HILL’S LEAST-VISIBLE, MOST POWERFUL INFLUENCE GROUP: There are thousands of them working behind-the-scenes for individual senators and representatives, as well as for congressional committees, agencies and offices.

Capitol Hill staffers have immense power by virtue of doing the day-to-work that enables Congress to function. They also have tremendous influence by way of their direct relationships with and service to individual lawmakers. Change how and what staffers think and you can go a long way toward changing their bosses’ conduct on the Senate and House floors.

A lot of folks on the Right will instantly dismiss Hill staffers as irrelevant, but in some important respects that’s a huge mistake, one that’s been made for decades. Former Scalise Chief of Staff Lynnel Ruckert’s recent testimony before the House Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress offers multiple insights about this obscure power center.