The Senate Masterclass

Have you ever wondered how the United States Senate actually works — and why it so often doesn’t?

This compilation pulls the sharpest moments from conversations with Vice President JD Vance, Senator Ron Johnson, Senator Roger Marshall, Senator Eric Schmitt, CPI President Ed Corrigan, Rachel Bovard, and strategist Luke Thompson.

Luke Thompson explains how McCain-Feingold gutted the parties and turned every senator into a free agent. Vice President Vance shares about his first few months in the Senate. Sen. Ron Johnson describes asking his colleagues how much the federal government spends in a year and getting blank stares. Ed Corrigan and Rachel Bovard take you inside the Wednesday steering lunches where conference decisions actually get made. And Bovard lays out the ambush quorum — dragging senators to the floor at three in the morning, over and over, until the minority breaks.

If you work on the Hill, or want to, this is the crash course nobody gave you.

(00:00) Welcome to Moment of Truth

(01:11) Luke Thompson on What the NRSC Actually Does

(02:30) How McCain-Feingold Gutted the Parties

(07:00) Did Campaign Finance Create Celebrity Politics

(10:14) JD Vance on Using the Bully Pulpit

(12:55) Why Senators Are Too Busy to Think

(15:25) Ed Corrigan on the Origins of the Senate Steering Committee

(18:12) What is a Hold?