The rules matter more than you think.
New to Legislative Procedure?
The Filibuster
How the Senate's 60-vote threshold shapes what passes and what stalls — and the procedural moves that work around it.
House Procedure
How the House controls debate through special rules, structured amendments, and floor procedures — and why it operates so differently from the Senate.
Reconciliation
The budget process Congress uses to bypass the filibuster, including why it matters and what it can and can't do.
Strategy & Tactics
The procedural playbook leaders and members use to advance, block, or reshape legislation in real time.
In the News
Procedural analysis of what's happening in Congress right now.
A detailed guide to how Senate majorities can avoid unlimited amendments in a talking filibuster.
A step-by-step guide to how a determined majority can overcome minority obstruction without abolishing the filibuster.
This post highlights how the House can make it easier for the Senate to pass legislation.
This piece reviews the procedural tools that can shorten, structure, or otherwise discipline extended debate in the Senate.
This piece explains how Democrats could have used existing Senate rules to force a real talking filibuster on voting-rights legislation.
The Senate
Passing the SAVE America Act in a reconciliation bill will take longer and is more complicated than forcing its opponents to mount a talking filibuster.
A detailed guide to how Senate majorities can avoid unlimited amendments in a talking filibuster.
A step-by-step guide to how a determined majority can overcome minority obstruction without abolishing the filibuster.
The House
This post highlights how the House can make it easier for the Senate to pass legislation.
This post argues that so-called pocket rescissions fit more comfortably within the law and practice than critics often admit.
A useful primer on how rescission proposals move through Congress and where the pressure points lie.
This piece explores what happens when the House revisits a decision after the process is already in motion.
A procedural guide to impeachment mechanics in the House and the political stakes when members bring such a resolution to the floor.
Explainers
In-depth guides to the rules and practices that shape how Congress works.
Meet the Founder
James Wallner brings firsthand Capitol Hill experience to his analysis, having worked at every level of Congress, from Legislative Assistant to Executive Director of the Senate Steering Committee. He is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for American Innovation.

Passing the SAVE America Act in a reconciliation bill will take longer and is more complicated than forcing its opponents to mount a talking filibuster.