The digital platform Capitol CNCT is helping young congressional staffers identify “bad bosses” and toxic offices without fear of backlash.
The overall platform is described as a tool aimed to keep congressional staffers “connected — to each other, to opportunities, and to life in D.C. beyond their office walls.”
“Built by a former staffer, for the staffers who came after him,” the website, which was founded by former staffer David Tennent, reads. However, there is a new facet of the website garnering attention. It is called “The Scoop” and allows staffers to anonymously review the offices they have worked in, giving warnings to others about joining a potentially toxic work environment before it is too late.
“It definitely ruffles a few feathers,” Tennent said in an interview posted on the platform’s Instagram page. “I think bad bosses are definitely sweating right now.”
He said he became frustrated when he worked on Capitol Hill, explaining that it was very difficult to find information about which offices to work for. It was, essentially, dependent on hearsay.
“You could ask your friends. Maybe someone’s worked there. Maybe they’ll give you the truth about the office, but there was really nothing like Glassdoor or Rate My Professor that served Capitol Hill. And so this is an idea I’ve had for two years now, and just waiting for the right moment to implement,” he said. “And finally, we got the chance, and it worked out perfect timing with all the accountability issues in Congress.”
Tennent also told Fox News Digital, “I wanted to create something that gave a little bit more transparency to the process and help staffers find the best opportunities available.”
He explained that they do, in fact, verify that the individuals making the reviews worked in the office they claim before it goes live on the website.
“We verify the office in which they’ve worked,” he told the outlet. “We sift through all reviews before they go live to our platform to make sure that staffer has actually worked in that office.”
“My biggest fear was just creating like a political retribution platform, right?” he continued. “Where you can just go on and destroy people without any evidence or verification that you’ve been a part of that process.”
Tennent also revealed that Republican offices have been reviewed far more than Democrat offices thus far. According to Fox News Digital, the offices of Reps. Nick LaLota (R-NY), Abe Hamadeh (R-AZ), Brendan Boyle (D-PA), Michael Rulli (R-OH), and Robert Garcia (D-CA) have some of the highest ratings. Top rated Senate offices to work in include Sen. Eric Schmitt’s (R-MO), Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s (R-AL), Sen. Kevin Cramer’s (R-ND), Sen. Thom Tillis’s (R-NC), and Sen. Todd Young’s (R-IN).
Democrat Sens. Chris Van Hollen (MD) and Michael Bennet (CO) had some of the worst-rated offices thus far.