WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.279 You're listening to this because, well, you want 00:00:02.279 --> 00:00:04.700 the facts without the fluff. You're someone who 00:00:04.700 --> 00:00:06.839 loves a good aha moment. You want to be well 00:00:06.839 --> 00:00:09.339 -informed, but you completely dread the feeling 00:00:09.339 --> 00:00:11.919 of information overload. Right. You want to understand 00:00:11.919 --> 00:00:14.080 the world, and you want it delivered in a way 00:00:14.080 --> 00:00:16.699 that respects your time. That is exactly what 00:00:16.699 --> 00:00:19.820 we do here. Today, we are taking a really fascinating 00:00:19.820 --> 00:00:22.879 set of source materials, a comprehensive look 00:00:22.879 --> 00:00:25.300 at the page of the United States Senate, and 00:00:25.300 --> 00:00:28.559 our mission. is to uncover a world that operates 00:00:28.559 --> 00:00:31.539 right under our noses. It really does. We are 00:00:31.539 --> 00:00:34.340 looking at the hidden, intense, and often completely 00:00:34.340 --> 00:00:38.359 surprising ecosystem of the teenagers who literally 00:00:38.359 --> 00:00:42.520 keep the gears of the US Senate turning. OK, 00:00:42.579 --> 00:00:44.179 let's unpack this, because I had absolutely no 00:00:44.179 --> 00:00:46.500 idea how intense this role actually is. It is 00:00:46.500 --> 00:00:49.060 a remarkable system to examine, honestly. We 00:00:49.060 --> 00:00:51.380 tend to view congressional pages through this 00:00:51.380 --> 00:00:54.340 lens of, I don't know, quaint Americana. Yeah, 00:00:54.420 --> 00:00:56.939 exactly. Maybe a nice photo opportunity for a 00:00:56.939 --> 00:00:59.500 local teenager on the Capitol steps. But the 00:00:59.500 --> 00:01:02.179 reality is that this is a high stakes, highly 00:01:02.179 --> 00:01:05.799 disciplined environment. It is an intricate functioning 00:01:05.799 --> 00:01:09.400 piece of youth labor and education that is deeply 00:01:09.400 --> 00:01:11.939 embedded into the daily moment to moment functioning 00:01:11.939 --> 00:01:14.319 of the United States government. Without them, 00:01:14.319 --> 00:01:16.719 the floor operations of the Senate would fundamentally 00:01:16.719 --> 00:01:19.500 stall. And I want to start right at the beginning, 00:01:19.599 --> 00:01:22.280 because when I think of a government internship 00:01:22.280 --> 00:01:26.340 or an entry level political gig, I am picturing 00:01:26.340 --> 00:01:28.719 a college student. Sure. Maybe someone in their 00:01:28.719 --> 00:01:32.379 early 20s looking. to build a resume. But this 00:01:32.379 --> 00:01:35.379 program goes all the way back to 1829, and the 00:01:35.379 --> 00:01:37.900 profile of very first page completely shatters 00:01:37.900 --> 00:01:40.120 that modern expectation. That's putting it mildly. 00:01:40.140 --> 00:01:42.519 The very first Senate page was appointed by Daniel 00:01:42.519 --> 00:01:44.719 Webster, the prominent senator from Massachusetts. 00:01:45.099 --> 00:01:47.640 And his appointee, a boy named Grafton Hanson, 00:01:47.680 --> 00:01:50.609 was just nine years old. Nine. A nine -year -old. 00:01:50.629 --> 00:01:52.189 You were talking about a third grader walking 00:01:52.189 --> 00:01:53.950 the floor of the United States Senate. Think 00:01:53.950 --> 00:01:56.769 about the sheer contrast between what a nine 00:01:56.769 --> 00:02:00.129 -year -old was expected to do in 1829 versus 00:02:00.129 --> 00:02:03.569 the duties of a modern page. Today, the role 00:02:03.569 --> 00:02:06.349 is highly administrative and logistical. Right. 00:02:06.409 --> 00:02:08.849 We see pages delivering legislative correspondence, 00:02:09.310 --> 00:02:12.009 preparing the chamber, carrying documents back 00:02:12.009 --> 00:02:13.969 and forth across the Senate floor and various 00:02:13.969 --> 00:02:17.270 Capitol Hill offices. It is an organized dance 00:02:17.270 --> 00:02:20.349 of paperwork and proceedings. But back in the 00:02:20.349 --> 00:02:23.229 19th century, little Grafton Hanson and the boys 00:02:23.229 --> 00:02:25.349 who followed him were essentially doing pure 00:02:25.349 --> 00:02:27.689 manual labor. They weren't just passing notes. 00:02:27.789 --> 00:02:29.710 No, not at all. They were refilling ink wells. 