Skip to content
Project 2025
Search

Latest Stories

Top Stories
JD Vance

JD Vance Tells Republicans Who America’s Real Birthright Citizens Are

US President Donald Trump

Trump’s obsessions help bury GOP chances

Adult man holds a microphone while asking a question during a town hall meeting.

Consensus Without Power: How Sortition Could Break America's Legislative Gridlock

A solemn portrait of a woman looking down, bathed in dramatic light and shadow from window blinds, emphasizing solitude and deep thought in monochrome.

The Questions We Should Be Asking About the Lindsay Clancy Case

New York Is Making Childcare Affordable. Don’t Forget the People Providing It.

New York Is Making Childcare Affordable. Don’t Forget the People Providing It.

Anti-Trump conservatives say half of congressional GOP failed to protect democracy

Members of Congress

Sen. Ted Cruz was one of 147 Republicans who voted to overturn the 2020 election results, which contributed to his failing grade from the Republican Accountability Project.

Bill O'Leary/Getty Images
Sara Swann
By Sara SwannApr 28, 2021
Sara Swann

As a staff writer, Sara covers a variety of democracy reform issues, including voting rights, money in politics, gerrymandering and civic education. Prior to joining The Fulcrum in May 2019, Sara reported on local government on Maryland's Eastern Shore for the USA Today network. She is a native West Virginian and a graduate of Syracuse University.

See More Writings by author

During the 2020 election, the strength of American democracy was put to the test several times. While democracy ultimately prevailed, many Republicans in Congress failed to support it.

The Republican Accountability Project, an anti-Trump conservative group, released a report this week analyzing how GOP members acted during crucial moments as the election results were being certified. More than half the Republicans in Congress received failing grades for their actions.

This report highlights the current divide in the Republican Party between those who still support former President Donald Trump and those who do not.

The report evaluated all 50 Republican senators and 211 GOP House members (excluding Rep. Julia Letlow of Louisiana because she was not in office at the time) based on four criteria:

  • Did they sign on to the amicus brief filed in support of Texas' lawsuit asking the Supreme Court to nullify votes cast in Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Georgia?
  • Did they object to the certification of Electoral College votes from at least one state?
  • Did they make public statements that cast doubt on the legitimacy of the 2020 election?
  • Did they vote to hold Trump accountable via impeachment or conviction?

Only 16 Republicans (seven senators and nine House members) received an A, which the report described as "excellent."

Republican Accountability Project grades for the SenateSource: Republican Accountability Project

Thirteen House members received a B, or an "okay" grade. No senators earned a B.

How Republican House members were graded on democracySource: Republican Accountability Project

Fifty-eight Republicans (30 senators and 28 House members) received a C for "mediocre." This group includes Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri, who is ranking member of the Rules and Administration Committee. Both have been instrumental in blocking democracy reform legislation from advancing in the Senate.Thirty-eight Republicans (five senators and 33 House members) received a D for "poor."

While just eight senators were given an F for "very poor," 60 percent of the House GOP (128 members) received a failing grade.

"Our Capitol was attacked by a mob that believed that the 2020 election was being stolen. They were encouraged by the lies and actions of President Trump and many Republican members of Congress," the report says. "In the name of accountability, it's vitally important we remember which Congressional Republicans stood with democracy and the Constitution, and which did not."


Latest news

$100 bills
Economy

What's Good for the Blue Collar Worker is Good for America

Cracked Dry Earth - stock photo A pair of worn brown boots stand on cracked, dry earth. Sparse green plants struggle to grow amidst the barren landscape, creating a stark contrast.
Environment

Climate, Migration and the Far Right: Democracies Need a Short-Term Plan

Shadow on a wall of Judge hitting gavel in court, concept of justice, law, and legal protection
Rule of Law

The Law Was Supposed to Be a Shield. I Found the Bars.

Read More

​U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth testifies during a Senate Committee on Appropriations hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on July 21, 2026. Hegseth is crafting a strong and masculine identity for his audience as he reportedly contemplates a presidential run.

(Alex Wroblewski/AFP/Getty Images/TNS)

Politicians Can’t Just ’Give the People What They Want’

For reasons that will baffle my many detractors, I am often asked for advice about being an opinion journalist. One of my standard responses is: You have to be willing to disappoint your biggest fans.

What I mean is that if you start to see your job as telling fans what they want to hear, you risk becoming an entertainer rather than a thinker, and eventually you become a caricature. I’ve seen it happen numerous times. Patrick Buchanan was a brilliant columnist and a serious person. But over the course of his career, he listened too much to the people who said, “Go Pat, go!” and too little to friends who said, “I think that’s taking it too far.”

Keep ReadingShow less
White marble exterior of the United States Capitol, often called the Capitol Building, is the home of the United States Congress and the seat of the legislative branch of the U.S. federal government

Congress approval is at a record-low 10%. Moderation and consensus-building, not partisan theatrics, are how Washington gets problems solved.

Richard Sharrocks / Getty Images

Reclaiming the Politics of the Possible

Washington is stuck in a cycle of performative conflict. The incentives seem to reward outrage, not outcomes that last; purity tests, not problem‑solving. So it’s no surprise that after three shutdowns in less than a year, public approval of Congress collapsed to just 10 percent this spring. (Gallup, April 2026.) But the country we live in — where many middle-income families report persistent financial strain and businesses are navigating unprecedented technological upheaval — cannot be governed by theatrics. Breaking this cycle requires moderation, consensus‑building, and a cooperative approach to governance.

This is not a call for centrism as an ideology. Instead, this is a call for transformative leaders to embrace moderation as their governing strategy, recognizing that in a pluralistic country of nearly 350 million people durable solutions require broad and stable alliances. Ultimately, this is a call for the 240 million of us who are eligible to vote in November to elect consensus-builders instead of bomb-throwers, and healers instead of arsonists.

Keep ReadingShow less
California’s New Law Aims To Close a Housing Gap for Domestic Violence Survivors
Emily Scherer for The 19th; Getty Images

California’s New Law Aims To Close a Housing Gap for Domestic Violence Survivors

Domestic violence survivors often struggle to find housing, and California’s “Unseen and Unheard Housing Act” will help make more housing available to meet their specific needs.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the bill Sunday requiring cities and counties to factor in domestic violence survivors when planning for future housing.

Keep ReadingShow less
Classsroom
empty classroom with desks and chalkboard
Photo by Ivan Aleksic on Unsplash

Who Gets a Seat?: Florida’s New Bans on Undocumented Students in Public Higher Education

Each year, roughly 8,000 undocumented students graduate from Florida high schools. In 2026, Florida became the newest state to pass a regulation prohibiting this population from enrolling in state public colleges and selective universities. In June 2026, Florida State Board of Education passed Rule 6A-10.0240, which requires all 28 Florida College System institutions to certify admitted students as citizens of the United States or have lawful presence. In September 2026, a separate state board extended a similar ban to Florida’s most selective public universities.

Throughout the United States, there are three states that have historically upheld similar barring policies: Alabama and South Carolina ban undocumented students from all public colleges and universities, while Georgia bars them only from its most selective public universities. Florida’s restrictions are administrative rules and regulations, not state laws passed by the Legislature. Similar bills died in committee during Florida’s 2026 legislative session.

Keep ReadingShow less
© Copyright 2026