Politics & Government
In two previous highly regarded books on the U.S. Senate, Ira Shapiro
chronicled the institution from its apogee in the 1970s through its decline
in the decades since. Now, Shapiro turns his gaze to how the Senate
responded to the challenges posed by the Trump administration and its
prospects under President Biden. The Founding Fathers gave the US Senate
many functions, but it had one fundamental responsibility—its raison
d’etre: to provide the check against a dangerous president who threatened
our democracy. Two hundred and thirty years later, when Donald Trump, a
potential authoritarian, finally reached the White House, the Senate should
have served as both America’s first and last lines of defense. Instead, we
had the nightmare scenario: today’s Senate, reduced through a long period
of decline to a hyper-partisan, gridlocked shadow of its former self, was
unable to meet its fundamental responsibility. Shapiro documents the
pivotal challenges facing the Senate during the Trump administration,
arguing that the body’s failure to provide leadership represents the most
catastrophic failure of government in American history. The last section
covers the Senate’s performance during President Biden’s first year in
office and looks forward to the 2022 Senate elections and beyond. Read more

 

Genre Politics & Social Sciences