00:02:29.930 --> 00:02:32.030 They were actively constructing and tending to 00:02:32.030 --> 00:02:34.509 the fires just to keep the Senate chambers warm 00:02:34.509 --> 00:02:36.509 during the winter. They were fetching chewing 00:02:36.509 --> 00:02:39.189 tobacco for the senators. And this is the crazy 00:02:39.189 --> 00:02:41.909 part, cleaning the spittoons. It's a vivid image. 00:02:42.110 --> 00:02:44.050 Just imagine the sights and the smells of the 00:02:44.050 --> 00:02:46.949 1830s Senate floor and handing a nine -year -old 00:02:46.949 --> 00:02:49.590 a mop and a bucket for his spittoon. If we connect 00:02:49.590 --> 00:02:52.210 this to the bigger picture, the evolution of 00:02:52.210 --> 00:02:54.729 those duties and who was allowed to perform them 00:02:54.729 --> 00:02:57.229 really mirrors the broader evolution of American 00:02:57.229 --> 00:03:01.110 society. For over a century, the program was 00:03:01.110 --> 00:03:05.229 an exclusive boys club. Wow. A century. The Senate 00:03:05.229 --> 00:03:07.370 modernized its heating. It got rid of the spittoons, 00:03:07.409 --> 00:03:09.729 but it held on to that gender barrier for a very 00:03:09.729 --> 00:03:12.729 long time. It wasn't until a massive cultural 00:03:12.729 --> 00:03:16.569 milestone in 1971 that the Senate finally integrated 00:03:16.569 --> 00:03:20.930 the program. So 142 years later, who were the 00:03:20.930 --> 00:03:23.569 ones to finally break that barrier? Because I 00:03:23.569 --> 00:03:25.469 have to imagine stepping onto the Senate floor 00:03:25.469 --> 00:03:28.110 as the first young women in that role was an 00:03:28.110 --> 00:03:30.710 incredible culture shock for an institution so 00:03:30.710 --> 00:03:33.370 steeped in its own traditions. Oh, it was a seismic 00:03:33.370 --> 00:03:36.110 shift for the chamber's daily culture. The first 00:03:36.110 --> 00:03:39.009 female pages appointed in 1971 were Paulette 00:03:39.009 --> 00:03:41.490 de Selle, Ellen McConnell, and Julie Price. That's 00:03:41.490 --> 00:03:43.909 amazing. Their appointment fundamentally changed 00:03:43.909 --> 00:03:46.169 the dynamic of the floor. It signaled that the 00:03:46.169 --> 00:03:48.370 Senate, which is notoriously slow to change its 00:03:48.370 --> 00:03:50.669 internal rules and traditions, was finally being 00:03:50.669 --> 00:03:53.030 forced to reflect the modernizing workforce of 00:03:53.030 --> 00:03:55.689 the country it governed. And once that door opened, 00:03:55.810 --> 00:03:58.819 it stayed open. The program seems to have this 00:03:58.819 --> 00:04:01.680 incredible resilience. It just keeps churning 00:04:01.680 --> 00:04:04.520 session after session, adapting to the times. 00:04:04.680 --> 00:04:07.280 It is resilient, but it isn't invincible. The 00:04:07.280 --> 00:04:09.860 operational streak of the PAGE program was actually 00:04:09.860 --> 00:04:13.159 broken very recently. Really? Yes. In March 2020, 00:04:13.439 --> 00:04:16.560 as the COVID -19 pandemic swept across the globe, 00:04:16.779 --> 00:04:20.120 the PAGE program was completely suspended. The 00:04:20.120 --> 00:04:22.220 Senate essentially had to figure out how to function 00:04:22.220 --> 00:04:24.899 without this vital connective tissue. I didn't 00:04:24.899 --> 00:04:27.370 realize that. That suspension lasted until September 00:04:27.370 --> 00:04:30.449 2022. It was the very first time in its nearly 00:04:30.449 --> 00:04:33.389 200 -year history that the program was halted. 00:04:33.449 --> 00:04:36.129 Which means a whole cohort of kids completely 00:04:36.129 --> 00:04:38.529 missed their window of opportunity. And that 00:04:38.529 --> 00:04:40.910 window is already unbelievably small. Because 00:04:40.910 --> 00:04:42.670 applying for this is not like applying for a 00:04:42.670 --> 00:04:44.990 summer job at the mall or even a standard college 00:04:44.990 --> 00:04:47.410 internship. No, the bottleneck is extreme. The 00:04:47.410 --> 00:04:49.589 baseline demographic requirements alone weed 00:04:49.589 --> 00:04:51.810 out almost everyone. You have to be 16 or 17 00:04:51.810 --> 00:04:53.769 years old. You must be a high school junior, 00:04:54.009 --> 00:04:56.110 not a sophomore. We're not a senior. And you 00:04:56.110 --> 00:04:58.730 have to have at least a 3 .0 GPA. And meeting 00:04:58.730 --> 00:05:01.329 those academic and age requirements just gets 00:05:01.329 --> 00:05:04.529 you to the starting line. You cannot simply submit 00:05:04.529 --> 00:05:07.449 a resume to a general Capitol Hill hiring portal. 