House Republicans Officially Break (Their Own) Record For Most Closed Congress in History

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Rules Committee Ranking Member James P. McGovern (D-MA) responded to House Republicans breaking their own record for shutting down debate and presiding over the most closed session of Congress in American history. Republicans have now advanced an all-time high of 106 closed rules this Congress—breaking their own previous record of 103 closed rules set during the 115^th Congress from 2017-2019.

Despite promises from former Speaker Kevin McCarthy that there would be “more openness,” and “more opportunity for ideas to win at the end of the day” and GOP claims that more amendments “should get a vote on the house floor,” House Republicans have now advanced a record number of closed rules and blocked more than two-thirds (68%) of all amendments submitted this Congress—including over half of the amendments submitted by their own members.

“In addition to this being the most ineffective, dysfunctional Congress in history—it’s also now the most closed,” said Ranking Member Jim McGovern. “When they took the majority, Republicans promised to allow good ideas to come to the floor for debate. We’ve now seen it’s all broken promises and empty rhetoric. They have advanced one closed rule after another to block amendments from ever seeing the light of day. Even when they don’t use closed rules to totally shut down debate, they block the vast majority of amendments from coming to the floor. Under Republican control, the Rules Committee has become the place where democracy goes to die.”

Some examples of amendments blocked during the 118^th Congress include: 

• An amendment to disrupt the smuggling of U.S. firearms across the Mexican border. (Amendment #11 to H.R. 2)
• An amendment to combat fentanyl trafficking at ports of entry. (Amendment #57 to H.R. 2)
• An amendment to protect food for seniors who participate in the Meals on Wheels program (Amendment #8 to H.R. 2811)
• An amendment to provide post-partum mental health information to pregnant students. (Amendment #6 to H.R. 6914) 

“Despite the very real challenges Americans are facing every day, House Republicans continue to waste week after week blocking opportunities to solve problems by taking down rules, shutting down debate, and blocking amendments from coming to the floor,” said Representative Mary Gay Scanlon. “It’s no way to govern. There is so much work that Congress should be doing for the American people – it’s time for House Republicans to start working across the aisle and getting serious about the work Congress should be doing for the American people.” 

“House Republicans have hit another all-time low, officially presiding over the most closed Congress in the history of our nation,” said House Assistant Minority Leader Joe Neguse. “After making hollow promises to improve accountability and increase transparency, they’ve chosen to advance backwards priorities and consolidate power within their leadership through backroom deals. The American people deserve better.”

“The Republican Rules Committee doesn’t want members of Congress to have a say in what final legislation should look like. In addition to blocking Democratic amendments, they have blocked thousands of Republican amendments and bipartisan amendments. Why are they afraid of letting House members debate and decide on serious policy questions that affect our communities?” said Representative Leger Fernández. “I say, let us vote. The House of Representatives is the body that is supposed to be closest to the people, but Republican Leadership doesn’t seem to want to let the people’s Representatives bring their ideas to the floor.”

The numbers (as of September 18, 2024):

During the most closed Congress in history, Republicans have already blocked 5,799 amendments. 68% of all amendments submitted this Congress have been blocked by Republicans from coming to the floor for debate.

On bipartisan amendments: Republicans have allowed debate on less than a third (32%) of bipartisan amendments this Congress. For comparison, at this point in the 117th Congress, Democrats had made more than two-thirds of all bipartisan amendments (68%) in order for debate.

On Blocking Their Own Amendments: Republicans have even blocked a record number of their own members’ amendments. Under this majority, 57% of all Republican amendments have been blocked. For comparison, at this point in the 117^th Congress, Democrats had made in order 74% of Democratic amendments.