Where do ‘untraceable’ laws come from, and what does Congress do all day?

Jeremy Gelman describes his year working in Congress as “almost anthropological.”

From his perch within a Senate office as an American Political Science Association fellow in 2017, he got a first-hand look at how Congress operates, or sometimes falls short of functioning altogether.

That experience spawned nearly a decade of research for Gelman, now an associate professor of political science at the University of Nevada, Reno. The down-to-the-minute precision of his boss’ calendar led him to wonder what other members do all day. It’s a topic he’s currently researching based on archived schedules.

And it’s allowed him to reflect on some of the trends he observed while on the Hill, many of which have only intensified. Social media has been a particular area of interest for Gelman, who wit