• 43-day government shutdown from October 1 to November 12 surpasses previous 35-day record set in 2018-2019
• Only 38 bills passed as of December 22 marks lowest legislative output in first year of new presidency
• 55 current lawmakers retiring or running for different office represents modern record ahead of midterms

WASHINGTON, DC (TDR) — The Republican-majority 119th Congress set multiple records in 2025, including the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, the fewest bills passed, and an unprecedented number of congressional retirements, painting a picture of institutional dysfunction that Washington Post senior congressional columnist Paul Kane described as "some more dubious than others."

The 43-day shutdown that lasted from October 1 to November 12 eclipsed the previous record of 35 days set during the 2018-2019 impasse over President Trump's border wall. With only 38 bills passed as of December 22, according to Kane's review of C-SPAN archives and data compiled by Purdue University, Congress set "a modern record for lowest legislative output in the first year of a new presidency."

Representative David Joyce of Ohio, a 13-year veteran from the party's establishment wing, captured the sentiment when asked about 2025's accomplishments.

"I guess we got the big, beautiful bill done. Other than that, I really can't point to much that we got accomplished."

Record-Breaking Shutdown Cripples Operations

The government shutdown began when Senate Democrats blocked a continuing resolution passed by the Republican-controlled House of Representatives. Democrats opposed the Republican appropriations legislation because it lacked an extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies temporarily expanded under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.

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The continuing resolution was blocked 14 times before an agreement was reached November 10, when the Senate passed a revised appropriations bill without the ACA subsidy extension. Instead, Senate Republicans promised to hold a vote to extend the health care subsidies by mid-December. The House passed the Senate's revised bill November 12, which President Donald Trump signed later that day.

By October 20—day 20 of the shutdown—approximately 750,000 workers were furloughed daily without pay, while 1.4 million essential workers continued working without paychecks. The crisis deepened significantly as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program faced critical funding shortages, with USDA warning that approximately 42 million Americans could lose food assistance beginning in November.

On October 17, federal workers missed their first full paycheck of the shutdown. Military service members narrowly avoided missing their October 15 paycheck when the Pentagon redirected funds at the last possible moment, though defense officials warned they could not repeat this action.

The Congressional Budget Office estimated the shutdown caused $7 billion in lost economic output by October 31. More than 4,000 federal workers faced permanent layoffs. Air traffic control shortages caused delays and disruptions at airports across the country, national park sites reduced operations, Smithsonian museums closed, and the IRS furloughed nearly half its staff.

Minimal Legislative Accomplishments

A contributing factor to the "lack of productivity" was President Trump's executive orders, often controversial and subject to multiple court challenges. In his second term, Trump has signed 224 executive orders, compared to 52 he signed in 2017 and more than he issued during his entire first term.

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The biggest legislative victory came just before Fourth of July when Republicans passed the "One Big Beautiful Bill" Act through reconciliation. The massive law made permanent tax cuts first enacted during Trump's first term and included sweeping domestic policy changes.

House Speaker Mike Johnson characterized it as "probably in the top five in terms of marquee landmark achievements," though acknowledged the challenges facing the narrow Republican majority.

"These are not easy times. There are a lot of challenges for the country. And we're doing it in an environment where you have one of the smallest margins possible, smallest margins in history. And so, it creates frictions sometimes, and everybody has different ideas, and as I say every day, I'm in the consensus building business."

Other legislative highlights included the Laken Riley Act, the first bill Trump signed into law this term, which directs the Homeland Security secretary to issue detainers for undocumented immigrants arrested for or convicted of various crimes. The fiscal 2026 defense policy bill, which includes Coast Guard, State Department and intelligence reauthorizations, passed in December.

Record Congressional Exodus

According to NPR's congressional retirement tracker, 55 current representatives and senators are retiring or running for different office as of December 20—11 senators and 44 House members.

The 54 announcements made before the end of 2025 represents a modern record for this far ahead of the election for both chambers. It also includes the most Senate turnover since 2012.

Fourteen lawmakers are running for governor, surpassing the previous record of nine lawmakers set in 2018. Ten House Republicans running for governor represent the highest number from either party in more than five decades.

Twenty-seven lawmakers are retiring from public office entirely, with the remainder running for different offices—14 seeking governorships and 13 looking to make the jump from House to Senate. The youngest retiring lawmaker contrasts sharply with the oldest, 85-year-old former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who announced in November she would not seek another term, closing the book on a four-decade career.

Republicans have 24 retirements compared to Democrats' 19, nearly a 2-to-1 ratio that raises questions about the Republican Party's stability and its ability to maintain control of the House, where it currently holds a narrow 219-213 majority.

Unresolved Issues Loom

The issue of expiring Obamacare tax credits remains unresolved and looms over Congress's work in 2026, dividing Republicans as multiple moderate members ally with Democrats. Senate Democrats secured a commitment for a vote on a three-year extension of the expanded credits, which expire December 31, but the measure failed to get GOP support needed to advance last week.

Multiple discharge petitions are circulating to force votes on extending the Affordable Care Act tax credits. Additionally, the House passed a bill last week to reinstate collective bargaining protections for federal employees.

The government is only funded through the end of January under the continuing resolution that ended the shutdown. Congress still must pass nine other appropriations bills before that deadline expires.

Washington Post columnist Paul Kane noted the data "paint a picture of a Congress that is steadily doing less legislative work and ceding greater powers to presidents."

When Congress achieves record lows in productivity while setting highs for dysfunction and departures, does the exodus of experienced lawmakers signal institutional collapse or strategic retreat from an ungovernable body?

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