The Republican-led Congress had quite an eventful 2025, though not all of it was something they were proud of. Data indicates that by December 22, less than 40 bills had been signed into law, which is a record low for a new president’s first year in recent history. Washington Post reported this trend.
The House also had a remarkably low number of votes—only 362, which is the fewest for any two-year congressional session this century. It’s worth noting that this is just half of what was recorded in 2017, when President Donald Trump first took office and Republicans had control of the House. There’s talk about how Congress has a backlog of unfinished business after the holiday break.
On the Senate side, however, things were a bit different. They held more roll call votes than in any other odd-numbered year this century—659 in total, with a significant portion focused on advancing Trump’s executive and judicial nominees. It seems that Republicans are leaning heavily on tools like the parliamentary review act, which has seen more use lately, particularly targeting 22 regulations from the Biden administration, such as those concerning fossil fuels and overdraft fees.
A contributing factor to this “lack of productivity” appears to be Trump’s increasing reliance on executive orders, many of which are facing legal challenges. During his second term alone, he issued 225 executive orders—considerably more than the 55 from his first year and even more than in his entire first term.
Meanwhile, there’s been noticeable turnover in the House. So far, 24 Republicans and 19 Democrats have declared plans to either retire or pursue other offices, suggesting we might break the record for turnover in a single Congress this century. Interestingly, the retirement rate among House members is now the highest it’s been in over a decade.
Although the number of senators retiring is comparable to previous cycles, the exodus from the House stands out. For years, the Senate has concentrated on confirming executive and judicial appointments, leaving little room for other legislative matters.
Some say legislative productivity shouldn’t solely be assessed by the number of bills passed, suggesting that Congress often complicates issues rather than resolving them. However, the meager output this year is hard to ignore, especially with all the pressing matters still pending.
The House itself has faced its share of challenges. There have been instances when Speaker Mike Johnson abruptly adjourned sessions due to internal party conflicts. For example, this July, disagreements within the Republican Party hindered legislation aimed at pressuring the Justice Department to release files related to the Epstein case.
In late September, Johnson sent the House members home for seven weeks in the hopes of pushing Senate Democrats toward short-term funding agreements for federal agencies. This standoff culminated in a 43-day government shutdown, marking yet another record. Amid all this, Johnson claimed he hadn’t taken a day off in two years, marking the time when the House supposedly went on “vacation” during the shutdown.
As 2025 wrapped up, with the fewest bills passed and votes in the House since at least 1989, it was evident that Congressional inaction had reached modern-day records. The Republican Party, despite holding a slim majority in the House and a narrow lead in the Senate, seems rather divided on how to move forward.