00:05:07.589 --> 00:05:09.490 Right. There's no online form for this. Exactly. 00:05:09.649 --> 00:05:12.610 The selection process is deeply rooted in political 00:05:12.610 --> 00:05:15.310 patronage. To become a U .S. Senate page, you 00:05:15.310 --> 00:05:17.990 must be nominated by a senator, generally from 00:05:17.990 --> 00:05:20.649 your home state. So you are a 16 -year -old in 00:05:20.649 --> 00:05:24.500 Ohio or Oregon. And you are competing against 00:05:24.500 --> 00:05:27.759 every other high achieving ambitious 16 year 00:05:27.759 --> 00:05:30.319 old in your entire state just to get the attention 00:05:30.319 --> 00:05:32.720 of your senator's office. Precisely. They are 00:05:32.720 --> 00:05:36.100 evaluating transcripts, resumes, intensive essay 00:05:36.100 --> 00:05:38.680 requirements, and often putting these teenagers 00:05:38.680 --> 00:05:40.800 through rigorous interviews with a board of review. 00:05:41.160 --> 00:05:44.019 And there is a strict cap on how many pages can 00:05:44.019 --> 00:05:45.879 serve per session. How many are we talking? The 00:05:45.879 --> 00:05:48.879 entire program is limited to just 30 pages at 00:05:48.879 --> 00:05:51.680 a time. 30 teenagers for the entire United States 00:05:51.680 --> 00:05:54.259 Senate. And because this is Washington, D .C., 00:05:54.259 --> 00:05:56.779 I'm assuming even these high schoolers are subject 00:05:56.779 --> 00:05:59.680 to partisan dividing lines. Oh, absolutely. The 00:05:59.680 --> 00:06:02.459 partisan balance is baked right into the math. 00:06:02.910 --> 00:06:05.889 The majority party gets to appoint 16 pages and 00:06:05.889 --> 00:06:08.970 the minority party gets to appoint 14. Fascinating. 00:06:09.129 --> 00:06:11.610 You serve the senators of your sponsoring senators 00:06:11.610 --> 00:06:14.310 party. You sit on their side of the aisle. It 00:06:14.310 --> 00:06:16.870 creates a highly elite, fiercely competitive 00:06:16.870 --> 00:06:19.810 micro society right on the Senate floor. And 00:06:19.810 --> 00:06:22.850 once they are selected, they are incredibly visible. 00:06:22.889 --> 00:06:24.930 They're walking around the Capitol and you know 00:06:24.930 --> 00:06:26.990 exactly who they are because of the uniform. 00:06:27.110 --> 00:06:30.209 It is a strictly conservative, traditional appearance. 00:06:30.389 --> 00:06:54.660 Very traditional. We are talking about. The current 00:06:54.660 --> 00:06:57.740 uniform is conservative, but it is actually quite 00:06:57.740 --> 00:07:00.120 modern compared to what it used to be. Up until 00:07:00.120 --> 00:07:03.250 the 1960s. The boy pages were required to wear 00:07:03.250 --> 00:07:05.610 old -fashioned clothing styles dating back to 00:07:05.610 --> 00:07:09.029 before the 1940s. They were actively walking 00:07:09.029 --> 00:07:12.490 the Senate floor in knickerbockers. Wait, knickerbockers? 00:07:12.589 --> 00:07:15.529 Yes. Shortened pants paired with long -knit stockings. 00:07:15.529 --> 00:07:18.069 I cannot get past that visual. You are talking 00:07:18.069 --> 00:07:21.829 about the 1960s, the era of the Beatles, the 00:07:21.829 --> 00:07:23.949 Rolling Stones, the counterculture movement, 00:07:24.029 --> 00:07:26.589 and the United States Senate is forcing high 00:07:26.589 --> 00:07:29.089 school boys to walk around the Capitol building 00:07:29.089 --> 00:07:31.500 in knickerbockers. It is a perfect illustration 00:07:31.500 --> 00:07:34.279 of how deeply steeped in tradition the Senate 00:07:34.279 --> 00:07:37.300 is, sometimes to the point of absurdity. If you 00:07:37.300 --> 00:07:38.819 want to see exactly what this looked like, there 00:07:38.819 --> 00:07:41.759 is a 1941 Hollywood feature film called Adventure 00:07:41.759 --> 00:07:44.639 in Washington that depicts the page uniform in 00:07:44.639 --> 00:07:46.699 action. I'll have to look that up. It serves 00:07:46.699 --> 00:07:49.759 as a visual time capsule. The Senate clung to 00:07:49.759 --> 00:07:52.259 that specific aesthetic long after the rest of 00:07:52.259 --> 00:07:54.860 society had moved on, simply because that was 00:07:54.860 --> 00:07:56.699 how it had always been done. Here's where it 00:07:56.699 --> 00:07:59.279 gets really interesting, though. We know what 00:07:59.279 --> 00:08:01.709 they wear. And we know how mathematically difficult 00:08:01.709 --> 00:08:04.470 it is to get the job. But we are talking about 00:08:04.470 --> 00:08:07.209 30 16 -year -olds moving to Washington, D .C. 00:08:08.089 --> 00:08:09.990 They aren't commuting from a high school down 00:08:09.990 --> 00:08:12.850 the street. So where do they actually live? They 00:08:12.850 --> 00:08:15.069 live in a dedicated facility located near the 00:08:15.069 --> 00:08:17.329 Hart Senate office building called the Daniel 00:08:17.329 --> 00:08:20.410 Webster Senate Page Residence, widely known as 00:08:20.410 --> 00:08:22.410 Daniel Webster Hall. And the history of this 00:08:22.410 --> 00:08:25.769 building is wild. It isn't a purpose -built dormitory. 00:08:26.069 --> 00:08:30.350 It is a renovated Former private funeral home. 00:08:30.490 --> 00:08:33.409 Yes, it was purchased and completely reconfigured 00:08:33.409 --> 00:08:35.789 to serve as a secure home away from home for 00:08:35.789 --> 00:08:38.750 these minors. The layout is segregated by gender 00:08:38.750 --> 00:08:41.629 one floor for males, one for females. They share 00:08:41.629 --> 00:08:43.750 furnished rooms with four of the six occupants 00:08:43.750 --> 00:08:46.029 per room. Put yourself in the shoes of a 16 -year 00:08:46.029 --> 00:08:48.090 -old for a second. You move away from your parents 00:08:48.090 --> 00:08:50.190 for the very first time. You're working for the 00:08:50.190 --> 00:08:52.049 highest levels of the federal government. And 00:08:52.049 --> 00:08:54.669 your brand new dorm is a renovated funeral home 00:08:54.669 --> 00:08:56.850 where you are bunking with five strangers. It's 00:08:56.850 --> 00:08:59.730 a lot to handle. But honestly, the real estate 00:08:59.730 --> 00:09:02.350 history is the least intense part of living there. 00:09:02.769 --> 00:09:06.549 The rules that govern their daily lives are staggering. 00:09:06.870 --> 00:09:09.370 The environment requires a level of discipline 00:09:09.370 --> 00:09:12.070 that most adults would struggle with. Let's start 00:09:12.070 --> 00:09:19.629 with the isolation. None at all. None. There 00:09:19.629 --> 00:09:22.309 is no Wi -Fi access for personal use at Webster 00:09:22.309 --> 00:09:25.590 Hall. They are allowed to use specific monitored 00:09:25.590 --> 00:09:28.250 Senate computers, but those are strictly reserved 00:09:28.250 --> 00:09:31.110 for schoolwork. So they're entirely cut off from 00:09:31.110 --> 00:09:35.090 the modern teenage social ecosystem. In 2024... 00:09:35.289 --> 00:09:37.509 Taking away a 16 -year -old smartphone is like 00:09:37.509 --> 00:09:39.929 severing a limb. They can't scroll social media 00:09:39.929 --> 00:09:42.350 to decompress. They can't easily text their friends 00:09:42.350 --> 00:09:44.309 back home. And they can't even document their 00:09:44.309 --> 00:09:46.409 own experience. No, absolutely not. Let's say 00:09:46.409 --> 00:09:48.350 they have a digital camera or some other non 00:09:48.350 --> 00:09:50.850 -phone device. They are strictly forbidden from 00:09:50.850 --> 00:09:52.950 taking photographs or videos of their daily lives. 00:09:53.230 --> 00:09:55.350 Think about the confidentiality of what they 00:09:55.350 --> 00:09:58.450 are seeing on a daily basis. You have teenagers 00:09:58.450 --> 00:10:01.539 carrying sensitive legislative drafts. overhearing 00:10:01.539 --> 00:10:04.659 backdoor negotiations, and witnessing the unpolished 00:10:04.659 --> 00:10:07.220 reactions of national leaders. Good point. You 00:10:07.220 --> 00:10:10.360 simply cannot have a 16 -year -old live tweeting 00:10:10.360 --> 00:10:13.419 a closed -door Senate negotiation or posting 00:10:13.419 --> 00:10:16.679 a vlog from the cloakroom. The security and media 00:10:16.679 --> 00:10:19.379 blackouts are absolute. They cannot even speak 00:10:19.379 --> 00:10:21.580 to the news media without explicit permission 00:10:21.580 --> 00:10:23.860 from the program director. And to enforce all 00:10:23.860 --> 00:10:26.620 of this, Webster Hall operates on a brutally 00:10:26.620 --> 00:10:29.379 strict demerit system. And we