Republicans’ relentless marathon to force President Trump’s agenda through Congress over objections from Democrats and some in their own ranks is taking a toll on the institution and its members, prompting tempers to boil over and relationships to fray on Capitol Hill, with potentially disastrous consequences ahead.
In recent days, lawmakers clashed bitterly over federal spending, presidential nominees and even broadly supported cryptocurrency bills — all while a dispute raged over releasing files in the case of the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. The normally staid proceedings of Congress were punctuated with shouting matches, a committee walkout, charges of abandoned deals and Democratic demands to fire the director of the Office of Management and Budget.
By Thursday, Republican leaders in the Senate and House rushed to finish their business and get exhausted lawmakers out of Washington to allow them some time to cool off.
And that was just last week. Veteran lawmakers said that the level of vitriol and dysfunction in the Capitol had reached a fever pitch.
“It is bad — really bad,” Senator Lisa Murkowski, Republican of Alaska, said when asked to assess the mood on Capitol Hill. “There’s a level of frustration. How do we get back to doing our jobs?”
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