Dan Glickman, D-Kansas, is the former chairman of the House Intelligence Committee and former secretary of agriculture. Follow him at @DanRGlickman.The opinions expressed in this commentary are his own..

(CNN) Americans hardly agree on anything these days, but at a baseline, we all agree that government should be looking out for our national security. Congress in particular has a critical responsibility to provide oversight over the defense and intelligence communities.

Dan Glickman

In nearly every era of American history, save the Senate McCarthy hearings, this oversight has been done in a sober and bipartisan fashion. Politicians, love them or hate them, are largely patriots whose sworn duty it is to uphold the Constitution, and it is their sacred duty to protect the nation.

Thankfully, the Senate Intelligence Committee leadership seems to understand this, but the House Intelligence Committee needs help, so here's a suggestion. Speaker Paul Ryan should take off his "leader of the Republican Party hat" on intelligence oversight, and put on his "leader of the House hat," sit down with the House Intelligence Committee and get the members to act like adults.

He needs to explain to them that country and the institution come first if you want to serve on this committee. I know this can be difficult for any leader in these times of unbelievable partisan distrust and conflict, but he owes it to the Congress, and the American people, to cajole the House Intelligence Committee to get its act together, for the sake of our country and our national security.

Instead, we have seen toxic partisanship finally erode this fundamental responsibility. Dueling memos, started by the release of the Nunes memo, have seemingly put political loyalty to President Donald Trump over sworn duty. Congress has derailed.

Read More