"If there was one thing politicians of every ilk serving in the 118th session of Congress could agree on, it was that they were members of a dysfunctional legislative body populated by a bunch of clowns." --From the Introduction of Mad House by Annie Karni and Luke Broadwater, Congressional reporters at The New York Times.
Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., right, talks with Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., after Gaetz voted “Present” that led to a failed 14th speakership vote for McCarthy on the House floor on Saturday, January 7, 2023. Gaetz, 10 months later, would file a "motion to vacate" against McCarthy.
Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., gets into an elevator outside of his office as one of his staff attempts to block the camera on Tuesday, April 25, 2024. Santos would later be expelled from Congress and was sentenced to 87 months in prison for wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., right, and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., arrive at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Wednesday, January 25, 2023.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., walks back to his office after a vote as the debt limit fight continues between House Republicans and the White House on Wednesday, May 24, 2023. McCarthy had dispatched Rep. Garret Graves, R-La., and Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., to negotiate with the Biden White House. The negotiation irked the party's right-wing conservatives.
During a power outage, Chairman Rep. James Comer Jr., R-Ky., motions to adjourn a House Oversight and Accountability Committee hearing on Wednesday, February 8, 2023. Mr. Comer would later end his investigation into President Joe Biden and the Biden family fruitlessly.
Construction material, used as part of the Capitol Hill renovations, is seen around President Theodore Roosevelt’s statue on Capitol Hill on Monday, January 9, 2023.
Young visitors take breaks on the steps of the Capitol on Wednesday, April 19, 2023.
Shadows from members reflect on empty seats inside the House chamber on Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023, as the House holds a vote to elect a Speaker on the floor. After the ousting of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, House Republicans started going through candidates to find a replacement.
A House aide takes a break from storing phones in a cabinet for House Republican members as they vote for the nominee of the Speaker of the House on Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023.
Members of the public visit Capitol Hill Rotunda under the gaze of George Washington as the debt limit fight continues between House Republicans and the White House on Thursday, May 25, 2023.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., speaks to the press on the debt limit deal with the House Republicans on Tuesday, May 30, 2023.
Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., speaks to the press on Capitol Hill steps after he filed a "motion to vacate" against House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., over McCarthy's negotiations on the debt limit bill with the Biden White House on Monday, Oct. 2, 2023.
Members of the audience in the House Chamber gallery show signs of fatigue as the House continues a third round of voting on speakership with Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, who lost the first two rounds of ballots, remaining as a forerunner, on Friday, Oct. 20, 2023.
Members of the press wait outside a hearing room as the House GOP holds an internal election of a candidate for speakership, with seven members running for the position. Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minn., the House Republican Whip, emerges as the nominee on Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2023.
A stenographer documents testimonies at a House Committee on Rules markup hearing for the Limit, Save, Grow Act on debt ceiling on Tuesday, April 25, 2024.
Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., forerunner of the Speaker, attends a roll call vote on Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023, as the House holds a Speaker vote on the floor. Johnson, an obscure figure to the majority of the American public, would eventually be elected as the Speaker of the House.
Chaos and dysfunction have defined the 118th Congress. It was by far the most unproductive Congress since the 1980s, passing the fewest laws in decades.