With elections in the rearview mirror and new representatives preparing to settle into Washington D.C., the partisan messaging that dominated so much political coverage for 2024 is now giving way to the bipartisan reality of federal lawmaking. While Republicans control both houses of Congress and the White House, narrow margins in the House and Senate mean that the new Republican majority will have to work with Democrats to move many pieces of legislation. At Punchbowl’s New Power Players convening this week, newly elected Sens. Elissa Slotkin, a Michigan Democrat, and John Curtis, a Utah Republican, made clear there is no shortage of important areas where both sides are willing and eager to work together to take on our nation’s biggest challenges. Here are three takeaways from the event:
1. Effective government should have its own allure.
Working across the aisle may be necessary to move and implement policy fixes, but healthy cooperation doesn’t always grab media attention or drive a political narrative.
As Slotkin put it, “Bipartisanship is deeply unsexy to people.”
That is why it is important for elected officials to work together behind the scenes, and to intentionally publicly show the reality of how politicians regularly reach across the aisle on critical issues.
“I think that the most important thing is for people to emulate the behavior that we teach our kids in school, which is ‘treat each other with respect, even when you disagree,’” Slotkin said. “Do that in public, do that in private, do that on social media.”
2. Congress could still pass bipartisan permitting reform by the end of the year.
We are weeks away from a new Congress, but Curtis and Slotkin are already eager to work with bipartisan coalitions to take on some of the big issues facing our nation, such as tackling unaffordable drugs, supporting veterans, and expanding rural broadband. And both said there is still hope for a bipartisan deal around permitting reform during the ongoing Lame Duck session.
“It’s hard to find an issue more bipartisan and more impactful than permitting reform,” Curtis said.
3. Want policy reforms that last? You’ll need bipartisanship.
Partisan swings have become a routine part of U.S. politics over the past decade, with no one party holding control for more than a single legislative session. This means that bipartisan coalitions are critical to address issues with sustainable persistence and to maintain the steady incrementalism that drives significant change.
“You need friends on both sides of the aisle for any policy solution to endure those swings of power,” said Sam Mar, Arnold Ventures executive vice president of elections, energy and explorations.
Watch Punchbowl’s New Power Players here:
