The House of Representatives is the larger, population-based chamber of the United States Congress, made up of 435 voting members who each represent a district of roughly equal population and stand for election every two years. Created by Article I of the Constitution, it shares federal lawmaking power with the Senate but holds several powers the Senate does not, including the sole authority to originate tax bills and to impeach federal officials.1Congress.gov. U.S. Constitution – Article I
What the House Is and Why It Exists
Article I, Section 1 of the Constitution places all federal lawmaking power in Congress and splits that power between two chambers: the Senate and the House of Representatives.1Congress.gov. U.S. Constitution – Article I The split came out of a fight at the 1787 Constitutional Convention. Large states wanted representation based on population. Small states wanted every state treated equally. The Connecticut Compromise gave each side one chamber. The House distributes seats by population, so more populous states carry more weight. The Senate gives every state two seats regardless of size.
That two-chamber structure still shapes how Congress works. The House, with its short terms and population-based seats, was built to track public opinion closely. The Senate was built to slow things down and force broader agreement across states.
Who Serves and for How Long
Article I, Section 2 sets three requirements to serve in the House. A representative must be at least 25 years old, must have been a U.S. citizen for at least seven years, and must live in the state they represent at the time of election.2Congress.gov. Article I Section 2 Clause 2 There is no constitutional requirement to live in the specific district, only the state, though voters rarely elect someone from outside their district.
Every seat is on the ballot during each even-numbered November election.3USAGov. Congressional Elections and Midterm Elections Two-year terms keep members closely tied to their voters. A senator can take an unpopular vote and hope constituents forget over six years. A House member faces voters again in months.
A separate constitutional bar applies to anyone who previously swore an oath to support the Constitution as a federal or state official and then participated in insurrection or rebellion against the United States. Section 3 of the 14th Amendment disqualifies those individuals from serving.4Congress.gov. Fourteenth Amendment Section 3 – Disqualification From Holding Office Congress can lift the disqualification, but only by a two-thirds vote in both the House and the Senate. The provision was written after the Civil War to keep former Confederate officials out of government and drew renewed attention after legal challenges tied to the January 6, 2021, Capitol breach.
How the 435 Seats Are Divided Among the States
Federal law caps the House at 435 voting members. The number has been fixed since the Permanent Apportionment Act of 1929.5Congressional Research Service. Size of the U.S. House of Representatives Before that law, Congress had periodically added seats as the population grew. The 1929 act froze the total and directed that the existing 435 seats be redistributed after each census. The governing statute, 2 U.S.C. ยง2a, still requires the President to send Congress a reapportionment statement after each decennial count, and each state receives its updated number of seats automatically.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 2 USC 2a – Reapportionment of Representatives
The Constitution requires a census every ten years to count every person living in the country.7U.S. Census Bureau. Census in the Constitution The federal government then applies a formula called the method of equal proportions to divide the 435 seats among the 50 states. No state can receive fewer than one seat, which is why states like Wyoming and Vermont each have a single representative despite very small populations.
Redistricting
Once seats are reapportioned, states that gained or lost seats, and often those that didn’t, redraw the boundaries of their congressional districts. In most states the state legislature controls redistricting, though a growing number use independent commissions. The goal is districts of roughly equal population, but the process is intensely political. Whichever party controls the mapmaking can draw boundaries that concentrate or dilute the other party’s voters, a practice known as gerrymandering. Courts occasionally strike down maps that go too far, but the line between political strategy and unconstitutional manipulation remains contested.
Non-Voting Delegates
Beyond the 435 voting members, the House includes non-voting delegates from the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands.5Congressional Research Service. Size of the U.S. House of Representatives They can serve on committees, introduce legislation, and speak on the floor, but they cannot vote when the full chamber decides the fate of a bill.
What the House Can Do That the Senate Cannot
Originating Revenue Bills
All bills that raise federal revenue must start in the House.8Congress.gov. Constitution Annotated – Article I Section 7 Clause 1 The framers placed this power in the chamber closest to voters, reasoning that the authority to tax should sit nearest to those being taxed. The Senate can amend revenue bills once they arrive, and often does, but cannot originate them.
Impeachment
The House holds the sole power of impeachment, meaning it is the only body that can formally charge a President, Vice President, federal judge, or other federal officer with serious misconduct.9Congress.gov. Constitution Annotated – Article I Section 2 Clause 5 A simple majority is enough to impeach. Impeachment is the equivalent of an indictment, not a conviction. The trial itself happens in the Senate, where a two-thirds vote is needed to remove the official from office.
Choosing the President in a Deadlock
If no presidential candidate wins a majority of Electoral College votes, the House chooses the President from the top three vote-getters. Each state delegation gets a single vote regardless of how many representatives it has, and a candidate needs a majority of state delegations to win.10Constitution Center. 12th Amendment – Election of President and Vice President This contingent election process has been used only twice, in 1801 and 1825, but remains a live possibility in a close or multi-candidate race.
