Frustration is boiling over in the U.S. Senate — and several lawmakers say they’ve had enough. According to a New York Times report by Michelle Cottle, senators from both parties are seriously thinking about quitting, worn down by constant gridlock and what they see as Donald Trump’s growing grip on Congress.
“The job comes with a sense of growing frustration and declining cachet,” Cottle wrote, after speaking with current and former senators. The legislative process is “a hot mess,” she said, hijacked by massive, unreadable bills and poisoned by partisan warfare. Independence is punished. Moderates are nearly extinct.
“The problem is that we can’t get s— done,” said Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN). She added that “creative obstructionism… has become ‘a fine art that has reached its apex so that the institution is nearly paralyzed.’”
Smith has already announced she won’t seek reelection in 2026 — and she’s not alone. Senators Gary Peters (D-MI) and Thom Tillis (R-NC) are reportedly stepping away after repeated clashes with Trump. Meanwhile, Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) and Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO) are pursuing gubernatorial runs instead, opting to leave behind a chamber they no longer believe in.
The dysfunction came to a head just before the summer recess, when the Senate failed to confirm a list of Trump-backed nominees. In response, Trump lashed out at Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on social media, telling him to “go to hell.”
Behind closed doors, senators are warning that things are only getting worse. “It’s a vicious cycle,” Cottle wrote. As experienced lawmakers leave, the Senate fills up with “extremists, opportunists and self-dealers.” The more polarized things become, the harder it is for moderates to survive — or to get anything done at all.
“There’s a lot of evidence that we’re headed down that road as a country,” said Bennet. “But I don’t think that’s where the American people want us to go.”
For many in the chamber, though, the road back may already feel out of reach.
