Republicans entered the New Year vowing swift, widespread change after regaining control of the House, Senate and White House for the first time in 10 years, but have yet to deliver on major policies.
Congress have submitted three bills to President Donald Trump, but none address the GOP's main campaign promises. Trump's Cabinet choices have been delayed, and legislators have suspended work multiple times in the past month for party retreats, one this week for Democrats and one in January for Republicans.
"Democrat obstruction has reached such extreme levels that the smallest number of Cabinet officials have been confirmed in modern history at this point in a presidency," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told The Daily Signal.
"It's a historic break in tradition, a departure from how newly elected presidents of both parties have been treated in decades past."
House Speaker Paul Ryan spoke in November about the importance of preparing for January to begin work on the party's ambitious agenda.
"If we are going to put our country back on the right track, we have got to be bold and we have to go big. This country is expecting absolutely no less," Ryan said. "We want to make sure we hit the ground running in January, so we can deliver on the new president's agenda."
Despite Ryan saying on "60 Minutes" in December that "the first bill we're going to be working on is our Obamacare legislation," and the House approve a resolution the creates a legal basis for a repeal, Republicans missed the Jan. 27 deadline for a legislative draft.
"Congress has been a disappointment so far, considering the fact that there is unified control of the government," Rachel Bovard, the director of policy services at The Heritage Foundation and a former Senate aide, told the Daily Signal.
"Congress could have had an Obamacare repeal bill on Trump's desk at 12:01 p.m. on Inauguration Day, especially if they'd used the 2015 repeal bill that passed both Houses.
"There is no excuse for the lack of action," she continued. "And, indeed, by delaying it, they've allowed the debate to get muddled, slowed the momentum considerably, and in doing so made the task that much harder."
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