aren't just talking 00:10:29.379 --> 00:10:31.299 about getting a demerit for breaking a major 00:10:31.299 --> 00:10:33.820 security protocol. The demerits cover the kind 00:10:33.820 --> 00:10:36.320 of mundane, everyday things that a normal teenager 00:10:36.320 --> 00:10:38.779 does without a second thought. Oh, it's very 00:10:38.779 --> 00:10:41.039 granular. You get a demerit for forgetting to 00:10:41.039 --> 00:10:43.379 push in your desk chair. You get a demerit if 00:10:43.379 --> 00:10:44.980 you leave your toothbrush or toiletries on the 00:10:44.980 --> 00:10:47.580 bathroom counter. If you leave your bed unmade 00:10:47.580 --> 00:10:50.379 or leave a book in a common space, that is a 00:10:50.379 --> 00:10:53.090 demerit. It functions like a military barracks. 00:10:53.330 --> 00:10:56.009 The psychological pressure of maintaining that 00:10:56.009 --> 00:10:58.509 level of perfection in your personal space is 00:10:58.509 --> 00:11:01.330 immense, and the consequences for slipping up 00:11:01.330 --> 00:11:04.190 escalate very quickly. What happened? If a page 00:11:04.190 --> 00:11:06.470 accrues just 10 demerits, they are placed on 00:11:06.470 --> 00:11:08.889 room restriction. That means they cannot step 00:11:08.889 --> 00:11:12.169 foot outside of their room after 9 .000 p .m. 00:11:12.230 --> 00:11:15.570 10 demerits is nothing. That is five unmade beds 00:11:15.570 --> 00:11:18.389 and five unpushed chairs, and suddenly you are 00:11:18.389 --> 00:11:21.240 confined to your quarters. As the demerits build, 00:11:21.399 --> 00:11:23.600 the punishments become more severe. There is 00:11:23.600 --> 00:11:26.440 zero tolerance for disrespect or unbecoming behavior. 00:11:27.179 --> 00:11:29.759 Pages have been outright dismissed from the program 00:11:29.759 --> 00:11:32.340 and sent home for failing to adhere to these 00:11:32.340 --> 00:11:34.860 standards. So you have these high achieving kids 00:11:34.860 --> 00:11:37.059 living in a total pressure cooker without their 00:11:37.059 --> 00:11:39.159 cell phones, terrified of forgetting to push 00:11:39.159 --> 00:11:41.019 in a chair. And we haven't even touched on their 00:11:41.019 --> 00:11:43.019 academic schedule yet because they don't get 00:11:43.019 --> 00:11:45.139 a pass on being high school juniors. They still 00:11:45.139 --> 00:11:47.120 have to take their core classes. They do. They 00:11:47.120 --> 00:11:49.259 attend the U .S. Senate Page School, which is 00:11:49.259 --> 00:11:51.740 physically located in the lower level, the basement 00:11:51.740 --> 00:11:54.740 of Webster Hall. The academics are grueling. 00:11:54.799 --> 00:11:57.240 This is a fully accredited program by the Middle 00:11:57.240 --> 00:11:59.399 States Association of Colleges and Secondary 00:11:59.399 --> 00:12:02.580 Schools. They are required to take four. core 00:12:02.580 --> 00:12:05.899 classes covering math, science, English, and 00:12:05.899 --> 00:12:08.580 social studies. They are typically assigned five 00:12:08.580 --> 00:12:11.399 to six hours of homework each night. Five to 00:12:11.399 --> 00:12:14.419 six hours? Yes. And the academic sword of Damocles 00:12:14.419 --> 00:12:16.840 is always hanging over them. If they drop below 00:12:16.840 --> 00:12:19.620 a C average in any single class, they are subject 00:12:19.620 --> 00:12:23.000 to immediate dismissal. Five to six hours of 00:12:23.000 --> 00:12:25.480 homework, on top of working a full -time job 00:12:25.480 --> 00:12:27.899 on the Senate floor. And the most bizarre part 00:12:27.899 --> 00:12:30.460 about this school is the schedule. You don't 00:12:30.460 --> 00:12:33.200 just show up at 8 a .m. Classes begin every single 00:12:33.200 --> 00:12:36.000 weekday at 6 .15 a .m. The school schedule is 00:12:36.000 --> 00:12:38.139 entirely beholden to the legislative calendar. 