Concerned Coaltions: Informal Groups in the United States House of Representatives

Introduction Why Informal Groups? “When you don’t stick together, you don’t have an effect.” — Congressman Mark Meadows (NC-11) Chairman, House Freedom Caucus Political scientists have long been interested in how legislators make their decisions in office and on the campaign trail. Excellent scientific scholarship has highlighted why legislators engage in many of the actions we care about such as bill introductions, votes, amendments, statements to the press, and more recently, on social media platforms. In the political science community, however, one crucial piece of the puzzle to understanding these behaviors of has been largely ignored: membership in informal groups. Thus far, there have been very few analyses of the role of these informal groups in the U.S. Congress, and, of those that do, an analysis of the why of Congressional informal group membership is notably absent. This research will seek to meaningfully fill this hole in the literature and develop theories of informal group membership and how they relate to legislative behavior. While grounded in the particular rules, customs, traditions, membership, and norms of the modern U.S. House of Representatives, the findings of this research will attempt to be generalizable to other similar legislative institutions such as the U.S. Senate, state legislatures, parliamentary systems, and perhaps even legislative systems around the world. Goals of Research The primary goal of this research project shall be to help fill the existing dearth of knowledge and scholarship that exists within the political science literature regarding informal groups, determine what factors are relevant to members of the United States House of Representatives and their decision to join informal groups within this body, and to help develop an increased appreciation within the political science and public policy communities for these groups and their policy effects. Through the research methods developed in this project, critical and novel conclusions regarding informal groups shall be introduced and developed. This project shall additionally create a roadmap for future research and academic analysis that, while beyond the scope of this particular project, are nonetheless worthy avenues for further development.Bachelor of Art