Congress — older stories

One senator's private objection can freeze a Senate nomination indefinitely. Thom Tillis is using that leverage in the open against Todd Blanche, which is the unusual part.

One Senate procedure lets any senator force a vote on almost anything, as long as they're willing to stay past 3 a.m.

One procedural rule, named for a West Virginia senator, decides which provisions survive a reconciliation bill — and it shaped how the 2025 tax law was written.

The House minority's last-ditch procedural motion used to force real amendment votes. A 2021 rules change quietly stripped that power.

No member of Congress has ever been prosecuted for insider trading under the STOCK Act. A bill to close the gap has 93 co-sponsors and no floor vote.

A discharge petition lets a House majority bypass its own leadership and force a floor vote, but it takes 218 signatures to even try. The tool sat mostly unused for two decades until 2025.

For the first time, both chambers of Congress have passed a war powers resolution, telling President Trump to halt the Iran war he launched unless lawmakers authorise it.