We must stop radicals from making governance impossible in the House and beyond

This Fourth of July marks America’s 250th birthday, a milestone that reminds us just how durable our Constitution has been.For a quarter of a millennium, our system has endured wars, depressions and political upheaval because the Founders designed a structure both strong enough to absorb conflict and flexible enough to keep governing. But one of our most important institutions has been changing in ways that should concern anyone who cares about how our republic functions.

The House of Representatives — the People’s House — is increasingly shifting away from a body that rewards coalition-building and towards one held hostage by radicals bent on making governance impossible. I saw the craziness firsthand during Kevin McCarthy’s historic 15-ballot election to become Speaker of the House in January 2023, which I recount in my new book, “Glory, Grief, and the Gavel: An Inside Guide to Running for Speaker of the House.” During that election — the longest Speaker’s contest since the Civil War — I served as McCarthy’s Deputy Chief of Staff and Floor Director. Millions across the country and around the world tuned in to witness that rare spectacle of political endurance.You might recall the dramatic scenes on the House floor: of representatives standing one-by-one, alphabetically, to announce their vote; of intense roaming huddles and hushed conversations; and of members almost, quite literally, coming to blows near the end.

Even Pope Francis later confided in Kevin that he and his staff watched all 15 ballots from his offices in the Vatican.That week certainly made for captivating television.But more importantly, what unfolded over the five-day fiasco made clear that the House has become a place where tiny factions exercise outsize control over the whole institution — and by extension, the whole country.

Not because they command a majority, but because they can stop one. Put differently, a small bloc inside the majority can now work, in...