A Historian's View on Our Dysfunctional Congress

When it comes to politics, Americans don’t agree on much these days, but they do agree that they don’t like Congress. Just 16% of Americans approve of the job Congress is doing, according to a June Gallup poll, continuing a trend of low approval ratings for the legislative body. That may be for good reason. From repeated battles for the House speakership to threats of government shutdowns, the current Congress has been, in historic terms, more dysfunctional. Our guest today is Jeffery Jenkins, Provost Professor of Public Policy, Political Science and Law for the USC Price School. Jenkins literally wrote the book on contested speakership elections, co-authoring Fighting for the Speakership: The House and the Rise of Party Government. We discuss why this Congress is so dysfunctional, what’s driving increased polarization in U.S. politics and how Congressional Democrats are handling concerns over President Joe Biden’s age.