The American founders envisioned a government of citizen legislators, not a professional careerist class, to preserve the nation's foundational principles. The current push for "fundamental transformation" by career politicians violates the organic development of American core culture. This culture requires protecting the original "DNA" of the founding, akin to a "development of doctrine" rather than a total replacement of values. A shift to a citizen-led legislature is needed to ensure government remains accountable, rather than adopting ideological frameworks that are hostile to American exceptionalism.
The American founders wanted everyday people to temporarily leave their jobs, serve their country, and return home to live under the laws they made. Today, that vision is dead. "Politician" is officially a professional career. Washington insiders operate as a ruling class, entirely detached from the financial realities of the people they represent. To fix our broken republic, we must dismantle the permanent political class and return Congress to its grassroots.
The Rise of the Careerist Elite
Modern lawmakers no longer view themselves as public servants. According to data from U.S. Term Limits, the average term length for a House member has quadrupled, while average Senate tenure has more than doubled. This lifelong retention isn't based on performance. It is fueled by:
- Expanding institutional power to shield incumbents from accountability.
- Taxpayer-funded perks that insulate politicians from everyday financial realities.
- Massive fundraising advantages that box out grassroots challengers.
When politicians stay in Washington for decades, they stop being citizens. They become permanent bureaucrats.
Exploding Spending, Bloated Bureaucracy
The primary consequence of a careerist Congress is total fiscal irresponsibility. Professional politicians maintain power by feeding an ever-growing federal machine. Since 2010, federal spending has skyrocketed by 78%, while the U.S. population grew by just 6%.
Look at the federal agency growth:
- HHS: Ballooned from $1.2 trillion to $1.7 trillion.
- Education: Tripled to $268 billion.
- Treasury: Doubled to $1.3 trillion.
Every dollar funneled into these bloated agencies is taken from veterans, teachers, and hard-working taxpayers. While D.C. insiders feast on permanent budget increases, regular Americans get the scraps.
Changing Demographics on Capitol Hill
As the permanent political class expands, the demographic makeup of the legislature is also shifting. Data from a Pew Research Center analysis shows that in the current 119th Congress, at least 80 lawmakers (15% of the total voting membership) are foreign-born immigrants or the children of immigrants. This is a notable increase from the 115th Congress, where they made up 12% of the body.
A detailed breakdown of these trends, demographics, and historical context outlines their growing influence:
- The Breakdown: There are 80 lawmakers with direct immigrant backgrounds serving in the 119th Congress. This includes 19 in the Senate and 61 in the House.
- Generational Status: 19 of these lawmakers are foreign-born immigrants (representing roughly 4% of Congress), while the remaining 61 are second-generation Americans who have at least one parent born in another country.
- Political Affiliation: Democrats significantly outnumber Republicans among this cohort, holding 60 of the 80 seats, while one is held by an independent.
- Historical Shifts: Central America has surpassed Europe as the most common origin region for lawmakers with direct immigrant backgrounds. Roughly 30% of these lawmakers claim heritage in Central America, followed by Europe (26%), Asia (17%), and the Caribbean (16%).
- Geographic Concentration: Nearly a quarter of all members of Congress who are immigrants or children of immigrants represent California.
(Note: Some critics argue that certain legislators in this growing cohort increasingly focus on issues tied to their countries of origin rather than prioritizing core United States interests).In a January 27, 2024, speech in Somali at a Minneapolis event celebrating elections in Puntland (a region of Somalia), Omar addressed Somali-American attendees about a dispute involving Somalia’s sea access, Somaliland, and Ethiopia. Accurate independent translations (from Somali speakers, court interpreters, and journalists, as reported by outlets including the Minnesota Reformer, Star Tribune, and Sahan Journal) show her saying words to this effect:
The U.S. government “will do what we tell the U.S. government to do.”
Somalis should have confidence because “We live in this country. This is the country where we pay taxes. This is the country that has elected a woman from your community.”
“As long as I am in Congress, no one will take over the seas belonging to the nation of Somalia and the United States will not support others who seek to steal from us.”
Delia Ramirez (D-IL) is frequently cited in similar loyalty debates for saying (in Spanish at a 2025 Mexico City progressive summit) she is “a proud Guatemalan before I’m an American.” She later clarified that honoring her ancestry strengthens her commitment to America. However, she is not foreign-born—she is a U.S. birthright citizen and the daughter of Guatemalan immigrants.
Members of Congress are elected to represent their U.S. districts/states and take an oath to the Constitution. Statements emphasizing heritage, diaspora concerns, or foreign-policy interests related to a birth country are common among immigrant-background lawmakers and are subject to political interpretation and criticism.
The Failure of "Professional" Oversight
Defenders of the system claim we need seasoned insiders to keep government clean. The reality proves the exact opposite.
The federal government funds over 70 statutory Inspector Generals (IGs) to root out waste. Yet, the system is so stagnant that a single 19-year-old independent analyst online uncovered more systemic fraud in one week than the entire band of highly paid IGs has exposed in decades. If a multi-billion dollar oversight apparatus can be outperformed by one determined citizen, the system is designed to protect itself—not the taxpayer.
A Call for Radical Reform
The current trajectory is unsustainable. When the ruling class argues that the Constitution is obsolete, or seeks to weaponize and pack the Supreme Court to preserve their political agendas, they demonstrate that their primary loyalty is to power—not the Republic.
We must abolish the career political class. By enforcing strict term limits and returning to a part-time, citizen-led legislature, we can break the stranglehold of Washington insiders. It is time to fire the professional politicians and return power back to the American people.