What Are Congressional Norms and Why Do They Matter? (with Brian Alexander)

The topic of this episode is, “What are congressional norms and why do they matter?”

To many Americans, the United States Congress appears to be a rather nasty place. There are lawmakers calling each other names, introducing resolutions to censure legislators and boot them off committees, and generally behaving towards one another in beastly ways. At least twice in the last few years there were moments when it appeared a couple of members of the House of Representatives might well throw punches at one another.

There is a lot of constitutional and procedural hardball being played in both the Senate and the House. Members are ignoring long-agreed-upon rules or stretching their meanings to justify partisan power plays.

All of which prompts the question, “Is Congress losing the norms that once helped facilitate collective action amongst representatives and senators?

My guest for this episode is Brian Alexander. He is an Associate Professor of Politics at Washington and Lee University. Brian is also the author of A Social Theory of Congress: Legislative Norms in the Twenty-First Century (Lexington Books, 2021), and he is the editor of a new volume titled The Folkways of Congress: Legislative Norms in an Era of Conflict (Brookings Institution Press, 2026).

Click here to read a full transcript of the episode.