Congress is catching blame as experts warn its power is slipping

Nearly nine in 10 Americans are unhappy with Congress, according to Gallup, and longtime Capitol Hill watchers say the public mood is not hard to explain.

Carl Hulse, chief Washington correspondent for The New York Times, told CBS News that frustration with Congress has become a familiar national habit. After covering Capitol Hill since the Reagan years, Hulse said he sees an institution in decline, with too little cooperation between the parties to get much done.

The 119th Congress is working under Republican control in both the House and Senate, but its bill-passing pace trails many earlier Congresses, according to GovTrack data cited by CBS News. Gridlock has become a defining feature, even as a few major measures have cleared the building.

Among them: a Republican tax package that CBS News reported would reduce taxes by $4.5 trillion over 10 years, and a bipartisan housing bill that recently became law. The same Congress has also been marked by a partial government shutdown tied to homeland security funding.

Power slipping from Capitol Hill

Hulse said Congress still holds real constitutional muscle, especially under Article I, but he argued Republicans have allowed too much authority to move to President Trump’s administration on matters including tariffs and war powers.

Trump has bypassed Congress on trade and the war with Iran, CBS News reported. He has also pressed lawmakers to follow his lead, including on a push this past week to overhaul federal voting rules.

The Senate is also in a period of uncertainty. CBS News reported that former Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has been hospitalized for weeks, while South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham died suddenly this month.

Hulse said Congress has changed sharply since he arrived on Capitol Hill in 1985, when many members were World War II veterans and, in his view, more focused on finding a way to act. Today, he pointed to tight margins, gerrymandered districts and lawmakers in both parties who are more closely aligned with presidents.

The blame game is running hot. Rep. Peter Welch, a Vermont Democrat, told CBS News that Republicans do not control the House and described the chamber as chaos. Alabama Republican Sen. Katie Britt accused Democrats of choosing politics over people under the Trump administration. Delaware Democratic Sen. Chris Coons said Trump is the loudest voice in the room and is fighting against his own Congress.

Experts say the branch has lost its habits

Sarah Binder, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, told CBS News the legislative branch is both broken and diminished. She pointed to Congress’ power over spending and war, and said lawmakers have ceded authority to presidents over decades, not only under Trump.

Philip Wallach, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, described Congress as marginalized. He said members increasingly see their work through the presidency: backing the White House when their party controls it, or fighting it when the other party does.

Trump has issued more than 260 executive orders in his current term, CBS News reported. His two immediate predecessors also made frequent use of executive orders, adding to public questions about what Congress is doing while presidents act.

Binder said anger at Congress is understandable, citing public debt, Social Security, housing costs and other problems. She also said Americans often expect more than a polarized Congress can deliver, because major legislation usually requires broad bipartisan support.

Binder told CBS News she is not especially hopeful, saying unresolved problems tend to get pushed into the future. Wallach took a longer view, saying Congress has changed many times across U.S. history and may one day put itself back at the center of government.

This story draws on original reporting from CBS News.