The carnival of foolishness in Washington this week is a good reminder that the best part of a government shutdown is the way it makes Congress shut up and get out of Dodge. The House of Representatives may be on pace for its lowest total voting days in decades, but its members showed up last Wednesday refreshed from their downtime and raring to do what they do best: Doing and saying stupid things, and censuring each other for it. Just in the space of the past week, we’ve seen a long list of embarrassments. They included the unsuccessful attempt to boot Florida Rep. Cory Mills, a Republican facing domestic violence and financial misconduct allegations, from the House Armed Services and Foreign Affairs committees. Democrats like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and former Speaker Nancy Pelosi jumped to Mills’ defense Wednesday, voting to refer him to the Ethics Committee instead not in sympathy, but in a blatant attempt to keep the story alive through the midterms. The Mills censure failed as part of a tit-for-tat over Tuesday’s vote on censuring Del. Stacey Plaskett, the Virgin Islands Democrat caught having traded emails and taken prompts on questions during a hearing from one Jeffrey Epstein. Plaskett claimed she was merely corresponding with her island-owning constituent, who just happened to have donated thousands of dollars to her campaigns. The effort to rebuke her flopped, 209-214. One Democrat who didn’t vote on the matter was fellow Florida Democrat Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, who was indicted this week for massive financial fraud in a scheme to steal millions of dollars from FEMA during the COVID pandemic. She allegedly used the laundered funds to boost her congressional campaign, which could put her up next on the rotating censure docket. But then again, this is the 2025 Congress we’re talking about. Even more justified was a bipartisan disapproval resolution against Rep. Chuy García (D-Ill.), which saw more than 20 Democrats cross over to join Republicans in decrying an underhanded deal to wrangle the retiring congressman’s chief of staff into his seat. Those who broke ranks did so to loud backlash. Democratic Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington state admitted, “I got my ass handed to me yesterday in debate” for pushing the rebuke but that’s what you get these days for bucking your party. Forget legislating or tackling Americans’ affordability woes: The better place to live in this Congress of the absurd is as an avowed partisan, even to the point of utter stupidity. Witness the laughable floor speech from Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett, who defended Plaskett and other Democrats by attacking the campaigns of Republicans John McCain, Mitt Romney, Lee Zeldin and more for taking money from “someone named Jeffrey Epstein.” Just one problem: Crockett got the wrong Jeffrey Epstein. The donations didn’t come from anyone notorious, just someone unfortunate enough to share his name. When questioned about her comments on CNN, Crockett claimed, ludicrously, that her gambit was somehow an act of 4D chess. Besides, she sniffed, her staff was just using Google to get a quick answer. Of course, it should’ve been a tipoff for them that Zeldin’s donation came after the scandal-ridden Epstein was already dead. Again, this is the 2025 Congress. You can’t expect staffers talented enough to know how time works. No matter who’s behaving more ridiculously in Washington these days, it’s Republicans who will come out the big losers. With control of both the House and Senate headed into next year’s midterm elections, they stand to be blamed for a Capitol Hill enmeshed in scandal and partisan strife even if they aren’t the worst actors involved. Incumbency is always a load to bear in the midterms when you hold the White House, and the majorities for the GOP are very slim. But they’ve shown the capability, under Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, to hold their conferences together on key votes. That’s why Republicans should act, and act fast, to change the do-nothing narrative. They can’t afford to rest on the laurels they won with the Big Beautiful Bill and hope things get better next year. Congress should be working for Americans now, not just finding creative ways to squabble among themselves. Whether they’re smart enough to do that is an open question. Personally, I wouldn’t bet on it. Ben Domenech is editor at large of The Spectator and a Fox News contributor.
https://nypost.com/2025/11/21/opinion/congress-is-wasting-time-on-stupidity-and-gopers-will-suffer-if-little-gets-done/
