When Congress returns to session this September, all eyes will be on the lawmakers and the policies they’ll debate. But behind every legislative priority is a team of staffers, especially top staffers, doing the heavy lifting — crafting language, negotiating with other congressional offices, and ultimately shaping what becomes law. Who fills those roles quietly determines the strength of our democracy.
In March 2024, Congress disbanded the House Office of Diversity and Inclusion (ODI) via a spending bill, shifting its functions to the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), which provides administrative, technical, and operational services to House members and staff. Since 2020, ODI had led bipartisan efforts to expand diverse hiring across House offices. In January 2025, the House rules package formally dissolved ODI. Together, these changes reduced the dedicated infrastructure members once had to build effective, inclusive teams.
Top staffers are the mainstay of Congress yet are rarely in the spotlight. Top staffers provide services to all Americans, including shaping the trillions of dollars that make up the U.S. federal budget, working with the media to shape the narratives and news stories regarding the issues Americans care about, and providing oversight for federal agencies with nearly four million civilian and military workers.
People of color are better represented among House members than their top staffers, who draft legislation, address constituent concerns, and manage members’ offices. Over a quarter (26%) of voting members of the U.S. House of Representatives sworn into the 119th Congress are people of color, but only 21.6% of all top House staff (i.e., chiefs of staff, legislative directors, and communications directors) are people of color and 6.0% of House personal office top staff are Black American. These low percentages are troubling, as people of color account for 42.9% of the U.S. population, and Black Americans make up 11.8% of the U.S. population.
American policy priorities can often differ across race, which may relate to differing experiences within the American economy. For example, according to a recent Pew Research Center survey, Black and Latina/o adults are much more likely than white adults to report that they cannot pay some of their monthly bills. Forty-three percent of Black adults and 37% of Latina/o adults say they cannot pay some bills, while only 19% of white adults say this. In addition, Black (68%) and Latina/o (67%) adults are much more likely than white adults (44%) to report that they do not have an emergency fund for unexpected expenses. To better address these matters and push forward meaningful legislation to tackle these critical economic issues, members of Congress need top staffers who understand firsthand the experiences of constituents. The perspectives and talents of racially diverse top staff would allow members of Congress to best serve their communities and help dismantle the structural inequality in laws passed by Congress.
While congressional efforts including the establishment of the now-defunct ODI and the Senate Democratic Diversity Initiative have improved the climate on the Hill, there is more work to be done to bring systemic change to Congress. Congressional leaders must pass legislation to address the needs of their constituents, and that starts with senior staff members representing the diversity of their districts. Congressional representatives should understand and prioritize the rights and well-being of the staffers who serve our nation by adopting a staffing plan that emphasizes inclusion and allocates services and tools for their entire teams. Of course, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits basing employment decisions on race or other protected characteristics. However, expanding recruitment to remove application barriers such as improving the non-transparent application process for Hill positions and diversify the candidate pool can lawfully increase the likelihood that members of Congress will hire highly qualified candidates that represent our nation’s diversity.
Hiring a more diverse top staff would help to enhance deliberation and innovation, which would allow for Congress to operate more effectively and strengthen our democracy. Hill offices are employment pipelines to the White House, federal agencies, lobbying firms, and nongovernmental organizations. The choices members of Congress make about who leads their teams will reverberate far beyond Capitol Hill.
Brenson is a senior researcher for the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies.