William L. Kovacs

November 5, 2026

The 120^th Congress of the United States starts on January 4, 2027. Each new Congress inspires hope throughout the nation that its members will fulfill their fiduciary duties to defend Congress and uphold the Constitution. However, within months, promises of loyalty to the Constitution and public service often yield to political pressure and personal interest. In the last half century, most members of Congress voted for increased debt, ongoing wars, and higher spending. Soon, the new members discover what prior members discovered: self-dealing and loyalty to presidents and political parties advance their political careers and financial interests more than loyalty to the institution they were elected to serve.

Such conduct is contrary to the Founders’ intent. They viewed government not as ownership of power, but as a fiduciary duty: a solemn obligation to defend the Constitution, remain loyal to their branch, and protect liberty.

Every member of Congress swears an oath to uphold the Constitution, yet few treat this oath as a binding legal and moral duty. For most, it is merely ceremonial.

In practice, the members of Congress from the president’s party protect their president, whether it be Trump, Biden, Obama, Bush, Clinton, or Reagan. These members confuse party allegiance with constitutional duty. They forget that political parties are private associations designed to control the nation’s laws and resources for political purposes, and not for the good of the nation.

The Constitution never mentions political parties.

When members of Congress neglect their fiduciary duties to defend their institution, the separation of powers erodes, usually resulting in a greater concentration of power in the Chief Executive. This erosion threatens liberty.

Fiduciary government is not theoretical. It distinguishes between liberty sustained by trust and liberty surrendered to unchecked power.

Constitutionally, a legislator owes loyalty to the Constitution and the institution they serve, not to individual voters, contributors, or political parties. Each member’s oath is to the Constitution, not to a party or president. Legislators fulfill this oath by defending the integrity of Congress and the separation of powers. Every member of Congress holds a fiduciary duty to protect the Constitution’s structure of divided powers, check excesses by the Chief Executive and Judiciary, legislate within legal and rational bounds, and steward the nation’s resources responsibly.

A member of Congress’s core duty is loyalty to the Constitution’s structure. All government officials share a core duty: to preserve the Constitution’s architecture of limited powers divided among coequal branches, with each branch continually checking the others.

Chief Justice John Marshall noted in McCulloch v. Maryland that the constitutional structure guards against abuse. The separation of powers is not decorative; it safeguards liberty. Absolute loyalty to one’s institution—Congress, the Presidency, or the Judiciary—is essential to constitutional fidelity. Loyalty to party or party leadership undermines this duty.

When members of Congress remain silent as presidents usurp legislative authority, they violate their fiduciary duty. Excusing abuses within their own party or defending a president’s misconduct also violates their oath. Each failure of oversight, acceptance of executive overreach, or wasteful appropriation breaches trust and weakens Congress and the Republic.

Understanding fiduciary duty transforms congressional service from political self-interest to a fiduciary relationship with Congress. Four principles define every legislator’s duty:

Duty of Loyalty – Each member must prioritize defending and faithfully implementing the Constitution above personal, partisan, or financial interests. This duty is fulfilled by protecting Congress from encroachment by the Executive Branch or Judiciary.

Duty of Care – Members must competently and faithfully fulfill their responsibilities. They should study issues, deliberate, and act with reasoned judgment.

Duty of Impartiality – Legislators must represent constituents fairly and impartially. They cannot favor any group based on party affiliation, donations, or personal allegiance. Justice in representation is the moral core of republican government.

Duty of Accountability – Members must be transparent with the public. They cannot legislate in secret, disguise intent, conceal costs, or withhold relevant information.

In theory, the Constitution remains effective. In practice, those who are sworn to defend it often undermine it. The most serious threats come from officials who exchange institutional duty for partisan gain.

When politics replaces principle, citizens become vulnerable. Rights depend not on law but on the ruling faction’s preferences. When party loyalty overrides constitutional loyalty, the Republic is at risk.

Despite lacking constitutional status, the two major parties now dominate nearly every elective office in America. While appearing as rivals, they collaborate to maintain a monopoly on power, creating legal barriers such as ballot-access restrictions, campaign-finance rules, and debate exclusions that suppress competition. This political duopoly determines who may govern and how.

The solution is clear. If members of Congress prioritized their oath to the Constitution and the institution of Congress, the balance of powers would be restored. The same principle applies to other branches: each must act as a fiduciary for its own sphere, guarding its boundaries to protect the people’s freedom.

The 120^th Congress, like every prior Congress, faces an existential choice: Does it operate for political and personal benefit, or does it perform its duties as a fiduciary that protects the Constitution and its separation of powers?

William L. Kovacs served as senior vice president for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and chief counsel to a congressional committee. His books include: Congress: An Irrelevant Institution or Guardian of the Republic, Reform the Kakistocracy, the recipient of the 2021 Independent Press Award for Social/Political Change, and  Devolution of Power. He can be contacted at [email protected]