1 chart to explain the current dysfunction in Congress

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Proof of Congress’ ongoing dysfunction is in its current paralysis.

Republicans have a few more votes in the House, but they don’t exactly have a governing majority.

So Kevin McCarthy is now the former House speaker, and it’s not at all clear when the two men actively trying to replace him – House Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana or the Donald Trump-endorsed Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio – will be able to unify the party and reopen the House. It will take near-total GOP unity to reopen the chamber.

The size of congressional majorities has generally shrunk in recent years, just as the country’s politics have gotten so much more tribal.

Since the “Republican Revolution” of 1994, only two majorities have exceeded 50 seats, compared with the previous decades when every Democratic majority exceeded 50 seats, usually alongside a series of Republican presidents.

There are plenty of reasons behind this era of small majorities, the first of which is that the country is closely divided and Congress, which is meant to be the “People’s House,” represents that divide.

But there’s more to it than that. Gerrymandered congressional maps are focused on protecting incumbents, which means fewer seats change hands, even when there is a shift in the country’s politics.

Despite anxiety about the economy and frustration with President Joe Biden, Republicans failed to gain many seats in the 2022 midterm elections, just barely eking out the House majority that’s giving them headaches today.

The lack of competitive seats makes it feel like we are stuck with a closely divided House and a closely divided Senate for the foreseeable future.

The Cook Political Report…