The Functional Dysfunctional Congress

The congressional theater around federal spending fights that have repeatedly brought the government to the brink of a disastrous shutdown over the past six months, only to be resolved just in the nick of time to avoid one, has become very predictable.

For days before a Friday midnight deadline, there is no official word of a compromise between Republicans and Democrats that will avert the crackup. But behind the scenes, members of the appropriations committees in both parties are hammering out complex deals among themselves.

Speaker Mike Johnson hems and haws publicly — and even in private — about whether he is willing to agree to the emerging compromise, but ultimately insists that Republicans must avoid shutting down the government and claims they got some wins despite failing to secure the spending cuts and policy mandates they wanted. He puts the legislation on the floor using a maneuver that effectively deprives hard-right Republican rebels of the means to block it. The archconservatives breathe fire and condemn it, but the bill passes easily, with far more Democratic than Republican support.

Mr. Johnson keeps his job anyway. The Senate sends the measure to President Biden, who quickly signs it.

Welcome to functional dysfunction, an emerging form of minimalist coalition government that has taken hold on Capitol Hill in a divided Congress where the House majority is barely in control. It’s a dynamic that is keeping the government’s lights on — but doing little else so far.

“We have found a way,” said Representative Tom Cole, Republican of Oklahoma and a senior member of the Appropriations Committee. “It is not a pretty sight, but it is working.”