In 2022, a senior Democratic House staffer I was interviewing paused mid-conversation, her voice heavy with concern. "We are seeing each other based on political affiliation as enemies," she told me. "And that's really scary when you can't just disagree but actually see your political opponent as an enemy who is detrimental to the country, because the only answer to that is to eliminate them."

Her words proved tragically prophetic with the assassination of Charlie Kirk.

Over the last few years, I have conducted dozens of interviews with current and former congressional staffers from both parties. I wasn't investigating Jan. 6, 2021 or any particular crisis. I simply wanted to understand how policymaking had changed over the past 50 years. But conversation after conversation led to the same unsettling conclusion: The institution these staffers had dedicated their careers to serving was fundamentally broken.

These are the people political scientist Michael Malbin once called our "unelected representatives." They are chiefs of staff, legislative directors and policy experts who draft bills, negotiate deals and manage the daily machinery of American government.........

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