A departing California congressman running for governor slammed the recent session of Congress as unusually unproductive, while Senate Republicans counter that Democrat tactics share the blame; lawmakers left Washington with urgent deadlines on spending and health subsidies that could hit millions of Americans if not addressed. The fight over responsibility and the path forward centers on bipartisan promises, political blame, and who will be held accountable when costs spike next year.
Rep. Eric Swalwell announced his bid for governor as he criticized Congressional Republicans for delivering one of the least productive sessions in recent history, and he pinned much of the blame on a lack of bipartisan cooperation. He argued lawmakers lost focus and missed chances to tackle everyday costs for families, framing his comments around both policy and political stakes. “There wasn’t much else being done in this Congress. And so, as we go into the new year, if Republicans want to work with us to bring down costs, reduce what we spend at the grocery store, they’re going to find partners in us,” Swalwell said on The Weekend. Republicans counter that the story of dysfunction is not one-sided and point to procedural fights and Democratic resistance as key causes of the slow pace.
Swalwell took care to point out a bipartisan achievement he claims responsibility for, using that example to underline his willingness to work across the aisle on specific issues. “Now, I will say I’m responsible for one of those 40 bills that was passed. It was a bipartisan piece of legislation to make it easier for mothers who are breastfeeding to travel through airports and not have their breast milk screened,” Swalwell said, touting a bill he authored. At the same time, official tallies show the House took roughly 362 votes in the first session, far fewer than past years under comparable control, and only a small fraction of measures became law, reinforcing GOP claims that Congress failed to move major priorities.
On the Republican side, leaders were blunt about motives they see on the other bench, arguing Democrats at times prefer stalemate over seeing Republicans score policy wins. Senator Ron Johnson put it plainly on Sunday, saying gridlock was not an accidental byproduct but a political tool. “The American public is pawns in the dysfunction. But again, understand Democrats, they want the shutdown,” Johnson said on Sunday Morning Features, referring to the record-breaking 43-day shutdown standoff earlier this year. “They were responsible for it because they don’t want President Trump and Republicans to have success.” “So, if the American economy is collateral damage, they don’t care because they just want power. They want to return to power in November,” Johnson added.
Lawmakers have adjourned for the year, but the calendar leaves a handful of ticking time bombs that demand attention when they reconvene, and Republicans insist the choice about how to handle them is clear. Congress must pass spending bills before the end of January to avoid another shutdown, and it must decide whether to extend enhanced subsidies for Obamacare that were introduced as emergency measures during the pandemic. Without action, millions of enrollees face a sudden spike in premiums next year; that is the immediate policy pain point both parties are being forced to confront. Last month a few Republicans broke with most of their party to allow a February vote on subsidy extensions, a move GOP leaders say should be leveraged into conservative wins while still protecting Americans from price shocks.
Swalwell framed that bipartisan pivot as a mandate to act and put the onus on House leadership to make the choice clear when they return. “The mandate now, the majority of the House of Representatives wants to put these subsidies in place so that Americans can pay less for healthcare. So, it’s now on the speaker, when we reconvene in just a couple of days, whether he will put this up for a vote,” Swalwell said. His comments spotlight the political pressure around the vote and set up a test of priorities: protect families from higher premiums or play another round of brinkmanship that could reshape next year’s political map. “But if not, the midterm message will be this, it costs too much. It costs too in what we pay at the groceries store and figuratively, it costs too much in the fights that we’re losing under this administration.”
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