WASHINGTON (AP) — House leaders sent lawmakers home for summer campaigning after one of the rockiest sessions in recent memory as voters decide which party to put in power in Congress for the remainder of President Donald Trump’s term. For those seeking to stay in office, particularly the newest members, it can be a tough sell. “I only know a dysfunctional Congress,” said Rep.
Suhas Subramanyam, a freshman from Virginia. The Democrat said it’s best to campaign on his own record delivering for constituents, rather than on the performance of Congress, as his party tries to wrest control from the Republicans. “It’s virtually impossible to sell the performance of Congress to the American people because Congress is such an easy punching bag,” he said.
“And this particular Congress has been ceding too much of its authority to the executive branch.” He said, “I tell people to sell yourself and what you’ve tried to do.” Yet Republican Rep. Brandon Gill, a freshman from Texas who has emerged as one of the party’s rising figures, particularly on Trump’s hard-line immigration enforcement agenda, argued there’s plenty to show to voters back home. “We’ve gotten a lot done,” he said “Cutting taxes across the board, over $100 billion for border security, repealing half the Green New Deal, the biggest mandatory spending reform in history — pretty historic stuff,” he said.
“Everybody always wants Congress to move faster than it does, but we’ve been extremely productive.” Midterm elections often become a referendum on the party in power Control of Congress is often an afterthought in presidential election years when the White House is at stake. But in the midterms, when lawmakers face voters as they will this fall, the races largely become a referendum on the party in power. Republicans have history against running against them, as the president’s party often encounters losses during the midterm elections — a “thumping,” as George W.
Bush put it, a “shellacking” as Barack Obama said — and a pendulum nation swings. House Speaker Mike Johnson, who is about to embark on a cross-country trek to raise millions of dollars for his party and visit lawmakers’ home districts, remains bullish that Republicans will not only keep their House majority control — but grow their numbers. “This week we continued to deliver for the people, and we’re going to continue that straight through the …
Suhas Subramanyam, a freshman from Virginia.The Democrat said it's best to campaign on his own record delivering for constituents, rather than on the performance of Congress, as his party tries to wrest control from the Republicans.“It's virtually impossible to sell the performance of Congress to the American people because Congress is such an easy punching bag,” he said.
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