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There is no thermostat in the U.S. Capitol.
Only thermometers.
And that’s why congressional leaders are struggling to lower the temperatures in Congress after the murder of Charlie Kirk.
As a veteran congressional reporter, I lost count of how many efforts I witnessed to try to “lower the temperature” around Capitol Hill after a national tragedy.
Oh, they might knock a degree off the mercury for a few weeks here and there – sometimes helped by a political cold front (e.g. a lengthy congressional recess). But just like in meteorology, the political gales blow. Weather systems develop. There are dips in the jet stream. Droughts parch the political landscape. Alberta Clippers race through in November and December. All of this results in inevitable thaws. So after some solace, it usually isn’t long until a Category 5 hurricane churns off the Capitol Hill coast.
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The temperature then skyrockets.
In meteorology, there are always temperature “norms.” Yes, it’s seasonal to climb into the mid-90s in Washington, D.C., in August. But not unheard of to have high temperatures in just the mid-70s like this year. Those are the anomalies.
The same with Congress. The typical “seasonal” temperature on Capitol Hill always spikes toward 100 degrees. Even during the frigid calendar days of January and February.
To wit: There were raucous episodes on Capitol Hill in the mid 1990s after Republicans seized control of the House, which nearly devolved into fistfights. A national tragedy didn’t spur the contretemps. It was an electoral one. That fueled a visceral distrust between Republicans and Democrats. It was augmented by the fact that Republicans won control of the House in 1994 for the first time in four decades.
Results at the ballot box sparked those skirmishes. But it was violence and calamity that stoked many of the embers on Capitol Hill.
Members sought to quiet things after two Capitol Police officers were shot and killed in 1998.
But the temperature shot back up.
The same with 9/11. The fourth plane that eventually crashed in Shanksville, Pa., was destined for the U.S. Capitol. After the immediate threat subsided, bipartisan members gathered on the Capitol steps and spontaneously sang God Bless America.
That moment emerged as an indelible, uplifting moment on one of the most horrific days in American history.
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But the temperature shot back up.
Tea party protesters encircled the Capitol in 2010 as Democrats attempted to pass Obamacare. Vile phone calls and threats flooded congressional phone lines. Lawmakers called for calm in an effort to quiet the vitriol.
But the temperature shot back up.
A gunman killed six people and seriously wounded former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., and future Rep. Ron Barber, D-Ariz., in 2011.
Members dialed back the rhetoric.
But the temperature shot back up.
Capitol Police officers were injured during a high-speed chase around the congressional complex during the 2013 government shutdown. Lawmakers again demanded calm. In fact, lawmakers found the injury of the officers working to protect them – yet not receiving a paycheck – so sobering that it prompted them to re-open the government.
But the temperature shot back up.
A gunman shot House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., during a congressional baseball practice in 2017, in Alexandria, Va.
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People chilled out.
But the temperature shot back up.
The Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol is one of the most onerous days in congressional history. Leaders again insisted on peace.
However, there was nearly a fistfight in the rear of the chamber not long after the House reconvened after the mayhem in the wee hours of Jan. 7.
Again came the demands for you know what.
But the temperature shot back up.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is the latest congressional leader to face the arduous task to lower the temperature after the assassination of Kirk. House members bowed their heads in a moment of silence. When Johnson rapped the gavel, Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., asked Johnson for a verbal prayer. She said silent prayer didn’t get results.
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“Is there someone who could lead us in a moment of prayer out loud for Charlie and his family?” inquired Boebert as Johnson tried to shush the chamber.
She also mentioned “victims in Colorado,” referring to a shooting at a Colorado high school the same day.
Grumbling and groans filled the chamber as Boebert tried to speak.
“Wait a minute. Wait a minute,” Johnson said from the dais. “The House will be in order.”
Johnson tried to quiet the sniping back and forth across the aisle.
“The House will be in order!” hollered Johnson as the din rose in the chamber.
Both Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., and Rep. Jahana Hayes, D-Conn., continued yelling.
“The House will be in order!” thundered a now angry Johnson.
The speaker slammed down the gavel and stared daggers toward the Democratic side of the chamber.
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You see the pattern.
It is seemingly always the same on Capitol Hill. The pattern never seems to change. Yes, you may have days in the 70s during the dog days of August in Washington. But the temperature eventually returns to the upper 90s. That’s the political norm on Capitol Hill.
The question is, “Will it ever change?”
It’s hard to see things “changing.” If they were going to “change,” that probably would have happened after 9/11, the Giffords attack, the baseball practice shooting or Jan. 6. Any one of those catastrophes could have served as an impetus to “change” things on Capitol Hill.
One would think. But there’s been no change in the political climate.
That’s partially because there’s been so much turnover in the membership on Capitol Hill. Even since Jan. 6, Congress has witnessed staggering turnover. Twenty-seven House members are now poised to retire at the end of this term. The usual number at this stage in the cycle is 16. So whoever was here for these demands for calm after the Kirk shooting probably won’t be here when there’s the next cataclysm. So many of the people who may have helped calm things down after Giffords or 9/11 aren’t here anymore. That bolsters the volatility.
There’s a high level of mistrust now between lawmakers. And the toxicity of social media doesn’t help.
There is no regulator on Capitol Hill. But lawmakers can individually serve as their own thermostat. And if they set their own internal temperature, the mercury may drop. They could create their own congressional cold front.
But the question is for how long?
You already know the answer to that.
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