Congressional Caucuses

Beyond the formal committee system, members of Congress organize themselves into hundreds of voluntary groups. The largest are the party organizations, the House Democratic Caucus and the House Republican Conference, with their Senate counterparts, which elect party leaders, set committee assignments, and adopt party rules. Below them sit ideological blocs such as the Republican Study Committee, the House Freedom Caucus, the Congressional Progressive Caucus, the New Democrat Coalition, and the Blue Dog Coalition, and identity caucuses such as the Congressional Black Caucus, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, and the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus.

Most caucuses are narrow issue or regional groups, from the Congressional Steel Caucus to caucuses on rare diseases, specific countries, and hobbies. In the House, these groups register each Congress with the Committee on House Administration as Congressional Member Organizations. Since 1995, when the House abolished funded legislative service organizations, caucuses cannot have their own office space or budget, so their work is carried out by staff in members' personal offices. Senate caucuses operate more informally.

The ideological and identity caucuses matter most in practice. In a closely divided House, a disciplined bloc of a few dozen members can decide whether a bill passes or a Speaker is elected, so caucuses that vote together can extract concessions from leadership. Caucuses also write alternative budgets, coordinate messaging, endorse candidates through affiliated political groups, and give members a way to build influence outside the seniority system.