(Daily Beast) The Obama era hasn’t been a period of progress for black Capitol Hill staffers, and aides say a "diversity drain" of many senior African Americans to the private sector and the White House in recent years is partly to blame.
"I started on the Hill 10 years ago, and I don't see a significant difference in the number" of black congressional staffers, John Jones, the chief of staff to Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, told The Daily Beast. "[Progress] definitely has stalled… From my own eyes, and what I interact with and what I see, I haven't seen much of a change."
Jones' view was echoed by other long-serving African-American staffers. They add that the election of the nation’s first black president has come with unintended consequences for Capitol Hill diversity, including a perceived complacency in hiring minorities.
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