Projects & Publications

Disruption?

A book edited by Sean M. Theriault

What happens when a tradition-bound institution encounters an iconoclastic president intent on changing how the government operates? In Disruption? Sean M. Theriault has gathered nineteen leading authors from a range of subfields to provide a compelling understanding for if, how, and to what extent Trump disrupted the Senate. As the authors argue, Trump became trapped in the norms and rules of the Senate on some dimensions, while he became the story to which all senators needed to respond on others. This book, commissioned and funded by The Dirksen Congressional Center and published by Oxford University Press, shows how multiple facets of the Senate changed during Trump’s presidency, including the legislative process, party leadership, roll-call voting, and communications. Comprehensive in its coverage of the period and embedding it in a deep historical context, this book highlights how these changes reflected back onto not only the Trump administration, but also the very legitimacy of the Senate itself.

Contributors

• Sean Theriault (Editor), Political Scientist, University of Texas – Austin
• Frank Mackaman, Historian Emeritus, The Dirksen Congressional Center
• Donald Richie, Historian Emeritus of the United States Senate
• Joseph Crespino, Political Historian, Emory University
• C. Lawrence Evans, Professor of Government, William & Mary
• Molly Reynolds, Political Scientist, Brookings Institute
• Frances Lee, Political Scientist, Princeton
• Bettina Poirier, Professor of Law, American University
• Christopher Bertram, Professor of Government, American University
• Craig Volden, Political Scientist, University of Virginia; Center for Effective Lawmaking
• Alan Wiseman, Political Scientist, Vanderbilt; Center for Effective Lawmaking
• James Wallner, Political Scientist, Clemson; R Street
• Julian Zelizer, Political Historian, Princeton
• Niels Lesniewski, DC Correspondent, Roll Call
• Annelise Russell, Political Scientist, University of Kentucky
• Lee Drutman, Political Scientist, New America
• Christina Bellantoni, Professor of Journalism, University of Southern California – Annenberg
• William Howell, Political Scientist, University of Chicago
• Terry Moe, Political Scientist, Stanford University

The Honorable Mister Marigold

a play by Wade Dooley

It’s September 1969. Nixon is in the White House, the battle for Civil Rights continues, and the Vietnam War persists. As the world rages, legendary US Senator Everett Dirksen languishes from surgery and illness in the VIP Ward of Walter Reed Medical Center. When Carol, a young black TV reporter comes to interview the Senator, a lively exchange unfolds about history, faith, and the future. Over coffee and cold Chinese, Carol may discover that true friendships can blossom in the unlikeliest of places.

“The Honorable Mr. Marigold,” a play by Wade Dooley, was commissioned in 2021 by The Dirksen Congressional Center. Dooley conducted research for the play at The Center, and has crafted a narrative that—though mostly fictional—is comprised almost entirely of Everett Dirksen’s actual spoken words. In times such as these, audiences will be thoroughly inspired by Dirksen’s words and forgotten wisdom, and they will be reminded that there is hope to find that there is more that unites us than divides us.

The Dirksen Center hosted an industry reading of the play in New York City in 2023 and is currently working with Dooley to market the work to regional theaters in the United States. We are eager to be at the forefront of creating new partnerships that reimagine how research and education about Congress can make a difference in our world.