00:12:38.539 --> 00:12:40.600 Because the pages must be physically present 00:12:40.600 --> 00:12:42.600 on the floor whenever the Senate is in session, 00:12:42.799 --> 00:12:45.259 the page school has to wedge its academics into 00:12:45.259 --> 00:12:47.620 the early morning hours. Generally, school is 00:12:47.620 --> 00:12:49.940 designed to end one hour and 15 minutes before 00:12:49.940 --> 00:12:52.279 the Senate convenes. But the Senate doesn't operate 00:12:52.279 --> 00:12:55.440 on a normal 9 to 5 clock. Not at all. The Senate's 00:12:55.440 --> 00:12:58.340 schedule is notoriously fluid. If the Senate 00:12:58.340 --> 00:13:00.500 convenes late, school might stretch out until 00:13:00.500 --> 00:13:04.399 9 .45 a .m. Okay. But what happens if a senator 00:13:04.399 --> 00:13:07.480 decides to launch a filibuster? If a senator 00:13:07.480 --> 00:13:09.820 is intentionally delaying a vote by talking for 00:13:09.820 --> 00:13:12.860 hours on end deep into the night, the daily schedule 00:13:12.860 --> 00:13:15.279 is thrown completely out the window. That sounds 00:13:15.279 --> 00:13:18.080 chaotic. It is. If the Senate was up late the 00:13:18.080 --> 00:13:20.019 night before and convenes early the next morning, 00:13:20.590 --> 00:13:23.370 Classes are truncated. It is entirely possible 00:13:23.370 --> 00:13:25.990 to have a math class that only lasts 20 minutes 00:13:25.990 --> 00:13:28.789 or for school to be canceled entirely on a given 00:13:28.789 --> 00:13:31.389 day. Imagine trying to learn precalculus in 20 00:13:31.389 --> 00:13:33.389 minute increments because a senator from Texas 00:13:33.389 --> 00:13:36.289 won't yield the floor. It is a punishing, chaotic 00:13:36.289 --> 00:13:39.190 way to get an education, which brings us to a 00:13:39.190 --> 00:13:41.190 much broader, more serious discussion about the 00:13:41.190 --> 00:13:43.710 viability and the ethics of this program as a 00:13:43.710 --> 00:13:46.049 whole. This raises an important question, and 00:13:46.049 --> 00:13:48.840 it is one we must look at objectively. Looking 00:13:48.840 --> 00:13:51.139 at the historical record, particularly Daryl 00:13:51.139 --> 00:13:53.820 Gonzalez's comprehensive book, The Children Who 00:13:53.820 --> 00:13:56.879 Ran for Congress, this program has not existed 00:13:56.879 --> 00:13:59.919 without severe scrutiny. It has faced massive 00:13:59.919 --> 00:14:03.519 political, legal, social, and personal pushback 00:14:03.519 --> 00:14:06.480 over the years. Right. To fully understand the 00:14:06.480 --> 00:14:08.580 weight of that scrutiny, you have to look across 00:14:08.580 --> 00:14:11.200 the Capitol building to the House of Representatives. 00:14:11.259 --> 00:14:13.519 Right, because the House used to have an identical 00:14:13.519 --> 00:14:16.240 program, House pages running documents for representatives. 00:14:17.309 --> 00:14:19.289 But that program does not exist anymore. The 00:14:19.289 --> 00:14:21.870 House page program was entirely shut down in 00:14:21.870 --> 00:14:25.509 2011. The closure followed multiple highly publicized 00:14:25.509 --> 00:14:28.049 sex scandals involving House pages and members 00:14:28.049 --> 00:14:30.549 of Congress, as well as other Capitol staff. 00:14:30.710 --> 00:14:33.610 I see. The fallout from those incidents was catastrophic 00:14:33.610 --> 00:14:36.049 for the program. The structural vulnerabilities 00:14:36.049 --> 00:14:38.470 of having minors embedded in that environment 00:14:38.470 --> 00:14:40.970 were deemed too great, resulting in the complete 00:14:40.970 --> 00:14:43.570 termination of the House program. But the Senate 00:14:43.570 --> 00:14:47.019 page program survived. It underwent major adjustments, 00:14:47.220 --> 00:14:49.779 increased its security protocols, but it kept 00:14:49.779 --> 00:14:52.899 its doors open. However, keeping the doors open 00:14:52.899 --> 00:14:55.600 hasn't shielded it from ongoing criticism. No, 00:14:55.639 --> 00:14:58.200 it hasn't. The sources highlight several major 00:14:58.200 --> 00:15:00.860 critiques that persist today. First, that the 00:15:00.860 --> 00:15:04.100 program is inherently elitist and overly patronage 00:15:04.100 --> 00:15:06.899 -based, relying far too heavily on who you know 00:15:06.899 --> 00:15:10.500 and which senator you can impress. Second, that 00:15:10.500 --> 00:15:13.279 it is deeply isolating, taking 16 -year -olds 00:15:13.279 --> 00:15:15.360 and severing them from their normal social support 00:15:15.360 --> 00:15:18.200 systems. The third and perhaps most pressing 00:15:18.200 --> 00:15:20.639 critique revolves around the physical and mental 00:15:20.639 --> 00:15:24.059 toll. When you calculate the math of a 6 .4 a 00:15:24.059 --> 00:15:26.919 .m. school start, the physically demanding nature 00:15:26.919 --> 00:15:29.799 of running the Senate floor and five to six hours 00:15:29.799 --> 00:15:32.259 of basement homework, the numbers are alarming. 00:15:32.399 --> 00:15:34.960 They really are. Pages routinely get less than 00:15:34.960 --> 00:15:37.519 six hours of sleep at night. They are often working 00:15:37.519 --> 00:15:40.080 over 60 hours a week at the Senate, all while 00:15:40.080 --> 00:15:42.200 operating under the threat of dismissal if they 00:15:42.200 --> 00:15:44.620 fail to maintain an 80 percent academic average. 00:15:44.860 --> 00:15:47.519 It sounds like a guaranteed recipe for adolescent 00:15:47.519 --> 00:15:50.799 burnout. You are pushing these kids to the absolute 00:15:50.799 --> 00:15:53.899 breaking point. However, the source material 00:15:53.899 --> 00:15:56.360 does point out that the Senate has implemented 00:15:56.360 --> 00:15:59.179 safety nets to counterbalance this pressure. 00:15:59.279 --> 00:16:01.230 That's true. During their stay in Washington, 00:16:01.509 --> 00:16:04.289 pages are provided with free, comprehensive physical 00:16:04.289 --> 00:16:07.529 and medical health care. More importantly, they 00:16:07.529 --> 00:16:09.950 have mandated access to psychological and social 00:16:09.950 --> 00:16:12.470 counseling to help them process the stress of 00:16:12.470 --> 00:16:14.970 the environment. The safety nets are there, but 00:16:14.970 --> 00:16:17.549 the baseline environment is undeniably extreme. 00:16:17.850 --> 00:16:20.940 It is an extreme crucible. But it is also a crucible 00:16:20.940 --> 00:16:23.240 that has forged some very notable individuals. 00:16:23.460 --> 00:16:26.000 When you put a teenager in that environment, 00:16:26.259 --> 00:16:28.559 you are essentially providing them with an early 00:16:28.559 --> 00:16:31.379 training ground for American politics and culture. 00:16:31.620 --> 00:16:33.799 So what does this all mean? I want you to imagine 00:16:33.799 --> 00:16:36.299 sitting in a room with these 30 teenagers. They 00:16:36.299 --> 00:16:38.659 are sleep deprived. They are stressed out about 00:16:38.659 --> 00:16:40.940 their pre -calculus grades. They are wearing 00:16:40.940 --> 00:16:43.740 their identical Navy blazers, paranoid about 00:16:43.740 --> 00:16:45.980 getting a demerit for leaving a toothbrush on 00:16:45.980 --> 00:16:48.179 a counter in a former funeral home. It's a surreal 00:16:48.179 --> 00:16:51.019 image. It really is. Who are you actually looking 00:16:51.019 --> 00:16:54.159 at? When they leave Webster Hall, who do they 00:16:54.159 --> 00:16:57.519 become? The alumni roster for this program is 00:16:57.519 --> 00:17:00.259 staggering. If we look at the political heavyweights 00:17:00.259 --> 00:17:03.200 who started as pages, the list reaches the highest 00:17:03.200 --> 00:17:06.440 courts in the land. Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch, 00:17:06.619 --> 00:17:08.579 who currently sits on the Supreme Court, was 00:17:08.579 --> 00:17:11.720 a Senate page. We see them return to the very 00:17:11.720 --> 00:17:14.539 chamber they used to run documents for. Christopher 00:17:14.539 --> 00:17:16.400 Dodd walked the floor as a page and eventually 00:17:16.400 --> 00:17:18.680 returned as a senator from Connecticut and even 00:17:18.680 --> 00:17:20.799 ran for president. Michael Bennett, the current 00:17:20.799 --> 00:17:23.019 senator from Colorado, was a page. Mike Lee, 00:17:23.140 --> 00:17:25.400 the current senator from Utah, was a page. And 00:17:25.400 --> 00:17:28.119 it spans across different eras of political history, 00:17:28.240 --> 00:17:31.539 too. Spiro T. Agnew, who served as vice president 00:17:31.539 --> 00:17:34.519 under Richard Nixon, was a Senate page. On the 00:17:34.519 --> 00:17:37.000 strategic operational side of politics, Robbie 00:17:37.000 --> 00:17:39.720 Mook, who managed Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential 00:17:39.720 --> 00:17:42.680 campaign, learned the ropes of Washington as 00:17:42.680 --> 00:17:45.859 a page. It's a huge network. Abigail Spanberger, 00:17:46.059 --> 00:17:47.960 a prominent former member of the House and governor 00:17:47.960 --> 00:17:50.279 of Virginia, also went through the program. But 00:17:50.279 --> 00:17:52.990 it isn't strictly