We don’t know yet who will win what elections in the midterms.
asserted
who → know → midterms
But we can already predict this much: the biggest loser is likely to be Congress.
asserted
loser → predict → much
All anybody seems to do is wait for their next television appearance or viral social-media moment.
asserted
anybody → seem → appearance
Even then, they often seem like the studio audience for the Donald Trump Show, there to cheer the president or boo him.
asserted
they → seem → him
Expect Congress to become even more ineffectual and dysfunctional for the next two years.
asserted
Congress → expect → years
That’s bad for the country and bad for democracy.
asserted
That → ’ → democracy
It wasn’t supposed to be like this.
asserted
It → suppose → this
The Founding Fathers designed Congress to be the first branch of government.
asserted
Congress → design → government
Congress would make the laws we live under, whereas the president and the courts were merely charged with carrying out and interpreting those laws.
asserted
president → make → laws
If the president got too big for his britches, Congress had the ultimate weapon: It controls the budget, and nothing could happen if Congress didn’t provide the money.
uncertain
Congress → get → money
Sure, the president had a veto and a lot of power in foreign policy, and the courts could stop Congress from passing unconstitutional laws.
uncertain
courts → have → laws
If you’re over 40, you probably remember when Congress still wielded a lot of power in Washington.
asserted
Congress → ’re → Washington
Newt Gingrich got Bill Clinton to sign a bunch of laws he didn’t like.
asserted
he → get → laws
Republican leaders in Congress got Richard Nixon to resign.
asserted
Nixon → get → Congress
Hearings over Watergate, Iran-Contra and Monica Lewinsky gripped the nation.
asserted
Hearings → grip → nation
Even ObamaCare and the 2017 Trump tax cuts were largely written the way Capitol Hill bigwigs wanted them.
asserted
bigwigs → write → them
As Congress passed fewer laws, presidents started making their own with executive orders — Barack Obama’s “pen and a phone.”
asserted
presidents → pass → orders
Presidents stopped asking Congress for permission to go to war.
asserted
Presidents → stop → war
Cabinet confirmations became party-line votes, even for outrageous picks like Robert F. Kennedy Jr. More federal programs were designed to keep running whether or not Congress voted to keep funding them.
asserted
Congress → become → them
At least Congress used to control taxes.
asserted
Congress → use → taxes
But with his tariffs, Trump seized the power to raise and lower new taxes on his own whim based on vague laws passed decades ago.
asserted
Trump → seize → laws
Impeachments have become a routine joke.
asserted
Impeachments → become → ?
When the House impeached Joe Biden’s Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, Chuck Schumer didn’t even bother holding a trial.
asserted
Schumer → impeach → trial
Biden and Trump hand out pardons like Halloween candy.
asserted
Biden → hand → candy
All anybody really votes on is gigantic budget bills so large nobody reads them, and nobody but party leaders has a say on what goes into them.
asserted
what → vote → them
Everyone else just show up on the floor right before a holiday so they can get something done before they leave town.
asserted
they → show → town
The old masters of Congress died off, like Harry Reid and Ted Kennedy, or are fading fast, like Mitch McConnell and Nancy Pelosi.
asserted
masters → die → McConnell
Paul Ryan, who spent two decades learning the ropes, is still only 56 but retired eight years ago.
asserted
who → spend → ropes
And who would want the Speaker’s job, anyway?
asserted
who → want → job
If Democrats take over the House, as they are likely to do, Congress will do even less lawmaking.
asserted
Congress → take → lawmaking
For that matter, Republicans have spent the past year letting Trump do whatever he wants — and they are likely to continue if they keep any power.
asserted
they → spend → power
With Congress frozen in place, Trump will just keep doing things by executive order.
asserted
Trump → freeze → order
At least Senate Republicans can confirm Trump’s judges.
asserted
Republicans → confirm → judges
But if Democrats win the Senate, they are pledging to put a stop to that.
asserted
they → win → that
Schumer has floated refusing to fill even a Supreme Court vacancy if one arises.
asserted
one → float → vacancy
Instead, Democrats will launch a blizzard of investigations.
asserted
Democrats → launch → investigations
There’s plenty for them to investigate.
asserted
them → ’ → ?
But Trump won’t do much to cooperate.
asserted
Trump → do → much
For the past two years, Democrats have tied up Trump’s orders in court, hoping to run out the clock before his policies can go into effect.
asserted
policies → tie → effect
But two can play that game.
asserted
two → play → game
…and 8 more, not listed.
The Aporia
