J.D. Rackey

Modernizing Congress is a sprawling portfolio of issues that can often be unwieldly! That’s why my @BPC_Bipartisan colleagues & I put together a new -LIVE & searchable- database of the @ModernizeCmte’s 200+ recommendations! bipartisanpolicy.org/modernizing-co…

My written testimony focuses on the need for additional modernization funding and an increase in resources for congressional committees: docs.house.gov/meetings/AP/AP…

House Leg Branch Approps is holding its Member Day hearing and has posted public witness testimony for the record. appropriations.house.gov/schedule/heari…

There's still time to register for Monday's event! More info: ncapsa.org/events.html

SCOTUS, tariffs, regulations, war powers. Lately everyone's asking "Where is Congress?" 🔗⬇️ @BPC_Bipartisan @JDRackey and I think that's the wrong question. We should be asking: 💠Why does Congress behave the way it does today? 💠What incentives, structures, and norms produced this version of the institution? 💠Most importantly, what kind of Congress do we want, and what would it take to build it?

1/3 Happy Congress Day! This is a new holiday invented with the inspiration of @CaseyMattox_, to honor the most powerful (certainly not "co-equal") branch of the federal government. You can keep Presidents' Day, & we'll keep Congress Day, from this day forward.

@RepBice & @HouseAdmin are leading the way on making Congress more accessible to Americans, improving member's ability to direct constituents to the resources they need and creating better channels of communication to inform policymaking. Read more from @BPC_Bipartisan @JDRackey ⬇️

“As a representative, it is extremely important to clearly and effectively communicate with constituents." - Modernization and Innovation Subcommittee Chairwoman @RepBice. Read on ⬇️ bipartisanpolicy.org/article/listen…

Ironically, also on February 26, 1929, Congress was working on a separate bill to establish the 'Teton National Park' - not in Wyoming, but in South Dakota. Nerdy🧵from the Congressional Record 1/

"Legislators grew tired of feeling like eunuchs in a presidential court, and they reorganized Congress and invested in its capacity." Thanks to John Guida for partnering with me on this piece in today's NYTimes. nytimes.com/2026/02/27/opi…

Two-thirds of @congressfellows alumni move into public service after their fellowships. 10 years in, nearly 150 fellows later, @rollcall took a look at how it happened. 🔗 rollcall.com/2026/02/25/tra…

Congress is inundated by outreach from constituents and has been slow to modernize. But bit by bit it is working to improve how the institution interacts with and internalizes constituent demands. bipartisanpolicy.org/article/listen…

But I'll tell you what's not real: the suggestion from one House member that this is because the parliamentarian doesn't "want to do work." That's either a really poor deflection of the GOP's difficulties here or a fundamentally misguided understanding of the procedural situation. I'll let you be the judge. @JDRackey and I have more on the parl here: bipartisanpolicy.org/explainer/what…

Slinging filibuster realism in this @rollcall piece from @SavBehrmannDC @valerie_yurk. “The majority leader can use his discretion to allow debate to go on until it’s exhausted. … That doesn’t require any kind of nuclear option, that’s sort of just letting the rules play out as they’re written,” he said. But “the reason it’s rare is because there is a very high burden and demand on the majority for it to actually be successful.”

Listening IS governing. @BPC_Bipartisan 's @JDRackey makes the case — and highlights how aggregating casework data can turn constituent problems into policy solutions.

I have now finished reading the SCOTUS decision in the tariff case, and all I can say is that this entire 170 page mess of opinions is silently screaming for the return of the legislative veto, which conveniently was taken away by---you guessed it---the Court.

@danielschuman @BrendanBuck I've also not heard of this. But continuity issues for the House remain a problem! bipartisanpolicy.org/article/after-…

@BrendanBuck I never heard of it either. Not just that, if enough members of the House perish, they wouldn't be able to act & there's no mechanism short of an election to replace them.

This is not a thing I recall existing when I was there

I was going to write something about the State of the Union address today, but Jonathan Bernstein did a way better job of nailing it:

With tonight's SOTU, it's worth remembering that continuity planning for the House of Reps is insufficient and full of questionable gaps! bipartisanpolicy.org/article/after-…

Chadha is arguably the most consequential Court decision affecting the balance of power between Congress and the President. Back in Trump I, I explained how Chadha empowered the President's declaration of an "emergency" to fund the border wall. @joshchafetz has posted a terrific new draft with a comprehensive study of Chadha's effect on the separation of powers. Links to both in reply