The Senate's silent caucus
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Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), who leads his party's messaging arm, has some simple advice for fellow GOP senators: Don't talk with reporters when you're walking to votes.
Why it matters: Cotton is one of a handful of senators who refuse to answer questions from congressional reporters in the Capitol hallways covering whatever is the biggest story of the day.
- Call it curtness. Or call it message discipline. But it allows Cotton and taciturn colleagues to respond to questions on their own terms.
- And it spares them from having to react to every utterance from President Trump.
- These senators will give occasional interviews to the press or join Sunday shows, but they are less likely to show their cards on days when the president makes controversial news or the Senate makes moves.
The Senate's "silent caucus" also includes:
- Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), now chair of the NRSC, most often refers reporters to his staff or explains he does not answer hallway questions.
- Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) will usually quickly tell reporters she doesn't do hallway interviews.
- Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) while leader refused to answer spontaneous questions in hallways. He indicated to Politico last year that his approach may change in his post-leader era, but so far has largely maintained his silent stare when approached with a question.
- Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) usually refers reporters to his office when they pose a question.
- Sen. John Curtis (R-Utah) is new to the Senate but has already informed journalists he will not be taking regular questions when walking to and from votes.
- Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) will also inform reporters she does not do hallway interviews when approached.
Between the lines: A Curtis spokesperson challenged the "silent" characterization, saying the senator supports the media's role but that they're wary of "bad faith" hallway conversations.
- "He wants to have honest, thoughtful, nuanced conversations and most of the time that's impossible to do in a 15 second sound bite," a spokesperson told us.
The other side: There are plenty of Democrats who are not considered media friendly, and many senators use tactics to avoid reporters from time to time (such as pretending to take a phone call to shun conversations).
- But most will give some kind of response to questions in the halls.
Zoom out: The decline of local reporters working from D.C. already means some constituents may hear less reporting on how their lawmakers are voting and reacting to major news, Axios Media Trends author Sara Fischer notes.
— Stef Kight
