Musings

Selected Published Articles & Updates

Strengthening U.S. democracy: Q&A with Jean Bordewich

Strengthening U.S. democracy: Q&A with Jean Bordewich

Originally published on May 4, 2022, by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation Jean Parvin Bordewich is a program officer in the U.S. Democracy Program at the Hewlett Foundation, overseeing grantmaking for the National Governing Institutions strategy. Earlier she...

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When Members of Congress Really Fought

When Members of Congress Really Fought

Originally published January 12, 2020, at WashingtonMonthly.com The House Intelligence Committee’s impeachment hearings displayed starkly how different Democrats and Republicans have become. Throughout the hearings, Democratic committee chairman Adam Schiff maintained...

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How to name a Senate space for John McCain

How to name a Senate space for John McCain

Originally published on September 11, 2018, at TheHill.com Sen. John McCain’s (R-Ariz.) many admirers, understandably enough, are calling for his name to replace that of the once-formidable Richard Russell on the oldest Senate office building, or somewhere else on...

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Make the Senate filibuster stronger, not weaker

Make the Senate filibuster stronger, not weaker

Originally published on May 9, 2019, at TheHill.com The U.S. Senate is moving with accelerating speed down a slippery slope of rules changes, each time thinking the next tweak to the filibuster will stop the slide. But after three detonations of the “nuclear option”...

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Congress, help thyself

Congress, help thyself

Originally published on November 24, 2020, at Hewlett.org The COVID pandemic helped accelerate efforts to modernize Congress. U.S. Democracy Program Officer Jean Bordewich weighs in on the changes and what’s in store for the future. This is part of Think Again, a...

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We need a new kind of inauguration next year

We need a new kind of inauguration next year

Originally published on July 7, 2020, at TheHill.com The stately swearing-in of a newly elected president has been accompanied by celebratory events since the inauguration of George Washington on April 30, 1789 in New York City. It is a day that signifies a unique and...

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