The Political Dysfunction Facing Congress

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Ahead of next week’s closing arguments for Donald Trump’s hush-money trial, the former president’s allies took turns appearing outside the Manhattan courthouse. Speaker Mike Johnson, Senator J. D. Vance, and Representative Matt Gaetz were among those who made appearances. This public-facing show of support from Republicans comes as speculation over Trump’s choice for vice president continues to unfold.

Meanwhile, in Congress, an exchange among Representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene, Jasmine Crockett, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez left a House committee in chaos. The spat, which began during a meeting held to consider a motion to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress for refusing to release audio from President Joe Biden’s interview with Special Counsel Robert Hur, more broadly represents how political behavior could be mediated going forward. “We have a ways to go in our national devolution,” Susan Glasser said last night. “Institutions are unraveling, not just the institution of the U.S. Congress.”

Joining the Atlantic’s editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, to discuss this and more: Laura Barrón-López, a White House correspondent for PBS NewsHour; Eugene Daniels, a White House correspondent for Politico; Susan Glasser, a staff writer at The New Yorker; and Steve Inskeep, the host of NPR’s Morning Edition.