Senate Democrats have released their ninth annual survey on staff diversity, while Republican offices have not provided demographic data on their employees, according to a new analysis by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies.
The Washington-based research organization commended Senate Democrats for the transparency while noting the absence of data from Republican offices.
The senators with the most diverse staff overall are Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, Alex Padilla, D-Calif., and Ossoff. Meanwhile, Sens. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., Peter Welch, D-Vt., and Gary Peters, D-Mich., have the least diverse staff.
The center’s analysis includes 20 graphics detailing rankings of personal and committee offices with the highest percentages of people of color, as well as breakdowns for Black, Latino, Asian American/Pacific Islander, women and LGBTQ staff.
Of the 47 Democratic Senate personal offices, 41 were included in the year-over-year comparison. Among those 41 offices, 11 reported an increase in the percentage of staff who identify as people of color, 25 reported a decrease and five remained unchanged.
Only 18% of the 11 offices that saw increases reported gains of more than five percentage points.
The analysis includes independent Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Angus King of Maine, who receive their committee assignments through the Democratic Party.
Among committees, the Senate Banking Committee, led by ranking member Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, led by ranking member Schatz, and the Senate Rules and Administration Committee, led by ranking member Padilla, have the most diverse committee staff. More than half of the staff on these three committees identify as people of color.
Six Democratic committees have no Black staff: the Senate Aging Committee, led by ranking member Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y.; Senate Armed Services Committee, led by ranking member Jack Reed, D-R.I.; Senate Budget Committee, led by ranking member Jeff Merkley, D-Ore.; Senate Indian Affairs Committee; Joint Economic Committee, led by ranking member Hassan; and Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, led by ranking member Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.
The full analysis by Joint Center Senior Researcher Dr. LaShonda Brenson is available on the center’s website.