The Last Great Senate tells the story of the final four years of the progressive Senate of the 1960s and 1970s which compiled a record of accomplishment unmatched in our country’s history. It is a narrative history of the statesman who, working with an outsider president, Jimmy Carter, helped steer America through the crisis years of the late 1970s, transcending partisanship and overcoming procedural roadblocks that have all but crippled the Senate over the past quarter- century. The Last Great Senate recalls a critical juncture in American politics, offering a new view of the kind of leadership that will be required to restore the nation’s upper house to greatness. The book brings to life the renowned senators of the time---Ted Kennedy, Howard Baker, Henry “Scoop” Jackson, Ed Muskie, Jacob Javits, Robert Byrd and others---while capturing the Senate as an ensemble cast in a way that no previous book has. Mr. Shapiro recounts a series of legislative battles, including the historic fight over the Panama Canal treaty and the rescues of New York City and Chrysler, that are remarkable case studies of the legislative process in action. His preface to this second edition provides a compelling summary of the Senate’s struggles since 1980, including the first six months of the Trump presidency. The author’s love of the Senate and his deep belief in its special role in our political system make the book an antidote to cynicism, leaving readers with some hope that the Senate can reverse its long decline to become again what Walter F. Mondale called “the nation’s mediator.”

In two previous highly regarded books on the U.S. Senate, Ira Shapiro chronicled the institution from its apogee in the 1970s through its decline in the decades since. Now, Shapiro turns his gaze to how the Senate responded to the challenges posed by the Trump administration and its prospects under President Biden. The Founding Fathers gave the US Senate many functions, but it had one fundamental responsibility—its raison d’etre: to provide the check against a dangerous president who threatened our democracy. Two hundred and thirty years later, when Donald Trump, a potential authoritarian, finally reached the White House, the Senate should have served as both America’s first and last lines of defense. Instead, we had the nightmare scenario: today’s Senate, reduced through a long period of decline to a hyper-partisan, gridlocked shadow of its former self, was unable to meet its fundamental responsibility. Shapiro documents the pivotal challenges facing the Senate during the Trump administration, arguing that the body’s failure to provide leadership represents the most catastrophic failure of government in American history. The last section covers the Senate’s performance during President Biden’s first year in office and looks forward to the 2022 Senate elections and beyond.

Understanding the greatest catastrophic failure of American Government.In 2022, Ira Shapiro completed what Brooking scholar William A. Galston called “an epic trilogy” chronicling the disastrous decline of the once-great Senate. The Founding Fathers gave the Senate many functions, but it had one overriding responsibility: to provide a check against a dangerous president who threatened our democracy. Shapiro’s gripping portrait of Mitch McConnell and the Senate Republicans’ turning a blind eye to Donald Trump’s abuses of power remains the definitive chronicle of the most catastrophic failure of government in American history. The updated edition carries the story forward into the Biden presidency and the efforts to restore bipartisanship in bitterly contentious times.

Understanding the greatest catastrophic failure of American Government.In 2022, Ira Shapiro completed what Brooking scholar William A. Galston called “an epic trilogy” chronicling the disastrous decline of the once-great Senate. The Founding Fathers gave the Senate many functions, but it had one overriding responsibility: to provide a check against a dangerous president who threatened our democracy. Shapiro’s gripping portrait of Mitch McConnell and the Senate Republicans’ turning a blind eye to Donald Trump’s abuses of power remains the definitive chronicle of the most catastrophic failure of government in American history. The updated edition carries the story forward into the Biden presidency and the efforts to restore bipartisanship in bitterly contentious times.

The Last Great Senate tells the story of the final four years of the progressive Senate of the 1960s and 1970s which compiled a record of accomplishment unmatched in our country’s history. It is a narrative history of the statesman who, working with an outsider president, Jimmy Carter, helped steer America through the crisis years of the late 1970s, transcending partisanship and overcoming procedural roadblocks that have all but crippled the Senate over the past quarter- century. The Last Great Senate recalls a critical juncture in American politics, offering a new view of the kind of leadership that will be required to restore the nation’s upper house to greatness. The book brings to life the renowned senators of the time---Ted Kennedy, Howard Baker, Henry “Scoop” Jackson, Ed Muskie, Jacob Javits, Robert Byrd and others---while capturing the Senate as an ensemble cast in a way that no previous book has. Mr. Shapiro recounts a series of legislative battles, including the historic fight over the Panama Canal treaty and the rescues of New York City and Chrysler, that are remarkable case studies of the legislative process in action. His preface to this second edition provides a compelling summary of the Senate’s struggles since 1980, including the first six months of the Trump presidency. The author’s love of the Senate and his deep belief in its special role in our political system make the book an antidote to cynicism, leaving readers with some hope that the Senate can reverse its long decline to become again what Walter F. Mondale called “the nation’s mediator.”

In two previous highly regarded books on the U.S. Senate, Ira Shapiro chronicled the institution from its apogee in the 1970s through its decline in the decades since. Now, Shapiro turns his gaze to how the Senate responded to the challenges posed by the Trump administration and its prospects under President Biden. The Founding Fathers gave the US Senate many functions, but it had one fundamental responsibility—its raison d’etre: to provide the check against a dangerous president who threatened our democracy. Two hundred and thirty years later, when Donald Trump, a potential authoritarian, finally reached the White House, the Senate should have served as both America’s first and last lines of defense. Instead, we had the nightmare scenario: today’s Senate, reduced through a long period of decline to a hyper-partisan, gridlocked shadow of its former self, was unable to meet its fundamental responsibility. Shapiro documents the pivotal challenges facing the Senate during the Trump administration, arguing that the body’s failure to provide leadership represents the most catastrophic failure of government in American history. The last section covers the Senate’s performance during President Biden’s first year in office and looks forward to the 2022 Senate elections and beyond.

Understanding the greatest catastrophic failure of American Government.In 2022, Ira Shapiro completed what Brooking scholar William A. Galston called “an epic trilogy” chronicling the disastrous decline of the once-great Senate. The Founding Fathers gave the Senate many functions, but it had one overriding responsibility: to provide a check against a dangerous president who threatened our democracy. Shapiro’s gripping portrait of Mitch McConnell and the Senate Republicans’ turning a blind eye to Donald Trump’s abuses of power remains the definitive chronicle of the most catastrophic failure of government in American history. The updated edition carries the story forward into the Biden presidency and the efforts to restore bipartisanship in bitterly contentious times.

Understanding the greatest catastrophic failure of American Government.In 2022, Ira Shapiro completed what Brooking scholar William A. Galston called “an epic trilogy” chronicling the disastrous decline of the once-great Senate. The Founding Fathers gave the Senate many functions, but it had one overriding responsibility: to provide a check against a dangerous president who threatened our democracy. Shapiro’s gripping portrait of Mitch McConnell and the Senate Republicans’ turning a blind eye to Donald Trump’s abuses of power remains the definitive chronicle of the most catastrophic failure of government in American history. The updated edition carries the story forward into the Biden presidency and the efforts to restore bipartisanship in bitterly contentious times.