HILL STAFF NEWS: More GOP Staffers Than Dems Taking Advantage of Training Opportunities
Staffers working for congressional Republican senators and representatives are taking advantage of multiple training opportunities made possible by groups like the conservative Heritage Foundation and the Conservative Partnership Institute (CPI), according to Legistorm.
Hugh Fike is Senior Director of the Conservative Partnership Academy.
“Privately financed travel data shows a stark difference between how Republican and Democratic staffers are trained to do their jobs effectively. While nearly half of Republican-approved trips in 2024 have focused on educating hundreds of Republican staffers, trip disclosures indicate that there have been no Democratic trips focused on educating staff,” reports Legistorm’s Heavyn Lester.
It’s not that Democratic staffers aren’t taking trips, it’s simply a matter of becoming more effectively grounded in policy issues is a greater priority for them than training in how better to serve an elected Member of Congress, according to Lester:
“Republican members of Congress have approved 826 trips this year, totaling approximately $3.1 million, with over 45 percent of these trips focused on training staff on basic matters like how to communicate effectively and how to come together on a policy agenda.“Although Democratic members have approved 383 trips, totaling approximately $2.3 million, none of these trips were primarily focused on educating staff about how to manage their jobs and on Democratic strategies. Instead, Democratic-approved trips tend to focus on understanding policy matters like transportation, foreign policy or health care from the perspectives of the trip sponsors.”
In addition to Heritage and CPI, GOP staffers are attending sessions hosted by the Congressional Institute Inc., the Senate Working Group, American Compass and Economic Policy Innovation Center.
The pace at which GOP staffers are taking advantage of such training sessions is increasing rapidly, with the 826 total already approved in 2024 doubling the 347 trip total for 2023.
Legistorm is a subscription-only research service that provides comprehensive data on Members of Congress, congressional staffers, Hill administrative agencies, lobbying and financial disclosures and much else.