Is Congress Doing Its Job?

Political Commentator Cokie Roberts and UM Constitutional Law Professor Richard Primus join Detroit Today with Stephen Henderson.

 

NPR

Everyone in America loves to hate Congress and over the years, congressional approval has reflected that.

Right now, just 26 percent of the nation believes Congress is doing its job well, and that’s the highest number since February of 2017 when a Gallup poll had that number at 28 percent.

There are good reasons for that discontent. Congress has been unable to deal with issues like immigration, health care, or climate change and in the era of Donald Trump, it has only occasionally been effective at providing pushback or holding the president accountable for his actions.

Is Congress doing its job? And if not, what can we possibly do to change that?

To answer these questions, Detroit Today host Stephen Henderson talks with University of Michigan Constitutional Law Professor and Historian Richard Primus about the role of Congress as laid out in the Constitution. NPR Political Commentator and Analyst Cokie Roberts also weighs in on how this current Congress stacks up against those from the past. 

Click on the audio player above to hear those conversations.

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  • Detroit Today
    Dynamic and diverse voices. News, politics, community and the issues that define our region. Hosted by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Stephen Henderson, Detroit Today brings you fresh and perceptive views weekdays at 9 am and 7 pm.