politicians. The program has 00:17:52.990 --> 00:17:55.690 hosted massive cultural figures and the children 00:17:55.690 --> 00:17:58.349 of American political dynasties. Amy Carter, 00:17:58.589 --> 00:18:00.349 the daughter of President Jimmy Carter, lived 00:18:00.349 --> 00:18:03.029 this life. Jack Schlossberg, the journalist and 00:18:03.029 --> 00:18:05.309 the only grandson of President John F. Kennedy 00:18:05.309 --> 00:18:08.130 and Jacqueline Kennedy Anastas, also served as 00:18:08.130 --> 00:18:10.829 a page. Think about how that specific experience 00:18:10.829 --> 00:18:14.289 shapes a person. These individuals didn't learn 00:18:14.289 --> 00:18:16.289 about the legislative process from a textbook. 00:18:16.549 --> 00:18:19.049 They experienced the inner workings of American 00:18:19.049 --> 00:18:22.150 democracy at its most raw and exhausting level. 00:18:22.329 --> 00:18:24.730 They saw the unpolished, behind -the -scenes 00:18:24.730 --> 00:18:27.329 reality of how laws are negotiated, delayed, 00:18:27.569 --> 00:18:30.390 and compromised upon long before they ever ran 00:18:30.390 --> 00:18:32.789 for office or entered public life. It perfectly 00:18:32.789 --> 00:18:35.630 encapsulates the profound duality of the United 00:18:35.630 --> 00:18:38.849 States Senate page program. On one hand, it is 00:18:38.849 --> 00:18:41.440 an unparalleled front -row seat to history. You 00:18:41.440 --> 00:18:43.440 are literally in the room where it happens, holding 00:18:43.440 --> 00:18:45.160 the documents that will change the trajectory 00:18:45.160 --> 00:18:47.140 of the country. Exactly. But on the other hand, 00:18:47.180 --> 00:18:49.680 it comes at the incredibly steep cost of a normal 00:18:49.680 --> 00:18:52.640 teenage experience. It demands extreme discipline, 00:18:52.900 --> 00:18:55.779 strict secrecy, and severe sleep deprivation. 00:18:55.960 --> 00:18:58.339 It's a heavy burden for a 16 -year -old. It really 00:18:58.339 --> 00:19:01.200 is. I want to leave you with one final fascinating 00:19:01.200 --> 00:19:03.420 image from our research to mull over on your 00:19:03.420 --> 00:19:06.319 own. We talked about the notable alumni, but 00:19:06.319 --> 00:19:08.440 there was one more name on that list, Gore Vidal. 00:19:08.829 --> 00:19:11.849 The famous American writer, author, and incredibly 00:19:11.849 --> 00:19:15.190 sharp public intellectual. Yes. Gore Vidal was 00:19:15.190 --> 00:19:18.750 a Senate page as a teenager, but he was there 00:19:18.750 --> 00:19:21.390 for a very specific, highly personal reason. 00:19:21.950 --> 00:19:24.890 His grandfather was a senator, but his grandfather 00:19:24.890 --> 00:19:27.970 was blind. So teenage Gore Vidal was appointed 00:19:27.970 --> 00:19:30.250 so he could literally serve as his grandfather's 00:19:30.250 --> 00:19:32.630 eyes on the Senate floor. Just take a moment 00:19:32.630 --> 00:19:35.339 to imagine that scenario. Imagine being a 16 00:19:35.339 --> 00:19:37.579 year old standing in the well of the United States 00:19:37.579 --> 00:19:40.440 Senate tasked with observing the raw, complex 00:19:40.440 --> 00:19:42.920 and often ugly machinery of the government so 00:19:42.920 --> 00:19:44.880 you can accurately describe it to a lawmaker 00:19:44.880 --> 00:19:47.500 who cannot see it himself. That's intense. How 00:19:47.500 --> 00:19:49.579 would acting as the literal eyes of the Senate 00:19:49.579 --> 00:19:51.599 witnessing the unvarnished truth of American 00:19:51.599 --> 00:19:54.420 power shape a teenager's worldview for the rest 00:19:54.420 --> 00:19:56.720 of her life? It is no wonder he grew up to be 00:19:56.720 --> 00:19:58.579 one of the country's most critical and observant 00:19:58.579 --> 00:20:01.059 public intellectuals. It is an incredible story 00:20:01.059 --> 00:20:03.980 hidden inside a program that operates right in 00:20:03.980 --> 00:20:07.000 plain sight. Thank you so much for joining us 00:20:07.000 --> 00:20:09.720 on this deep dive. We hope you walk away with 00:20:09.720 --> 00:20:11.700 a whole new perspective the next time you see 00:20:11.700 --> 00:20:13.839 a teenager walking in the halls of the Capitol 00:20:13.839 --> 00:20:16.039 in a Navy Blazer. Keep learning, keep questioning, 00:20:16.119 --> 00:20:17.480 and we will catch you on the next one.