Hill Diversity
Joint Center Tracker Update of Racial Diversity of Top Staff Hires in 118th Congress
By LaShonda Brenson Ph.D. and Kimberly Victor
There are 1,602 top positions (chiefs of staff, legislative directors, and communications directors) in the personal offices of new and returning members of the 118th Congress. Of that number, Congress members have filled 1,216 and 283 top staff positions for newly elected and returning U.S. House and Senate members, respectively.
According to the Joint Center’s midterm hiring campaign microsite, which went live in November 2022 and features several interactive tracking tools, including monitoring top staff hires of all new and returning members, 93.6 percent of the positions have already been filled (1,499 of 1,602) as of Feb. 17, 2023. Of the top staff hired thus far, 17.9 percent are people of color, and 5.1 percent are African American. These low numbers are concerning because people of color account for 40.0 percent of the U.S. population and African Americans account for 12.4 percent of the population.
Returning House Members*
Of the 1,011 top staff positions filled by returning House members, the hiring of diverse top staffers by returning House members (18.1 percent) continues to lag behind the national population (40.0 percent people of color), but is slightly higher than the top staff of the entire House in 2022 (18.0 percent of color).
House Democrats: Of the 502 positions already filled, people of color account for 26.3 percent of top staff hired by returning House Democrats of the 118th Congress. By comparison, people of color accounted for 26.3 percent of top staff employed by returning House Democrats of the 117th Congress in October 2022. Thirty-five top staff positions of returning House Democratic members remain to be filled.
House Republicans: Of the 509 positions already filled, people of color account for 10.0 percent of top staff hired by returning House Republicans of the 118th Congress. By comparison, people of color accounted for 5.4 percent of staff employed by returning House Republicans of the 117th Congress in October 2022. Thirty-one top staff positions of returning House Republican members remain to be filled.
Returning Senators
Of the 259 top staff positions filled by returning Senate members, the hiring of diverse top staffers by returning Senate members (14.3 percent) continues to lag behind the national population (40.0 percent people of color), but is higher than Senate top staff diversity in 2020 (11.0 percent of color).
Senate Democrats: Of the 140 positions filled, people of color account for 21.4 percent of top staff hired by returning Senate Democrats of the 118th Congress. By comparison, people of color accounted for 19.0 percent of top staff employed by returning Senate Democrats of the 116th Congress in August 2020. Seven top staff positions of returning Senate Democratic members remain to be filled.
Senate Republicans: Of the 119 positions filled, people of color account for 5.9 percent of top staff hired by returning House Republicans of the 118th Congress. By comparison, people of color accounted for 4.0 percent of staff employed by returning Senate Republicans of the 116th Congress in August 2020. Ten top staff positions of returning Senate Republican members remain to be filled.
Newly-Elected House Members**
Of the 205 top staff positions filled by new House members, the hiring of diverse top staffers by newly-elected House members (22.9 percent) continues to lag behind the national population (40.0 percent people of color). The diversity of top staff hired by new House members is slightly lower than the top staff of newly-elected House members two years ago (23.1 percent of color), but is higher than the top staff of the entire House in October 2022 (18.0 percent of color).
House Democrats: Of the 93 positions already filled, people of color account for 38.7 percent of top staff hired by newly-elected House Democrats. By comparison, people of color accounted for 55.6 percent of top staff employed by freshman House Democrats two years ago. Nine top staff positions of new House Democratic members remain to be filled.
House Republicans: Of the 112 positions already filled, people of color account for 9.8 percent of top staff hired by newly-elected House Republicans. By comparison, people of color accounted for 12.4 percent of staff employed by freshman House Republicans two years ago. Eleven top staff positions of new House Republican members remain to be filled.
Newly-Elected Senators
Newly-elected Senate offices have filled all of their top staff positions. Of the 24 top staff positions filled by newly-elected senators, diverse top staffers account for 8.3 percent, which is lower than the entire U.S. Senate in 2020 (11.0 percent), and the hiring by newly-elected senators two years ago (36.7 percent).
Diversity Must Be a Priority in Filling Remaining Spots
Diversity among top staff of the freshmen members of the 118th Congress is currently less than freshmen of the 117th Congress. Further, if none of the 103 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 18.9 percent to 17.7 percent in the House, and will drop from 13.8 percent to 13 percent in the Senate. Newly-elected and returning members must prioritize racial diversity in filling their remaining 86 House and 17 Senate open top staff positions.
Our analysis reflects the 534 voting members of Congress as of Feb. 17, 2023, not including one vacant seat in the House following the passing of Rep. Donald McEachin (D-VA). On Feb. 21, 2023, Rep. Jennifer McClellan won a special election for Virginia’s 4th district, which the late Rep. McEachin previously held. Rep. McClellan’s top staff data will be included in future updates. Independent members of Congress are counted with the party they caucus with.
**Our analysis reflects the 534 voting members of Congress as of Feb. 17, 2023, not including one vacant seat in the House following the passing of Rep. Donald McEachin (D-VA). On Feb. 21, 2023, Rep. Jennifer McClellan won a special election for Virginia’s 4th district, which the late Rep. McEachin previously held. Rep. McClellan’s top staff data will be included in future updates. 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 a 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 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.
*Returning members are those who serve in the current Congress and were also sworn into the previous Congress. For example, current returning members include those who serve in the 118th Congress, and who were also sworn into the 117th Congress.
