy.org/article/afte...

This conversation is fantastic! Lots of important insight into the day-to-day of congressional offices and speaks to the need for continued modernization and capacity building.

If you want to learn how the House floor works, the best thing to do is walk through the congressional record a few times. Here's part I of my guided tour:

“It’s a good thing to see, and hopefully there are other areas of congressional operations that would benefit from this type of innovation,” Rackey said. www.bostonglobe.com/2026/02/16/n...

“It’s a good thing to see, and hopefully there are other areas of congressional operations that would benefit from this type of innovation,” Rackey said. www.bostonglobe.com/2026/02/16/n...

Legislative procedure is one of the most important but least understood aspects of Congress. I'm excited to be hosting this NCAPSA roundtable on the origins and evolution of House procedure through the lens of Brian Alexander's and Lauren Bell's new books! Details 👇

Members of Congress with prior public service backgrounds tend to be more effective because they know the importance of building bipartisan relationships & right-sizing their issue portfolios! www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/house/3...

Today, the Senate Rules Committee will vote on freezing senatorial pay during a partial gov't shutdown. This bad faith resolution may stoke some populist support, but it's terrible policy. It puts pressure on senators to change their votes even when the holdup is the House or the president.

It’s not just that the number of filed discharge petitions is up this year (though it is; see below).

I often get asked questions about the role and function of Congress's numerous support agencies. So, here's my attempt at a concise explainer on *some* of these vital institutions that help Congress do its job. 🔗👇🏻

Updated over the weekend to include full 118th data and added the 119th. Reminder, this chart tracks introductions not votes/passage.

Congress has been responding to increased threats of political violence by boosting member security in a variety of ways. While good, I argue there’s more they could be doing to preserve representation & institutional functioning during potential crises. bipartisanpolicy.org/article/afte...

Censure resolutions are back in the limelight in the House. Last year I wrote about how the increased introduction of accountability tools has led to a decline in their meaning. A short 🧵

The interbranch conflict over spending--rescissions, impoundments, etc.--has thrust a less well-known figure into the spotlight: the Comptroller General of the United States. My @bipartisanpolicy.org colleague @michaelthorning.bsky.social & I break down what the CG does & the appointment process.

Congress has been responding to increased threats of political violence by boosting member security in a variety of ways. While good, I argue there’s more they could be doing to preserve representation & institutional functioning during potential crises. bipartisanpolicy.org/article/afte...

I don’t believe we should be reading too much into what missing this month of session will mean for the larger congressional agenda. As I told @justinjpapp.bsky.social, “Congress always finds a way to get itself out of the predicaments that it puts itself in.” rollcall.com/2025/10/29/h...

An interesting discussion emerging on the implications of Loper Bright & Sen. Schmitt’s report at the Yale Journal on Regulation’s Notice & Comment blog. Today my @bipartisanpolicy.org colleagues and I added our thoughts on the implications for congressional capacity www.yalejreg.com/nc/congress-...

An interesting discussion emerging on the implications of Loper Bright & Sen. Schmitt’s report at the Yale Journal on Regulation’s Notice & Comment blog. Today my @bipartisanpolicy.org colleagues and I added our thoughts on the implications for congressional capacity www.yalejreg.com/nc/congress-...

❔Do members of Congress get paid during a federal shutdown? ❔How does the 27th Amendment impact congressional pay? ❔What are the differences between the House and Senate? Our JD Rackey breaks down these frequently asked questions and more in Marketplace ➡️ https://ow.ly/juTW50X75PP

I was a little surprised when I got this inquiry that anyone would care about this level of minutiae but yes, members of Congress use direct deposit. www.marketplace.org/story/2025/1...

Happening today!!

Next We’d. is the Congresional Hackathon 7.0! This event is not only a critical venue for ongoing modernization efforts but it is also a lot of fun! If you care about improving congressional operations this is a must-attend event, I hope to see you there! bipartisanpolicy.org/blog/moderni...

Our own J.D. Rackey joined @wsj.com's Kim Strassel to discuss efforts to strengthen productivity and collaboration in Congress, including the work of the bipartisan Subcommittee on Modernization & Innovation. 🔊 Listen:

NEW: Turnover among chief local election officials continued to climb following the presidential election, reaching 41% in 2024—up from 39% in 2022. 🧵New analysis by @RachelOrey, @Jferrer505, and @danmthomp explores how turnover trends evolved through 2024.

Happy to share my first @brookings.edu FixGov piece was published today. I take stock of the Senate confirmation process at the 200-day mark of the Trump administration. Among the key findings is the unprecedented degree to which Trump’s nominees have faced procedural barriers.

Congratulations to the Senate for passing Legislative branch appropriations bill (along with veterans affairs and agriculture) w/o including the House's awful cuts in funding for the GAO + Library of Congress and for protecting GAO's impoundment authority. @heinrich.senate.gov @murray.senate.gov

I just posted a new paper on @ssrn.bsky.social, titled "The Chadha Presidency". Here's the link, and I'll post the abstract in the next post. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

Such a huge win for Congress!! LegiDex not only helps improve work efficiency for congressional staff but it also means Congress no longer needs to pay outside vendors for access to its own data in usable formats! cha.house.gov/2025/7/subco...

Behind the scenes, congressional modernization is still happening this Congress! Good piece by @justinjpapp.bsky.social rollcall.com/2025/07/07/t...

I'm reading GAO targeted by House Republicans, by @ktullymcmanus.bsky.social

What is common knowledge in your field, but shocks outsiders? Term limits are all bad. They have a dozen deleterious effects on government and zero good ones. They achieve none of the goals their proponents say they do. No one should ever advocate for term limits.