VIEW IN BROWSER

Friday, Sep. 18, 2026

Today, we're looking at Mike Johnson’s do-nothing House, which is headed home with a whimper, RFK Jr. headlining an anti-vaccine conference, the Ben Shapiro partisan action movie that landed with a dud and more. Plus, MS NOW is coming to Texas!

Al Drago / Getty Images

The toothless symbolism of Mike Johnson’s last workweek before the midterms

On Wednesday afternoon, Speaker Mike Johnson adjourned the House and sent the 433 current members back to their districts. They won’t return until after the midterm elections.

It is a fitting end to what has been, undoubtedly, the most ineffective, underperforming and borderline useless Congress in American history.

This might seem like a harsh judgment, but the numbers bear it out. Since convening in January 2025, the 119th Congress has passed 108 major laws — and only 36 this year. Up to this point on the calendar, no Congress has passed fewer laws in modern American political history — except for the last Congress, which was also led by Johnson.

And Congress’s job is more than passing laws. It’s also tasked with conducting oversight of the other branches of government. Here the story is even worse.

This is a preview of Michael A. Cohen’s latest column. Read the full article here.

MS NOW is coming to Texas! This year, we’re taking our annual fan event to the state where the country’s biggest political questions are being tested. “Together in Texas: We the People 2026” will bring together our trusted journalists and dedicated audience for a day-long community gathering in Arlington, Texas, on Saturday, Sept. 26.

The event will feature conversations with top newsmakers, insights from your favorite MS NOW hosts and unprecedented opportunities for interaction and connection with the entire MS NOW community. Rachel Maddow, Lawrence O’Donnell, Jen Psaki, Stephanie Ruhle, Ali Velshi, Ari Melber, Chris Hayes, Symone Sanders Townsend, Alicia Menendez, Jacob Soboroff, Eugene Daniels, Michael Steele, Luke Russert and Rev. Al Sharpton will all be there. 

Visit MS.NOW/TOGETHER to get your tickets today!

Must Reads

Julia Demaree Nikhinson / AP Photo

Trump is launching a strange and unpromising campaign against ‘effective altruism’

Why the Trump administration’s new playbook on AI is bound to go poorly, argues Zeeshan Aleem. Read more. 

Amid measles outbreaks, RFK Jr. headlines anti-vaccine conference

The Children’s Health Defense conference was a homecoming of sorts for Kennedy, who seeks to rally a splintering anti-vaccine movement ahead of the midterms. Read more from Brandy Zadrozny. 

Ben Shapiro says this is the action movie ‘Hollywood refused to make.’ I think I know why.

There’s unlikely to be much of a crossover audience for the right-wing culture war dreck that is the new film, “Run, Hide, Fight: Infidels,” argues Howard Polskin. Read more. 

AFP via Getty Images

They sparked Signalgate. Now they’re threatening to sink Trump in a different way.

The Iranian-backed Houthi militants are once again threatening oil shipment routes through the Red Sea. What will President Donald Trump do this time? Read more from Felicia Schwartz.

Top Videos

ON THE LINE WITH ALICIA MENENDEZ

AG Blanche ordered to release Trump accuser interview notes in Epstein probe