LegiStorm

When ex-Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) resigned from Congress in 2017, he explained that his time had come to "get off the crazy train." Now in the 117th Congress, his niece has climbed aboard.

Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) added Taylor Chaffetz to his staff this week. Taylor, now Rounds' scheduler, previously worked for the Office of Management and Budget and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Uncle Jason spent eight years in the House and chaired the House Oversight and Reform Committee.

With freshmen members sworn into office over the weekend, Congress is now less Protestant, less male and less white than it was before the holidays.

Although Protestants still make up the majority in both chambers, members of the 117th Congress are less likely to be Protestant than last term's members. Protestants make up 51 percent of current representatives, down from 53 percent last term, and 59 percent of senators, down from 60 percent. Catholics make up Congress's biggest religious minority with 32 percent of the House and 24 percent of the Senate.

This Congress is more likely to be female, with men now making up 72 percent of the House, down from 76 percent last terms, and 74 percent of the Senate, down from 75 percent.

The House is also more racially diverse, with white members making up 72 percent, compared to 73 percent less session. The Senate has remained unchanged at 91 percent.

Incoming Rep. Carolyn Bourdeaux (D-Ga.) is bringing a familiar face back to the Hill to lead her staff.

Richard Carbo, whose title will be chief of staff, spent the last couple years working in consulting and on the campaign trail. Before that, he was chief spokesperson to Lousiana Gov. John Edwards (D).

Carbo is no stranger to the Hill, having worked for a multitude of Democratic members - ex-Reps. Patrick Murphy (Fla.), Brad Ashford (Neb.), John Barrow (Ga.), Jason Altmire (Pa.), current Rep. Kurt Schrader (Ore.) and ex-Sen. Mary Landrieu (La.).

As President Donald Trump begins the last month of his term, the "swamp" he promised to drain continues to swell: LegiStorm data shows that the number of congressional staff who passed through the revolving door in the past 20 years has surged past the 10,000 mark.

That number of current and former staffers who have either lobbied or acted as foreign agents now sits at 10,325. At least 5,255 have been Republicans, compared to 4,765 Democrats.

If anything, the number underrepresents the true magnitude. This count excludes any staff who did not receive a salary from Congress, such as fellows, unpaid interns and detailees from other government agencies. Likewise, it does not include state lobbyists, nor the thousands of former congressional staff serving as government-relations professionals who do not believe that their work meets the legal threshold for federal disclosure.

In addition to congressional staff, 520 former U.S. representatives and senators have also registered as lobbyists during the same 20-year time period.

One of the world's biggest defense contractors has won over Rep. David Schweikert's (R-Ariz.) top staffer.

Kat Dimenstein is now at Raytheon Technologies, which was formed from a Raytheon and United Technologies Corp. merger earlier this year. Raytheon Technologies has disclosed about $4.6 million in federal lobbying in the first six months since the merger.

Dimenstein had spent years on Schweikert's staff, most recently as chief. She's also worked for Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), who sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee.