The House was supposed to grow with population. It didn’t. Let’s fix that.

What if we increased the size of the House?

Given that most of us are pretty frustrated with Congress, this might sound crazy. But growing the House of Representatives is the key to unlocking our present paralysis and leaning into some serious democracy renovation.

I am using my Post column this year to explore why we are pulling apart as a people and how we can change that dynamic and come together. In January, I wrote about our desperate need to renovate our democracy.

Now, the pace of change has accelerated, and all of our deferred maintenance is catching up with us. We need a plan for functional institutions of self-government in 21st-century conditions. We all know it, but we’re stuck. There’s so much work to do. Where to begin?

I propose we start with the first branch of government — the branch of the federal government that was designed by the framers to be closest to we the people.

George Washington spoke just once at the Constitutional Convention — and on its final day — to endorse an amendment lowering the ratio of constituents to members to 30,000. The expectation was that good, responsive representation required allowing representatives to meaningfully know their constituents, constituents to know and reach their representatives, and Congress to get its business done.

Today, House members represent roughly 762,000 people each. That number is on track to reach 1 million by mid-century.

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