Category: congressional staff

GOP Staffer Attacked at Gunpoint After Congressional Charity Baseball Game

A congressional staffer for Rep. Brad Finstad (R-Minn.) was reportedly attacked by an armed suspect after returning from the congressional charity baseball game last week in Washington D.C. Finstad first revealed the attack in a Friday press statement, saying “one of my staffers was attacked outside of his residence by an armed gunman” after the…


Democratic Socialists of America Member Appointed President of New Congressional Workers Union

Philip Bennett, the newly selected president of the Congressional Workers Union and a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, is the first individual in American history to hold such a title because the CWU is the first collective bargaining unit ever allowed to be organized by the U.S. House of Representatives for staff aides….


House Democrats Vote to Allow Staffers to Unionize; Republicans Predict Bargaining Chaos

House Democrats voted overwhelmingly to allow thousands of congressional aides working on their personal office staffs to form unions with the power to bargain collectively on their working conditions. On a 217-202 vote on May 10, the House adopted a resolution introduced by Rep. Andy Levin (D-Mich.) to approve regulations required under the Congressional Accountability…


Pelosi Orders Minimum Pay Boost for House Aides to $45,000

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) announced on May 6 that she is ordering the minimum salary to be paid to congressional aides in the lower chamber of Congress to be increased to $45,000. “I am pleased to announce that … the House will for the first time ever set the minimum annual pay…


Pandemic Left Capitol Hill Aides Isolated, so David Tennent Did Something About It

David Tennent was unfamiliar with the ins and outs of Congress when he left his hometown of Pittsburgh to start working on Capitol Hill in May 2017 as an intern in the office of Rep. Tim Murphy (R-Pa.), but he quickly proved to be a fast learner. “I didn’t even know what ‘a coffee’ was…


Pandemic Left Capitol Hill Aides Isolated, so Former Intern Did Something About It

David Tennent was unfamiliar with the ins and outs of Congress when he left his hometown of Pittsburgh to start working on Capitol Hill in March 2019 as an intern in the office of a Republican House member, but he quickly proved to be a fast learner. “I didn’t even know what ‘a coffee’ was…


‘Unworkable, Impractical’: Congressional Staffer Unions Would Bring More Dysfunction to Capitol, House Panel Told

Letting Capitol Hill staffers organize in collective bargaining unions will be “unworkable” and “impractical,” and prompt “more dysfunction in Washington,” while undermining the independence of Congress, according to Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.). “Unions can, and do, play a significant role in assuring a fair working environment,” Davis said in his opening statement before a March 2 hearing of…


Boosting Hill Staff Pay Garners Support on Left and Right

Something unusual will happen in the nation’s capital Thursday when the House Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress convenes a hearing on how much Congress should spend on itself. Lawmakers talking about the legislative branch appropriation, which also includes compensation for the thousands of congressional aides they employ, is not unusual. What will be…