At least 50 members of Congress sleep in their offices rather than rent out homes in D.C.

Carlos Abarca sets up beds for senators staying at the U.S. Capitol overnight for a filibuster debate.
(Image credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Congress can be a home away from home for lawmakers, and no one knows that better than the 50-plus elected officials — including top Republicans like newly anointed House Speaker Paul Ryan and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy — who convert their offices into bedrooms after hours.

The reason for camping out, The New York Times explains, is "fiscal, practical, and political," allowing lawmakers to dodge Washington rent and work extra long hours (Ryan, for example, tries to maintain a 9 p.m. bedtime and rises before 6 a.m.). What's more, most of them consider "home" to be elsewhere — a 5,800-square-foot mansion in Wisconsin, if you're Ryan, for example. Why waste time and money finding a place in D.C. when a cot in the office does the trick just as well?

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.