The 119th Congress is on track to potentially pass more bills than its predecessor. ** Within its first 534 days, the current Congress has enacted 101 bills into law. As seen in the graph above, previous Congresses dating back to 2003 nearly doubled their figures at this time by the end of their two-year sessions. Over the past two decades, the 108th, 109th, and 110th Congresses were the most productive, passing 504, 483, and 460 bills into law, respectively. Since 2009, however, Congress has generally struggled to reached the 400-bill threshold. The only exception was the 115th Congress (2017-2018), which enacted 443 bills.
The 118th Congress earned the title of being the least productive Congress in modern American history, passing just 274 bills over its full term. The 112th Congress rivaled the 118th. It was widely criticized due to intraparty conflicts, leadership disputes, and legislative gridlock that influenced its session. Former Republican Congressman Kevin McCarthy of California became a central figure in the 118th Congress during his brief tenure as U.S. Speaker of the House. After a historic 15 rounds of voting, McCarthy secured the position only after facing intense opposition from far-right Republicans within his own party (https://www.npr.org/2023/01/06/1147470516/kevin-mccarthy-speaker-of-the-house-vote). This intraparty conflict foreshadowed a Congress marked by internal division and little room for negotiation, both within the Republican party and across party lines. Just ten months later, McCarthy became the first Speaker in U.S. history to be removed from his position through a House motion to vacate.
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