The lone independent member of the U.S. House of Representatives has warned that lawmakers willing to work across party lines have become an "endangered species," describing a political environment where bipartisan collaboration is increasingly rare and often punished rather than rewarded.
The congressman, who declined partisan affiliation after leaving both major parties, made the comments in an interview broadcast by NBC News. The lawmaker pointed to primary election structures that reward hardline ideological positions, fundraising dynamics that penalize moderation, and caucus loyalty demands that make cross-aisle cooperation professionally risky for members of either party.
What the Left Is Saying
Progressive Democrats largely acknowledge the decline of bipartisan dealmaking but frame it differently than their Republican counterparts. Many point to decades of structural changes—including redistricting maps drawn to create safe seats—that have reduced competitive races and removed the electoral incentive for moderation.
Representative Pramila Jayapal of Washington, who leads the Congressional Progressive Caucus, has argued that the term "bipartisanship" is often used to water down popular legislation. "When Republicans say they want bipartisan compromise on issues like healthcare or climate, they often mean they want to weaken bills until they're ineffective," Jayapal wrote in a recent op-ed.
Other progressive voices note that some bipartisan legislation that has passed—including certain trade agreements and criminal justice reforms—occurred under Democratic administrations willing to negotiate. They argue the current Republican-controlled Congress faces different structural pressures than previous eras.
What the Right Is Saying
Conservative Republicans counter that Democrats bear equal responsibility for partisan polarization, pointing to tactics used during the Trump administration and earlier Obama-era battles over judicial nominations. Many argue that accusations of extremism are simply a rhetorical strategy by those who disagree with conservative policies.
House Freedom Caucus members have defended their approach as representing their districts' preferences accurately rather than catering to bipartisan norms. "We were sent here to govern according to our principles, not to find common ground for its own sake," one member said in a floor speech last month.
Some Republican strategists argue that the real change is demographic: states and districts have sorted themselves politically over decades, making cross-party representation less natural than it once was. They contend this reflects voter preferences rather thanbad-faith obstruction by either party.
What the Numbers Show
The House of Representatives currently has 435 voting members. As of July 2026, all identify as either Republicans or Democrats—there are no independent members who caucus with either major party, a significant change from historical patterns where independents like Vermont's Bernie Sanders or Maine's Angus King have served in the Senate.
Roll call votes show partisan unity rates above 90 percent on most contested legislation—meaning more than nine in ten Republicans vote together against more than nine in ten Democrats on issues dividing the two parties. This marks an increase from the 1970s and 1980s, when cross-party voting coalitions were more common on specific issues like trade or foreign policy.
A 2025 Pew Research Center survey found that 61 percent of Americans say Republicans and Democrats cooperate less than they did a decade ago. Only 4 percent said cooperation had increased. The same poll found that partisan identity ranked as the top factor in political views for 43 percent of respondents—up from 31 percent in 2016.
The Bottom Line
The decline of bipartisan lawmakers reflects structural changes that are unlikely to reverse without modifications to primary election systems, redistricting processes, or campaign finance rules that currently reward ideological purity. Both parties have internal factions that view compromise as weakness, making cross-aisle legislation difficult even when public opinion surveys show broad support for specific policies.
The sole independent House member's comments highlight an irony: while polls consistently show voters want Congress to work across party lines, electoral structures and primary turnout patterns often produce the opposite outcome. Watching whether any bipartisan coalitions emerge on must-pass legislation like government funding or debt ceiling measures will provide a near-term test of whether the trend can be reversed—or whether moderate voices in both parties continue to face pressure toward greater partisanship.