Congress is on pace to pass fewer laws than any two-year session since the Obama administration, according to GovTrack data cited in a new report.
So far, the current Republican-controlled Congress has enacted 97 bills into law, while the previous 118th Congress passed 274 bills. That puts the current session on track to be the least productive by that measure since the 112th Congress, which served during former President Barack Obama’s time in office.
The low number comes even though Republicans control both Congress and the White House. By comparison, Democrats enacted 365 bills during former President Joe Biden’s first two years, when they held both chambers of Congress, and lawmakers passed 385 bills during Obama’s first two years, according to GovTrack.
With the midterm elections approaching in November, lawmakers may have limited time to move major legislation before campaign season slows activity even further.
Republicans have had difficulty advancing several priorities to President Donald Trump’s desk. Those include the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility, or SAVE, America Act, a third reconciliation package, and multiple bills dealing with transgender-related issues.
The Senate passed a second reconciliation package on Friday after an 18-hour vote-a-rama. The package would provide more than $30.73 billion to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, $22.57 billion to Customs and Border Protection, and $2.5 billion in Department of Homeland Security appropriations through 2029.
A spokesperson for House Speaker Mike Johnson defended the record, pointing to the party’s narrow House majority and blaming Democrats for what the spokesperson described as repeated government shutdowns.
“Despite a razor-thin House majority and a string of record-setting government shutdowns forced by the Democrats, Speaker Johnson, his leadership team, and House Republicans have delivered countless positive legislative results for the American people,” the spokesperson told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
The spokesperson cited lower taxes, border security, reduced crime, energy policy, deregulation, and efforts to reduce fraud, waste, and abuse as examples of Republican accomplishments.
The offices of Senate Majority Leader John Thune, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries did not immediately respond to requests for comment from the DCNF.
One of the major bills stalled in the Senate is the SAVE America Act, which would require voters to provide documentation proving U.S. citizenship before casting a ballot in federal elections. The House passed the bill on April 10, but it has not cleared the Senate’s 60-vote threshold.
Trump has urged Republicans to eliminate the filibuster to pass the bill, though Thune has said the votes are not there to do so. Some Republicans, including Texas Sen. John Cornyn, have supported getting rid of the filibuster, but the idea has not won full support inside the party. Republicans also have not secured enough Democratic votes to advance the legislation.
Several Republican senators, including Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, and Thom Tillis of North Carolina, have opposed the SAVE Act.
Congress is also expected to consider a third reconciliation package this summer. Johnson has said the package would focus on affordability and anti-fraud measures. Republicans have not yet passed the $1.5 trillion in spending cuts promised to holdouts during negotiations over the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act, though Johnson has said reconciliation would be used to pursue those cuts.
Lawmakers have also introduced 127 bills in 2026 related to transgender issues, according to the Trans Legislation Tracker. Those proposals include measures involving women’s sports, parental rights, and medical procedures for minors.
Some bipartisan or broader policy efforts are still moving. On May 21, the House passed the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, a housing affordability bill aimed at expanding loans for housing construction, limiting Wall Street ownership of single-family homes, encouraging local governments to loosen permitting rules, and expanding manufactured housing. Because the House amended the Senate’s version, the two chambers must still reconcile their differences before the bill can go to Trump.
Congress is also working on the BUILD America 250 Act, a five-year surface transportation reauthorization package covering federal highways, transit, and bridges. The bill passed the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on May 22, ahead of the Sept. 30 expiration of the current infrastructure law.
Part of the decline in the number of bills may reflect the way Congress now packages legislation. Lawmakers have increasingly relied on larger bills that bundle multiple policy areas together. For example, the Working Families Tax Cut Act, passed in July 2025, included border security, tax cuts, health care, and energy provisions that could have otherwise been introduced as separate bills.
Republicans also face tight margins. The House has 217 Republicans and 212 Democrats, leaving the majority with little room for defections. In the Senate, most legislation still requires 60 votes to overcome a filibuster, forcing Republicans to win Democratic support unless they use reconciliation or other procedural tools.
