In a recent Presidential Declaration on America’s 250th anniversary, the White House affirmed the constitutional principles of separation of powers and checks and balances. But actions speak louder than words. Whether it is military interventions, emergency declarations, student loan forgiveness, or tariff policy, modern presidents increasingly act first and ask Congress later.
The usual response is to blame ambitious presidents. But America is facing a deeper problem: our checks are out of balance.
If, in the wake of its 250th anniversary, America is serious about restoring constitutional checks and balances, we should focus less on who occupies the White House and more on strengthening the institution designed to check it. One of the simplest ways to do that is by uncapping the House of Representatives before the 2030 Census.
The Constitution places Congress in Article I for a reason. The founders viewed the legislative branch as the primary repository of political power and expected it to serve as a check on executive ambition. As James Madison wrote in Federalist No. 51, “ambition must be made to counteract ambition.”
That system worked best when Congress had the capacity to perform its constitutional duties. Today, however, the federal government has grown dramatically while the House has remained frozen in place.
The House has been capped at 435 members since the Permanent Apportionment Act of 1929. At the time, the United States had roughly 122 million people. Today, the population exceeds 340 million. As a result, the average House member now represents nearly 800,000 constituents — one of the highest representative-to-population ratios in the democratic world.
Meanwhile, the executive branch has expanded enormously. The federal bureaucracy oversees everything from veterans’ benefits and border security to artificial intelligence and financial regulation. Every new program, agency, and regulation increases the need for congressional oversight.
Yet Congress is attempting to supervise a 21st-century federal government with a legislative structure designed for a nation less than one-third its current size.
The consequences are predictable. Members spend more time fundraising, campaigning, and managing massive districts and less time legislating and conducting oversight. Congress has increasingly evaded accountability by delegating difficult policy questions to unelected executive branch employees and judges. Presidents of both parties have been happy to fill the resulting void.
Expanding the House would not solve every problem in Washington, but it would strengthen Congress in meaningful ways. Smaller districts would make representatives more accessible and accountable to voters. More members would create additional committee capacity, oversight resources, and policy expertise. Most importantly, a larger House would help restore Congress as a functioning counterweight to the executive branch.
Critics often dismiss House expansion as a procedural reform with little practical significance. In reality, it goes to the heart of the constitutional system. A legislature that lacks the capacity to oversee the executive branch cannot effectively check executive power, regardless of which party controls the White House.
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The timing is also right. The nation is approaching both the 2030 Census and the centennial of the law that capped the House at 435 members. Those milestones present an opportunity to revisit a decision made for a very different America.
For decades, Americans have debated how to restrain an increasingly powerful presidency. The answer may not be found on Election Day. It may begin with restoring the strength of the institution the founders intended to keep presidents in check.
Jeff Mayhugh is a Christian, husband, and father of five. He runs a small business with his wife and lives in his hometown in Virginia. In his spare time, he advocates for representation as the president of No Cap Fund.
Rory Riley Topping is an attorney, commentator, and volunteer outreach director for the No Cap Fund. She is also the co-author of two books: Justice and the American Veteran: A History of the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims and Draw the Line in Ohio: How One State’s Fight for Fair Maps Explains Gerrymandering in America.