Joint Center Tracker Final Update of Racial Diversity of Top Staff Hires in 119th Congress

By LaShonda Brenson, Ph.D. and Kimberly Victor

As of Feb. 28, members of Congress have filled 1,509 of the 1,599 top positions (chiefs of staff, legislative directors, and communications directors) in the personal offices of new and returning members of the 119th Congress. U.S. senators filled 285 top staff positions and U.S. House members filled 1,224, leaving 90 positions to fill.

The 119th Congress has slightly more members of color than the previous Congress, but the racial makeup of its top staff does not reflect the diversity of the United States. Of the top staff hired by new and returning members so far, 20.0 percent are people of color, and 5.4 percent are African American. With people of color accounting for 41.1 percent of the U.S. population (African Americans are 13.6 percent), the low percentages are concerning.

The Joint Center’s hiring campaign microsite, which went live in Nov. 2024 and features several interactive tracking tools including a monitor of top staff hires of all new and returning members, shows that 94.4 percent of the positions have been filled (1,509 of 1,599) as of Feb. 28, 2025.

Newly-Elected House Members 

Newly-elected House members have filled 185 out of 195 top staff positions (94.9 percent of the total) as of Feb. 28. Of the roles filled, the percentage of people of color in top staff roles (21.1 percent) continues to lag behind the national population (41.1 percent people of color). The proportion of top staff of color in newly-elected House member offices this Congress is lower than the top staff of newly-elected House members in the previous Congress (24.2 percent people of color), but is higher than the top staff of the entire House in 2022 (18.0 percent people of color). Ten top staff positions (5.1 percent of the total) remain to be filled.  

House Democrats: Of the 99 positions filled, people of color account for 36.4 percent of top staff hired by newly-elected House Democrats. By comparison, people of color accounted for 41.6 percent of top staff employed by freshman House Democrats two years ago. Three top staff positions of new House Democratic members remain to be filled.

House Republicans: Of the 86 positions filled, people of color account for 3.5 percent of top staff hired by newly-elected House Republicans. By comparison, people of color accounted for 8.8 percent of staff employed by freshman House Republicans two years ago. Seven top staff positions of new House Republican members remain to be filled. 

Newly-Elected Senators 

Newly-elected senators filled 38 out of 42 top staff positions as of Feb. 28. Of the roles filled, top staffers of color account for 21.1 percent, which is higher than the percentage of top staffers of color in the entire U.S. Senate in Oct. 2023 (15.8 percent) and higher than the hiring by newly-elected senators in the last Congress (8.3 percent). Four top staff positions (9.5 percent of the total) remain to be filled.

Senate Democrats: Of the 18 positions filled, people of color account for 44.4 percent of top staff hired by newly-elected Senate Democrats. By comparison, people of color accounted for 16.7 percent of top staff employed by freshman Senate Democrats two years ago. There are no top staff position vacancies in new Senate Democratic members offices.

Senate Republicans: Of the 20 positions filled, no top staff of color were hired by newly-elected Senate Republicans. By comparison, people of color accounted for 5.6 percent of staff employed by freshman Senate Republicans two years ago. Four top staff positions of new Senate Republican members remain to be filled.

Returning House Members

Of the 1,039 top staff positions filled by returning House members, the percentage of top staffers of color (20.5 percent) continues to lag behind the national population (41.1 percent people of color), but is slightly higher than the top staff of returning House members in the previous Congress (18.4 percent people of color).

House Democrats: Of the 514 positions filled, people of color account for 33.7 percent of top staff hired by returning House Democrats. By comparison, people of color accounted for 29.5 percent of top staff employed by returning House Democrats of the previous Congress. Twenty-nine top staff positions in the personal offices of returning House Democratic members remain to be filled.

House Republicans: Of the 525 positions already filled, people of color account for 7.6 percent of top staff hired by returning House Republicans. By comparison, people of color also accounted for 7.6 percent of staff employed by returning House Republicans of the previous Congress. Thirty-six top staff positions in the offices of returning House Republican members remain to be filled.

Returning Senators 

Of the 247 top staff positions filled by returning senators, the percentage of people of color in top staff roles (17.0 percent) continues to lag behind the national population (41.1 percent people of color), but is higher than the top staff of returning senators in the previous Congress (14.0 percent people of color).

Senate Democrats: Of the 121 positions filled, people of color account for 28.1 percent of top staff hired by returning Senate Democrats. By comparison, people of color accounted for 21.3 percent of top staff employed by returning Senate Democrats of the 118th Congress. Two top staff positions in the personal offices of returning Senate Democratic members remain to be filled.

Senate Republicans: Of the 126 positions filled, people of color account for 6.3 percent of top staff hired by returning Senate Republicans. By comparison, people of color accounted for 5.7 percent of staff employed by returning Senate Republicans of the 118th Congress. Nine top staff positions in the personal offices of returning Senate Republican members remain to be filled.

Diversity Must Be a Priority in Filling the Remaining Spots

Diversity among top staff of the members in the 119th Congress lags behind the national population (41.1 percent people of color). Further, if none of the 90 remaining open-top staff positions are filled by people of color, racial diversity among top staff of newly-elected and returning members will fall from 20.6 percent to 19.4 percent in the House, and from 17.5 percent to 16.7 percent in the Senate. Newly-elected and returning members must continue to prioritize racial diversity in filling their remaining 75 House and 15 Senate open top staff positions.

*Our analysis reflects the 533 voting members of Congress as of Feb. 28, 2025, not including Florida 1st and 6th House Districts. Independent members of Congress are counted with the party they caucus with.

Background

In November, the Joint Center launched its midterm hiring campaign, which includes microsite featuring interactive tracking tools, reports, an explainer video, coalition letters, and a list of ways concerned citizens and members of Congress can get involved. The microsite allows users to learn how each new and returning member of Congress is faring when it comes to hiring diverse top staff (chiefs of staff, legislative directors, and communications directors) in their Washington, DC office. The Joint Center regularly updates tracker data.

The Joint Center also sent letters signed by almost 70 national organizations and diversity stakeholders to new and returning members of Congress to advocate for increasing diversity among top and mid-level congressional staffers.

To view detailed data on top staff of color hired by newly-elected and returning members, click here.

To understand the problem of a lack of Hill staff diversity, why it matters, and solutions, click here.

Please check the press release section of our website for future updates.