Congressional Black Caucus Questions Practice of Lawmakers Bunking in Their Offices

It’s a congressional tradition that’s been around for decades and almost always cast in a glowing light: Dozens of lawmakers sleep in their offices while they’re in Washington to escape the exorbitant cost of rent and the corrupting culture of America’s most hated-upon company town. Their ranks include the most powerful men in Congress—House Speaker Paul Ryan and Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy. “I just work here. I don’t live here,” Ryan once said in explaining why he’d continue to spend half his nights sleeping on a cot even after assuming the nation’s second-most powerful elected office.