Overview
- Only 61 bills passed both chambers this year, the House logged a modern-era low 362 votes, and a 43-day shutdown underscored the slowdown, according to Congress.gov and press tallies.
- The July “One Big Beautiful Bill” made the Trump tax cuts permanent with a CBO-estimated $4.5 trillion decade-long price tag, pushed defense funding to roughly $1 trillion, expanded immigration enforcement, cut Medicaid, and pared back clean-energy spending.
- Republicans used the Congressional Review Act to void 22 Biden-era rules and changed Senate procedures to confirm executive-branch nominees en bloc, moving large packages with single votes.
- Policymaking tilted heavily toward executive action, with President Trump issuing about 225 executive orders this year.
- Congress adjourned with January deadlines unresolved on remaining spending bills and expiring Obamacare subsidies, while 2026 battlegrounds take shape and the DOJ’s lawsuits seeking detailed state voter data fuel election‑integrity concerns.