Oversight and Subpoena Power
Though not spelled out in the Constitution’s text, the House has an implied power to investigate the executive branch and compel testimony and documents through subpoenas.11Congress.gov. Overview of Congress’s Investigation and Oversight Powers The Supreme Court has recognized this authority as essential to lawmaking: Congress cannot write good laws without understanding how existing ones are working. The power is broad but not unlimited. Investigations must relate to a subject on which legislation could reasonably be pursued.
Who Runs the House
The Speaker
The Speaker of the House is the chamber’s most powerful figure and the only House leadership position the Constitution creates by name.12Congress.gov. Article I Section 2 – House of Representatives The full House elects the Speaker, though in practice the majority party’s nominee almost always wins. The Speaker controls which bills reach the floor, recognizes members to speak during debates, and shapes the chamber’s agenda.
The Speaker also stands second in the presidential line of succession, behind only the Vice President. If both the President and Vice President were unable to serve, the Speaker would resign from Congress and assume the presidency.13Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 3 USC 19 – Vacancy in Offices of Both President and Vice President
Party Leaders and Caucuses
Below the Speaker, each party elects its own leadership team. The Majority Leader manages the floor schedule and coordinates the majority party’s legislative strategy. The Minority Leader is the opposition’s chief spokesperson and strategist. Whips work the vote counts, gauging whether enough members will support a bill before leadership calls it up and pressuring holdouts when the margin is thin.
Every Democrat in the House belongs to the Democratic Caucus, and every Republican belongs to the Republican Conference. These groups nominate candidates for Speaker and other leadership posts, approve committee assignments, and develop party messaging. Much of the real negotiation over legislation happens in caucus meetings before a bill ever reaches the floor.
Committees
The House currently operates 20 standing committees, each focused on a policy area such as appropriations, armed services, the judiciary, or tax policy (handled by the Ways and Means Committee). Bills are referred to the relevant committee after introduction, and committee members hold hearings, call witnesses, amend the text, and decide whether to send the bill to the full House. Most bills die in committee. Only a fraction ever receive a vote on the floor.
One committee sits above the others in influence. The Rules Committee acts as gatekeeper for floor action, deciding how long debate lasts, which amendments are allowed, and what procedural rules apply to each bill. Because the majority party controls the Rules Committee, it has enormous leverage over what the opposition can do on the floor.
How a Bill Moves Through the House
Any sitting member can introduce a bill by dropping it in the hopper, a wooden box on the House floor. The Speaker refers the bill to the appropriate committee. If the committee takes it up, it holds hearings, marks up the text with amendments, and votes on whether to report the bill to the full House.14USAGov. How Laws Are Made
Bills that survive committee go to the Rules Committee for scheduling, then to the House floor for debate and a final vote. Passage requires a simple majority of members voting. If the bill passes, it moves to the Senate, which runs its own separate process. Because the two chambers almost never pass identical versions, a conference committee typically negotiates a compromise. Both chambers must then approve the final text before it goes to the President, who can sign it into law or veto it.
House vs. Senate at a Glance
The two chambers work differently in ways that matter:
- Size and representation: The House has 435 members allocated by population. The Senate has 100, two per state.
- Term length: House members serve two years with every seat up simultaneously. Senators serve six years, with about a third of the Senate up every two years.
- Qualifications: House candidates must be at least 25 and a citizen for seven years. Senators must be at least 30 and a citizen for nine years.
- Exclusive powers: The House alone originates tax legislation and impeaches. The Senate alone confirms presidential appointments, ratifies treaties, and conducts impeachment trials.
Legislation must pass both chambers in identical form before it can reach the President’s desk.
Filling Vacancies and Disciplining Members
House vacancies can only be filled through a special election. Unlike Senate vacancies, which governors in most states can fill by appointment, an empty House seat requires the state’s governor to issue a writ of election, an official order calling a special election.15Congress.gov. Article I Section 2 Clause 4 – House Vacancies Clause State law governs the specific timeline, so the gap between a vacancy and the special election varies widely.
The House can also police its own membership. Article I, Section 5 lets the chamber punish members for disorderly behavior and, with a two-thirds vote, expel a member entirely.16Congress.gov. Article I Section 5 – Proceedings Expulsion has been used only a handful of times, most notably during the Civil War when members who joined the Confederacy were removed. Short of expulsion, the House uses two lesser sanctions. A censure requires a majority vote and typically forces the member to stand in the well of the chamber while the Speaker reads aloud a resolution of disapproval. A reprimand carries the same majority vote but involves a lighter public rebuke.