National Lame Duck Day, celebrated every February 6, observes the day the 20th Amendment was passed, reducing what’s known as the congressional lame-duck period or the weeks between the congressional elections and their inauguration day.
During this time, elected officials on their way out of office tend to have less clout and are just waiting for their term to end, thus, they are considered lame ducks. There are other types of political lame ducks that also deserve our attention today so read on to learn more about celebrating National Lame Duck Day!
In the literal sense, a lame duck is a duck that is unable to keep up with its flock or reach safety on its own- basically, it is vulnerable to predators and just waiting for the end. The first known use of this term for a person was in the 1700s with reference to a stockbroker who had defaulted on his debts.
The term made its way to the political world by the 19th century when cited in the Congressional Globe on January 14, 1863. In this political context, ‘lame duck’ refers to an elected official who is nearing the end of his or her political term and finds they have diminished influence to effectively carry out their responsibilities.
Most commonly, we see lame ducks when they have not won re-election or their term limit is expiring and they must leave office. Today, we hear this term most frequently regarding the office of the president of the United States.
Thankfully, Congress passed the 20th Amendment in 1933 in order to shorten the lame-duck period between election and inauguration. This is why a day has been set aside to observe our lame ducks. It should be a time for a meaningful transition of power. While this does happen, it is not always the case.
There have been several congressional and presidential lame-duck periods in which the outgoing official slammed down last-minute legislations, granted multiple pardons, and took politically unpopular actions.
It has been argued that the lame-duck period should be even shorter, given today’s technology and speed of business compared to prior centuries, even in the 1900s!