If the US Congress had its own flag, it would be white with a wide yellow stripe down the back.
US President Donald Trump has aggressively taken away power from Congress, much of it surrendered willingly, thanks to weak and inept leadership. He had an enthusiastic assist from Rep. Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana), arguably the worst and weakest speaker in history, even though he has said God anointed him for the job.
“I have no intention of getting in the way of President Trump and his administration,” Johnson has said. And he is keeping his word, seemingly ignoring Article I of the Constitution, which established Congress as a separate and equal branch of the government. Inexplicably, his office bio says he used to be a constitutional lawyer, but he has betrayed that as a key player in one of the great transfers of power in American history.
All presidents resent Congress and the courts (the other equal branch) meddling in government, but none so much as Trump, who once boasted, “I am the speaker and the president.”
Trump has aggressively seized power from Republicans fearful of a president with an obsessive devotion to retribution and who often has more clout with their constituents than they themselves.
This power grab – more evolutionary than revolutionary – has contributed to a record high number of House veterans, particularly GOP, leaving this year. Some are running for other offices, some don’t want to face tough election battles, and some are just frustrated and tired.
Privately, many say they feel like extras in a Trump movie. Those with the longest tenure will be taking with them valuable knowledge and experience, putting the newcomers and their constituents at a disadvantage when dealing with the experts in the executive branch and professional lobbyists. That is why I oppose term limits for Congress.
Trump’s legislative playground
In Trump’s view, once his so-called Big Beautiful Bill passed last year, he needed little from Congress beyond obedience. The one item on his legislative agenda is the SAVE Act, a restrictive voting bill that would require proof of citizenship and gender to vote and virtually end mail-in voting. Some experts say it could do more damage to Republicans than help them in November, but Trump has never been known for a deep understanding of the consequences of his actions, a fact demonstrated with horrifying clarity by his reckless Iran adventure.
Trump said he “will not sign other bills” until that legislation, tied up by a Democratic filibuster in the Senate, is passed. Republicans don’t have the 60 votes to stop the debate, so Trump is demanding they eliminate the filibuster. He is running into resistance because many Republicans understand it could boomerang when they are in the minority.
Without the filibuster, the minority party has virtually no power to shape or block legislation. Institutionalists like the rule because they’re thinking of future senators, but Trump is all about now.
Beyond this bill, Republicans don’t really have much of a legislative agenda going into this year’s election.
During his first term, Trump claimed that Article II of the Constitution gives him the right to do “whatever I want” as president. Preparing for his return to the White House, Trump embraced (he lied about being unaware) the Brookings Institution’s Project 2025 for a unitary presidency of virtually unlimited executive power at the expense of the legislature. He even put the leader of that project, Russell Vought, in charge of implementation as his director of the Office of Management and Budget.
Should Democrats win a majority in either or both chambers in November, their power will be limited because Trump will still have the veto Sharpie. It will be difficult to wrestle back much of the power surrendered by the current 119th Congress.
But Democrats won’t be powerless. What frightens Trump the most is a third impeachment, which would die in the Senate. More importantly, they will gain leverage on spending, trade, nominations, oversight, and investigations. Impeachment may rally his base, but oversight and investigation should worry him more.
Maybe they’ll ask Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth about his spending $6.9 million on lobster tails, $15m. on rib-eye steaks, and over a quarter of a million on doughnuts and ice cream just to drain his budget at the end of the fiscal year so he can ask for more next year.
Congress has a long and shameful bipartisan history of forfeiting power to the executive, especially if it means the lives of Americans in uniform are at stake. The big reason is very simple: cowardice.
Politicians are loath to take on responsibility for anything that risks lives. If the adventure is successful, they’ll lead the cheering and claim credit. If gas prices don’t fall as quickly as Trump promised (remember solving the Ukraine war on day one?) and prices keep rising and constituents are angry, they’ll blame White House aides who gave their president bad advice.
It’s simple self-preservation. Republicans are particularly skittish under Trump, who has a well-earned reputation as vindictive. Just ask former representative Marjorie Taylor Greene. If he thinks you weren’t sufficiently loyal, he will declare war on you.
Trump’s Iran war, now entering its third week, is revealing. Congress was not notified within 48 hours of committing armed forces, as required by the War Powers Act, which also requires termination of that deployment within 60 days unless Congress authorizes the conflict.
Congress and the War Powers Act
When Democrats last week tried to enforce that statutory requirement, Republicans blocked it. Several privately told reporters they would have voted for it had the president been a Democrat, but they feared crossing Trump.
This didn’t happen suddenly. Congress has become increasingly polarized in recent years, and talk of bipartisanship is too often treated as betrayal. Without the two parties – and their internal factions – working together, the result is poor legislation, bad laws, and dysfunctional government.
Don’t blame Trump solely for his power grab. Or because he considers Congress somewhere between irrelevant and a nuisance. Look to those in the party leadership waving that white flag with the yellow stripe.
If Congress is weak and ineffectual, don’t blame Donald Trump. It was an inside job. Let them know in November.
The writer is a Washington-based journalist, consultant, lobbyist, and former legislative director at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.