“We’re Ungovernable”: The Origins of Republican Disunity in the U.S. House

• In Event: Party Politics in the U.S. Congress

Abstract

The House Republican majority’s struggle to pass special rules and choose and keep a Speaker in the 118th Congress damaged the party’s reputation and hindered its ability to legislate. While the party’s small size, coupled with internal factions empowered by House rules, precipitated the GOP’s leadership and agenda-setting challenges, I argue that the roots of those challenges are deeper and developed over several decades. Drawing from both prior research and newly gathered data, I identify the main factors within and outside Congress that gradually eroded the GOP Conference’s ability to operate as an organizational and procedural cartel since the 1990s, including the rise of competitive primaries, changes in the preferences of the party's base voters, and weaker party leadership. While those factors have had their greatest impact on House Republicans, they have made it harder for both parties in the chamber to act as unified teams. Their long-term origins also mean that, even if Republicans win a larger majority in the House in the near future, they are likely to continue to struggle to function as an effective governing party.

Author

• Matthew N. Green, Catholic University of America