How 2015 became the year of compromise in Congress

Republicans understood early in 2015 that if they were going to get must-pass bills across the finish line, it would require help from Democrats to do it.

After years of struggling and failing to win over their own faction of conservatives, leading to an October 2013 government shutdown, Republican leaders decided to work across the aisle to win enough votes to move legislation in each chamber.

They skewed toward the center even as the polls show an increasingly frustrated Republican electorate who are turning to outsider candidates such as Donald Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who both espouse a "no compromise" conservative attitude.

"Congress and Trump followers are definitely out of sync at the moment because the institution is working, and that may not sit well with those voters," Republican strategist and former GOP congressional leadership aide Ron Bonjean told the Washington Examiner.