One-term congressman blasts House as ‘100x more incompetent & dysfunctional now’ as resignation cuts GOP majority to 1

THE House of Representatives is a hundred times more dysfunctional, incompetent, and chaotic compared with a decade ago, a former one-term congressman has claimed.

Republicans reclaimed the majority following the November 2022 elections, and the 118^th Congress has been mired in chaos.

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Republicans have been left with a one-vote majority as Wisconsin lawmaker Mike Gallagher becomes the latest GOP representative to resign before his term ends.

His resignation comes just weeks after Ken Buck, who represented Colorado’s 4th Congressional District, quit.

It means Republicans now have a slender 217 to 213 advantage.

Joe Walsh, who represented Illinois’ 8th Congressional District between 2011 and 2013, told The U.S. Sun that the House is more chaotic than it was during his one-term.

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“It was divisive and pretty dysfunctional and pretty chaotic when I was there 10 years ago,” the former Republican lawmaker said.

“It’s a hundred times more dysfunctional, incompetent, and chaotic now.”

Gallagher's resignation and the wafer-thin majority have only added to the chaos synonymous with the Republican Party's leadership of the House.

Kevin McCarthy was elected speaker after 15 attempts before being dramatically ousted last October.

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The GOP leadership has presided over an impeachment inquiry investigating President Biden.

Three House committees are investigating allegations that Biden and his family profited while he was vice president, but the inquiry has stalled due to a lack of evidence.

And Alejandro Mayorkas, the Secretary of Homeland Security, was impeached by the House in February.

Earlier this week, the two articles of impeachment against Mayorkas were killed by the Senate.

Walsh said it was difficult to get business done during his term – despite the GOP’s chunky majority following the 2010 midterms.

But, it is almost impossible now to do any sort of business, according to the ex-lawmaker.

Walsh claimed lawmakers in the House are incentivized to be uncompromising.

“We incentivize members of Congress not to get along with the other side and not to find common ground," he said.

"We incentivize them to be kind of like free agents, to be their own corporations, and not to work together as a team."

But he said the makeup of the House is representative of the country.

“Congress, especially the House, is a reflection of the American people,” he said.

“What’s going on in the House of Representatives right now is a f**king microcosm of what’s going on in the country.”

Walsh slammed the lawmakers who quit before their terms expired and warned of how their resignations leave a damning mark on the House.

He also worried that the decision of relatively moderate lawmakers to quit doesn’t improve the perception of the House.

“Congress becomes even more divisive and even more extremist because the people in the middle who are kind of reasonable say, ‘F**k it. This sucks, I'm outta here'" he said.

“I don’t agree with it, but it’s an indictment of how s**tty things are in that body right now," the ex-lawmaker added.

We incentivize members of Congress not to get along with the other side and not to find common ground.

Joe Walshformer representative from Illinois District 8

Walsh doesn’t believe there will be any more resignations but believes there will be more chaos between now and the general election.

“It’s every man and woman for themselves,” he said.

Meanwhile, David Carlucci, a former Democratic New York state senator, said lawmakers passionate about governance know Congress under the current leadership isn’t the place to be.

“It’s the place for theatrics and if you want to be a good actor or actress and you want to be a performer,” he told The U.S. Sun.

“If you want to make a good case for what problems exist in the United States, then a good place is in the leadership in Congress.

“They can't get anything done unless it is about impeaching, blaming someone or just seizing moments for pure political opportunism.

“Any compromise or ability to move toward the middle and negotiate with people on the opposite side of the aisle will never happen.

“It will be seen as political weakness if they do compromise.”

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Gallagher, first elected in 2017, resigned less than two years after securing re-election in 2022.

He recently spoke out and said his family didn’t sign up for the abuse and death threats he has been subject to.

He was one of the few Republicans who voted against impeaching Mayorkas.

“I signed up for the death threats and the late-night swatting, but they did not,” Gallagher told reporters earlier this week.

“And for a young family, I would say this job is really hard.”

MAJORITY CUT

The Republican majority could increase following the special elections triggered by Buck's and McCarthy's resignations.

Buck was among the Republicans who voted against Mayorkas’ impeachment.

“This place keeps going downhill and I don’t need to spend more time here," he told reporters.

The districts that both ex-congressmen represented voted heavily for former president Trump in 2020.

Dozens of lawmakers in the House have already announced they are retiring or seeking alternative offices.

California Representatives Porter, Lee, and Schiff contested the Democratic primary for Dianne Feinstein's Senate seat.

Feinstein died at the age of 90 in September 2023.

Schiff prevailed in the primary contest, leaving Lee's and Porter's futures in politics uncertain.

Meanwhile, Dean Phillips launched an ill-fated campaign to try and win the Democratic Party's presidential nomination.

Moe Vela, a former advisor to Biden, said there is a feeling of frustration and burnout in Congress.

“It’s like a stalemate,” he told The U.S. Sun.

“They don’t feel like they’re getting to do what they were elected to do.

“They’re burned out. It’s like why are we doing all of this?

“We can’t get anything done. There’s nobody that wants to work with each other.

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"Nobody’s willing to compromise, nobody wants to find bipartisanship and this is just an exodus of frustration.”

Vela admitted he wouldn’t be surprised if there were a trickle more resignations between now and the election.

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