Congress

Big partisan shifts in the House of Representatives happen, but not often. In only three of the past 12 election cycles has one party posted a net gain of more than 30 seats, and on average 93% of House members who seek re-election are voted back into office.

In 2012, only 26 House districts out of 435 chose one party's presidential nominee and the other party's candidate for the House.

Between 2009 and 2014, the number of Washington-based reporters for local newspapers accredited by the Senate to cover Congress declined by 11%.

Congress passed 113 laws, 87 of them substantive, in 2015, making it the most productive first session since 2009.

The attitudes of Republicans living in House Freedom Caucus members' districts look very similar to those in other Republican-represented districts.

We've confirmed the identities of 36 members of the caucus, and they are among the most conservative and recently elected of Republican representatives.

Long years of service have been the norm for past speakers, most of whom had accumulated twice as much time in the House as today’s candidates before wielding the gavel.

Republicans’ frustration with House Speaker John Boehner and other GOP leaders has risen sharply this year. Now, Boehner has become the latest casualty.

Members of Congress today are less likely to be immigrants, especially compared with other periods of history when surges of new arrivals occurred, a new analysis by the Pew Research Center finds.

Legislative productivity may be on an upswing, as lawmakers enacted more bills before their August break than either of the two preceding Congresses.