What Senate Democrats can do alongside a House GOP majority

At first blush, the ingredients hardly look like a recipe for success. Early next year, a far-right Republican majority will control the House, while on the other end of Capitol Hill, a Democratic majority will control the Senate. There is effectively no overlap in the parties’ priorities, and the odds of bipartisan compromises on major issues are non-existent.

Those hoping for constructive policymaking in the next Congress should probably start preparing themselves for a far more frustrating two-year period.

We talked a bit earlier about what to expect from the new GOP majority in the lower chamber, and Republicans’ eagerness to launch hostage standoffs, obsess over Hunter Biden, harass Dr. Anthony Fauci, and pursue impeachment crusades. But what about the Democratic majority in the upper chamber? What can it reasonably be expected to do?

Though the partisan labels have changed, the underlying dynamic is familiar: Four years ago, a Republican president saw his party lose control of the House, while maintaining control of the Senate. Soon after, House leaders started expressing policy preferences, at which point Senate leaders effectively responded, “Yes, yes, that’s nice, but I think we’ll just keep confirming judicial nominees.”