NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — “Keeping the lights on in government — and even that was with great effort,” was the signature accomplishment of the current Congress, according to Jesse Richman, political science professor at Old Dominion University.
The 118th Congress has enacted only 106 bills into law. Data from Govtrack shows it’s the lowest total in at least the past 50 years.
Richman said that’s a foreseeable outcome when you have Democrats controlling the Senate and Republicans controlling the House.
“Democrats typically didn’t want to play ball, and it was difficult for the majority party leadership to reach out to Democrats to build compromises,” he said in a Tuesday afternoon interview.
Now the GOP will control both the House and the Senate, but that won’t mean passing laws will be automatic, because Democratic senators still have the power of the filibuster.
“That means that bipartisan legislation may still be necessary,” Richman said. “Otherwise filibusters in the Senate will be able to undermine legislation.”
He sees Congress continuing to recognize the important role that Hampton Roads plays in defense and international commerce.
“I would expect we will continue to see defense be an important priority for the federal government,” he said. “We have multiple conflicts globally that pose important threats.”
But President-elect Donald Trump has pushed an agenda of heavy tariffs with trade partners, especially China.
“Trump has been vocal about his support for tariffs,” Richman said, “and that would diminish the extent of U.S. trade, especially if we have tit-for-tat trade wars develop.”
All four House members who represent Hampton Roads — Republicans Rob Wittman and Jen Kiggans, and Democrats Bobby Scott and Jennifer McLellan — were re-elected.
