John Nichols: How the 113th Congress Can Bring Progress Back to Capitol Hill

John Nichols: How the 113th Congress Can Bring Progress Back to Capitol Hill

John Nichols: How the 113th Congress Can Bring Progress Back to Capitol Hill

The 113th Congress is the most diverse in history, but that doesn't necessarily translate to progress.

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Yesterday, we swore in the most diverse Congress in American history. The 113th Congress includes 101 women, 45 African Americans and 31 Latinos. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) became the first ever openly gay Senator, and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), the first open bisexual elected to the House. Also, Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) became Congress' first Hindu American, and Mazie Hirono (D-HI) is now the first Buddhist to serve in the Senate.

But diversity doesn't necessarily translate to action. John Nichols appeared on Democracy Now! this morning to lay out what our lawmakers need to do to escape gridlock and become productive once again—from filibuster reform in the Senate, to presidential pressure in the House.

Steven Hsieh

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Even before February 28, the reasons for Donald Trump’s imploding approval rating were abundantly clear: untrammeled corruption and personal enrichment to the tune of billions of dollars during an affordability crisis, a foreign policy guided only by his own derelict sense of morality, and the deployment of a murderous campaign of occupation, detention, and deportation on American streets. 

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As we’ve seen over and over, this administration uses lies, misdirection, and attempts to flood the zone to justify its abuses of power at home and abroad. Just as Trump, Marco Rubio, and Pete Hegseth offer erratic and contradictory rationales for the attacks on Iran, the administration is also spreading the lie that the upcoming midterm elections are under threat from noncitizens on voter rolls. When these lies go unchecked, they become the basis for further authoritarian encroachment and war. 

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