Congress Finally Shows Its Power.

When I ran on “Make Congress Work Again,” people tried to twist it into some kind of knockoff slogan. It was never that. It was a warning. It was a diagnosis. Congress was broken, and everyone knew it. They were ineffective, unpopular, and trapped in a political system where lobbyists, corporations, super PACs, and billionaire donors always seemed to get the final say.

For years, Congress has acted like a subsidiary of Wall Street, K Street, and the donor class. Add insider trading on top of that, which absolutely happens on both sides of the aisle, and you get a government that feels more like a trading desk than a legislative body.

“Make Congress Work Again” never meant copying Donald Trump. It meant exactly what it said. Representatives should work for the people because they were put there by the votes of the people. That is the entire point of Congress. And every time they get an opportunity to do something meaningful, something that improves lives, something that strengthens this country, it gets buried under party discipline, bureaucratic excuses, and a two-party system that treats the public like background noise.

Then the Epstein vote happened.

Congress Can Defy the President and the Party When They Choose To

This week showed something rare. Something almost shocking. Congress stood up and acted like the equal branch of government it is supposed to be. The vote to release the Epstein files went forward even though the President did not want it and even though senior officials opposed it.

That is not weakness from the White House. But what this vote proved is that Congress has the ability to check the executive branch any time it chooses. One forced signature on the Epstein release proved it. Congress is never powerless. They simply choose to hide behind the idea of powerlessness when it is convenient.

Congress Really Can Get Things Done. They Just Almost Never Do It

We always hear the same excuses. Why can’t Congress pass healthcare reforms. Why can’t they raise wages. Why can’t they cut corporate influence. Why can’t they pass popular legislation that the public begs for.

Gerrymandering and party control play a massive role. Districts are carved so precisely that many members of Congress only fear primaries, not general elections. That means they cling tightly to party leadership if they want any hope of survival.

But this vote showed the truth. Members of Congress do not have to fall in line. They do not have to follow their party. They do not have to obey the President. They can cross party lines. They can break ranks. They can do something that reflects the will of the people instead of the will of the party.

It took courage. Courage that is far too rare in Washington.

Dissent Is Not Only Allowed. It Is Necessary

We need to acknowledge the members who dissented from their own parties. Thomas Massie on the right. Ro Khanna on the left. They have disagreed with their parties for years. Sometimes they make perfect sense. Sometimes they frustrate their colleagues. But they represent something critical. They remind Congress that dissent is not betrayal. It is democracy.

Ro Khanna has his own hypocrisy about stock trading because of his household’s wealth, but even with that contradiction he has consistently supported banning congressional stock trading. Thomas Massie has been willing to go against his party when it mattered. Even Marjorie Taylor Greene, for all the chaos she creates, took a position that defied her leadership. They will face primaries. They will take political hits. But they still did it.

They showed what it looks like to prioritize the people over party leaders, donors, and the President. They showed that the two-party system only controls you if you let it.

The Real Problem: Most Members of Congress Have No Backbone

Every once in a while we get a glimpse of Congress actually working. Actually doing something real. Actually showing power. And then we go right back to the same political cowardice that has paralyzed the country for decades.

Most members of Congress do not want to rock the boat. They do not want to upset their party. They do not want to run in real primaries. They do not want to debate ideas. They do not want to lead. They do not want to represent the people when it risks their own careers. It is easier to fall in line, keep quiet, and blame the other party for why nothing gets done.

Meanwhile the American people suffer. Rising costs. Stagnant wages. Healthcare that remains unaffordable. Childcare that is out of reach. Housing that prices out entire generations. Popular policies like living wages, universal healthcare, smart spending, reduced deficits, and rebuilding American industry sit untouched because Congress is too scared to act.

The American people are not a monolith. We are a diverse nation of cultures, religions, languages, identities, and ways of life. That requires debate. It requires real discussion. It requires representatives with courage. Instead we get silence, conformity, and fear.

The Epstein Vote Showed the Truth

For the first time in a long time, Congress showed us that they can work. They do have power. They can challenge the President. They can stand up to their own parties. They can stay loyal to the people who elected them.

The only thing stopping Congress from doing this more often is the people who sit in those seats. Not the Constitution. Not the system. Not the voters.

It is the members themselves.

And until that changes, Congress will continue to be broken by choice, not by design.