When President Trump took office in January, Congress seemed poised to play a supporting role in the story of Trump’s second term. Republicans largely fell in line to support President Trump’s cabinet nominees and much of his broader agenda; it’s been reported that Trump himself has joked that he’s both the President and Speaker of the House.

Congressional Democrats, meanwhile, appeared helpless to mount a vigorous opposition to Trump’s policies, or even to energize their own base.

But this fall, those dynamics began to shift.

Congressional Republicans have stood up to Trump on some key issues, including most notably the release of files related to the Jeffrey Epstein case. And Congressional Democrats galvanized supporters around this fall’s government shutdown fight over the future of ACA health insurance subsidies.

On this episode, two experts on Congressional politics spoke with Dan Richards about the shifting role of Congress in U.S. politics, as President Trump enters his “lame duck” phase and America gears up for a midterm election in less than 12 months. They also discuss Congress’s consistently low approval rating among Americans, and explore what (if anything) could be done to make Congress work better under the Trump administration and beyond.

Guests on this episode:

Eric Patashnik is a political scientist and director of the Watson School’s Taubman Center for American Politics and Policy.
Congresswoman Kathy Manning represented North Carolina’s sixth district from 2020 to 2024 and is currently a senior fellow in international and public affairs at the Watson School.

Shutdown politics, gerrymandering, and the role of Congress as Trump enters his lame-duck phase