Congress Breaks Record For Doing The Least
The Republican-led Congress has set several records in 2025, although not all of them are achievements that lawmakers would like to celebrate.
With fewer than 40 bills signed as of Dec. 22, the House and Senate recorded the lowest legislative output in the first year of a new presidency in modern history, according to data from C-SPAN and Purdue University, The Washington Post reported.
Is Congress doing enough? Rep. Tim Burchett joined Todd Starnes on NEWSMAX to address the ever-present talking point regarding government productivity. @toddstarnes pic.twitter.com/7TaImgs5y3
– NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) December 27, 2025
The House recorded the fewest votes of any first session of a two-year Congress this century, with just 362 votes cast. That total is barely half the number recorded in 2017, President Donald Trump’s first year in office, when Republicans controlled the chamber. (RELATED: Congress faces mountain of unfinished business after Christmas break)
Even with little legislative output, the Senate conducted more roll-call votes than in any other odd year in the 21st century — 659 in total — nearly six out of 10 of which were devoted to advancing President Donald Trump’s executive and judicial nominees.
Republicans have been particularly active in using the Congressional Review Act, a tool rarely used since its passage in 1996 but increasingly used by recent Republican majorities. Their efforts targeted 22 Biden-era regulations, including rules on fossil fuel production, gasoline-powered vehicles and overdraft fees.
Another contributing factor to the “lack of productivity” is President Trump’s increasing reliance on executive orders, many of which have been the subject of multiple legal challenges. In his second term alone, he signed 225 executive orders – far more than the 55 he issued in 2017 and surpassing the total for his entire first term.
Meanwhile, a significant number of lawmakers are leaving the House. So far, 24 Republicans and 19 Democrats have announced plans to retire or run for other offices, putting the chamber on track to hit a 21st century record for departures in a single Congress, according to C-SPAN and Purdue.
While Senate retirements remain similar to the 2024 cycle, the House is seeing its highest rate of departures in more than a decade, according to an analysis by Ballotpedia. (RELATED: MTG Alleges Mike Johnson Is a Puppet Controlled by Trump White House)
For more than a decade, the Senate has devoted much of its time to executive and judicial confirmations, leaving limited space for other bills beyond much-needed measures.
Legislative productivity should not simply be a measure of the number of bills passed, because Congress tends to create more problems through legislation than it solves.
That said, the paltry output of the current Congress is remarkable because there is still plenty of meat left on the… https://t.co/ZeiV3VVl4e
– Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) December 29, 2025
The House has faced similar slowdowns. Speaker Mike Johnson has sometimes adjourned the House early due to internal disagreements, including in July, when divisions within the Republican Party over a ballot measure to force the Justice Department to release records related to the Jeffrey Epstein investigation blocked legislative action.
Then, in late September, Johnson sent the House home for seven weeks in an effort to pressure Senate Democrats into agreeing to a short-term funding deal for federal agencies — an impasse that resulted in a 43-day government shutdown, itself a record. (RELATED: ‘I Haven’t Had a Day Off in Two Years’: Speaker Mike Johnson Disputes Claim Home Went on ‘Vacation’ During Shutdown)
The year 2025 set a modern record for congressional inaction, with the fewest laws passed and the fewest votes in the House since at least 1989.
Fewer than 40 bills have been signed into law.
Follow: @AFpost pic.twitter.com/Zald120rWF
– AF Post (@AFpost) December 25, 2025
Republicans remain divided over next steps as they govern by razor-thin margins: a House majority of just a few seats and a slim 53-47 advantage in the Senate.
