Charlie Kirk attends TPUSA event in Arizona in 2024. (Rebecca Noble/AFP via Getty Images)
The temperature then skyrockets.
In meteorology, there are always temperature "norms." Yes, it’s seasonal to climb into the mid-90s in Washington, D.C., in August. But not unheard of to have high temperatures in just the mid-70s like this year. Those are the anomalies.
The same with Congress. The typical "seasonal" temperature on Capitol Hill always spikes toward 100 degrees. Even during the frigid calendar days of January and February.
To wit: There were raucous episodes on Capitol Hill in the mid 1990s after Republicans seized control of the House, which nearly devolved into fistfights. A national tragedy didn’t spur the contretemps. It was an electoral one. That fueled a visceral distrust between Republicans and Democrats. It was augmented by the fact that Republicans won control of the House in 1994 for the first time in four decades.
Results at the ballot box sparked those skirmishes. But it was violence and calamity that stoked many of the embers on Capitol Hill.
Members sought to quiet things after two Capitol Police officers were shot and killed in 1998.
But the temperature shot back up.
The same with 9/11. The fourth plane that eventually crashed in Shanksville, Pa., was destined for the U.S. Capitol. After the immediate threat subsided, bipartisan members gathered on the Capitol steps and spontaneously sang God Bless America.
That moment emerged as an indelible, uplifting moment on one of the most horrific days in American history.
House Minority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., was nearly assassinated by a leftist gunman during a team practice ahead of a Congressional Baseball Game. (AP)
People chilled out.
But the temperature shot back up.
The Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol is one of the most onerous days in congressional history. Leaders again insisted on peace.
However, there was nearly a fistfight in the rear of the chamber not long after the House reconvened after the mayhem in the wee hours of Jan. 7.
Again came the demands for you know what.
But the temperature shot back up.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is the latest congressional leader to face the arduous task to lower the temperature after the assassination of Kirk. House members bowed their heads in a moment of silence. When Johnson rapped the gavel, Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., asked Johnson for a verbal prayer. She said silent prayer didn’t get results.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., speaks during a memorial and prayer vigil for Charlie Kirk at the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025, in Washington. (AP)
You see the pattern.
It is seemingly always the same on Capitol Hill. The pattern never seems to change. Yes, you may have days in the 70s during the dog days of August in Washington. But the temperature eventually returns to the upper 90s. That’s the political norm on Capitol Hill.
The question is, "Will it ever change?"
It’s hard to see things "changing." If they were going to "change," that probably would have happened after 9/11, the Giffords attack, the baseball practice shooting or Jan. 6. Any one of those catastrophes could have served as an impetus to "change" things on Capitol Hill.
One would think. But there’s been no change in the political climate.
That’s partially because there’s been so much turnover in the membership on Capitol Hill. Even since Jan. 6, Congress has witnessed staggering turnover. Twenty-seven House members are now poised to retire at the end of this term. The usual number at this stage in the cycle is 16. So whoever was here for these demands for calm after the Kirk shooting probably won’t be here when there’s the next cataclysm. So many of the people who may have helped calm things down after Giffords or 9/11 aren’t here anymore. That bolsters the volatility.
There’s a high level of mistrust now between lawmakers. And the toxicity of social media doesn’t help.
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There is no regulator on Capitol Hill. But lawmakers can individually serve as their own thermostat. And if they set their own internal temperature, the mercury may drop. They could create their own congressional cold front.
But the question is for how long?
You already know the answer to that.
Chad Pergram currently serves as a senior congressional correspondent for FOX News Channel (FNC). He joined the network in September 2007 and is based out of Washington, D.C.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/reporters-notebook-congress-fails-lower-political-temperature-after-charlie-kirk-assassination