Earlier this year, the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies reported on the racial representation among top staff hires for members of the 119th U.S. Congress, finding just 5 percent of these positions are held by Black Americans. Now, the Joint Center has released a new report focused specifically on staff diversity for the U.S. House of Representatives.
Authored by researchers LaShonda Brenson and Kimberly Victor, the report revealed a significant lack of racial and ethnic diversity among top staff in personal and full committee offices for the U.S. House of Representatives as of March 31, 2025. Although people of color represent 42.9 percent of the U.S. population, only 21.6 percent of top house staffers are from non-White backgrounds. In the 303 personal offices of White members, only 25 are led by non-White chiefs of staff.
Of the 1,244 total top staff positions for the House of Representatives, 77 are held by Black Americans (72 supporting personal offices and five serving as staff directors in committee offices). This equates to just 6.2 percent of all top staff roles – far below Black Americans’ overall 11.8 percent share of the U.S. population. Notably, the share of Black Americans in personal office top staff positions decreased from 6.7 percent in 2018 to 6.0 percent in 2025, while the overall share of people of color in top personal office staff roles increased from 13.7 percent to 21.6 percent.
Over 94 percent of all Black top staffers for the House of Representatives are employed by Democratic members, and Black Americans represent 26.3 percent of all Democratic House staff directors. Among White Democratic members, 4 percent of top staff are Black, while 0.5 percent of top staff for White Republican members are Black. About 13 percent of all personal offices and just 5.3 percent of non-Black members employ at least one Black staffer in a top position.
Members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) employ the highest proportion of Black top staffers compared to members of other major caucuses. CBC members are also responsible for three of the five Black staff directors serving in committee offices. Furthermore, members of the CBC and the Congressional Progressive Caucus are the only caucuses to employ a Black top staff that is equal to or higher than the Black U.S. population, at 33.1 percent and 12.5 percent, respectively.
“Top staff shape how Congress works, whose voices are heard, and what priorities get advanced,” said Dr. Brenson. “This analysis shows that the people in those roles don’t yet reflect the people served by Congress — especially in offices representing racially diverse districts.”
“Even though we’ve seen modest gains in staff diversity over the years, there is still disproportionate representation of top staffers of color,” said Victor. “It’s especially troubling that Black representation among top staffers has decreased from 6.7 percent to just 6 percent since 2018. It’s clear that there’s still progress to be made.”
