Willcox, Buyck & Williams, P.A A Divided Government

A DIVIDED Government

story by Mark W. Buyck, III

The United States’ Founding Fathers’ belief in representative democracy and separation of powers was clearly on display during the 2022 midterm elections. Under the British Parliamentary system, the chief executive (i.e., the Prime Minister) is a member of the political party holding a majority of the seats in the legislature (i.e., Parliament). In the United States, the chief executive (i.e., the President) is popularly elected every 4 years. The legislature (i.e., Congress) is popularly elected with U.S. House of Representatives terms lasting two years and United States’ senators having 6-year terms with one-third of the body facing the voters every two years. When the U.S. House of Representatives reconvenes in January 2023, the Republican members will hold a narrow majority of the body. Likewise, the Democrats will also have a slim majority in the Senate and depending on the outcome of the Georgia senate runoff the Democrat majority in the Senate will either be 51-49 or 50-50 with the Vice President casting a tie-breaking vote. The common term for describing the situation where the President is from a different party than at least one body of the legislature is “divided government.” Conversely, on those occasions when the President enjoys a majority support in both houses of Congress, it is referred to as “unified government.” A President and his party’s ability to pass legislation, appoint judges and cabinet members, ratify treaties, etc., is much more limited in a divided government. This is particularly true in circumstances like we have today where the political parties are highly polarized, and have different legislative priorities and opposing views regarding the overall scope and role of government. From the late 1800s until the mid-1950s, divided government was unusual. From the 1896 McKinley election until President Taft’s 1910 midterm election the Republicans enjoyed a unified government. Woodrow Wilson flipped the switch in the 1912 election as Democrats had a majority in both houses until the 1918 midterm. Republican Presidents Harding, Coolidge, and Hoover all enjoyed a unified government throughout the 1920s until Hoover’s 1930 midterm election. Beginning with FDR’s election in 1932, the

Democrats controlled the presidency and both chambers of Congress until the 1946 midterms. In the 1946 election, Democrats lost 54 seats to the Republicans in the House and 11 seats in the U.S. Senate. The Republicans' success was short-lived as the Democrats regained a majority in both houses while Truman was elected to a full-term in 1948. In 1952, the Republicans rode a wave of good feelings for war hero General Dwight Eisenhower, winning majorities in both the House and Senate. That goodwill was short-lived as the Democrats recaptured both bodies in the 1954 midterms. The Democrats would then enjoy an unprecedented period of legislative dominance maintaining a majority in the House from 1955 through the 1994 election. Republicans would not regain a majority in the U.S. Senate until Ronald Reagan’s first election in 1980. Presidents Kennedy and Johnson enjoyed a unified government throughout the 60s. Presidents Nixon and Ford operated with Democrat control of both the House and the Senate during their administrations. Unified government returned with Jimmy Carter’s election as President in 1976. In 1980 the country rejected Jimmy Carter in favor of Ronald Reagan. The Reagan Revolution saw Republicans gaining control of the Senate; however, the Democrats would continue to maintain a majority in the House throughout the Reagan and George H. W. Bush Presidencies. The last five successive presidents each have had at least one Congress where there was a unified government. President Bill Clinton enjoyed a unified government during his first two years. During that time, Congress passed and Clinton signed a tax increase, an assault weapons ban, and instituted the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy regarding the United State’s military. The Clinton administration also made an unsuccessful effort to implement a universal healthcare system. In 1994, the country responded with a resounding rebuke of Clinton and the Democrats. During the 1994 election, the Republicans proposed the Contract with America and flipped 54 House seats and 8 Senate seats to take control of both houses of the legislature for the first time in 40 years. Republicans maintained these majorities for the rest of Clinton’s term. George W. Bush was elected in 2000 and had a unified government from 2003 to 2007. The 2006 election saw a blue wave with Democrats regaining control of both the House and the Senate and Nancy Pelosi becoming the first female speaker of the House. By this election, Bush had served for six years and his popularity was declining precipitously in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and the ongoing war in Iraq. Bush had also pursued an unsuccessful legislative attempt to reform immigration laws and social security reforms. President Obama was elected in 2008 along with Democrat majorities in the House and Senate. Obama’s first midterm election was a red wave. Republicans gained 63 seats in the House retaking control of that body. Republicans gained 7 seats in the Senate which barely remained Democrat. The Democrat losses that year were attributed to the unpopularity of the Affordable Care Act as well as a slow economic recovery from the Great Recession. The remaining six years of President Obama’s presidency saw Republicans maintaining a majority in the House and securing a Senate majority in 2014. President Trump’s narrow victory in 2016 also saw Republicans maintaining control of Congress. The 2018 midterm election was not kind to the Republicans. They maintained a majority in the Senate while losing 41 seats in the House. The President’s approval rating was low, his attempts to repeal Obama Care unpopular, and his relationship with the mainstream media nonexistent. President Biden’s election in 2020 came with a narrow majority in the House and Senate. He too suffered from low popularity ratings yet somehow the Democrats managed to retain their narrow Senate majority. If past is prologue, if someone other than President Biden wins the 2024 election, he or she will enjoy two years of unified government. This will be followed by a poor midterm for the President’s party.

The United States’ Founding Fathers’ belief in representative democracy and separation of powers was clearly on display during the 2022 midterm elections.

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