{"id":2473860,"date":"2025-08-12T13:53:02","date_gmt":"2025-08-12T17:53:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/capitol-tea-vance-and-the-senates-redshirt-freshmen\/"},"modified":"2025-08-12T13:54:58","modified_gmt":"2025-08-12T17:54:58","slug":"capitol-tea-vance-and-the-senates-redshirt-freshmen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/capitol-tea-vance-and-the-senates-redshirt-freshmen\/","title":{"rendered":"Capitol Tea: Vance and the Senate&#8217;s &#8216;redshirt freshmen&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fcapitol-tea-vance-and-the-senates-redshirt-freshmen%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2473860&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article &#8220;Capitol Tea: JD Vance and the Senate&#8217;s &#8216;redshirt freshmen'&#8221; by David Sivak covers two main topics related to Capitol Hill life.<\/p>\n<p>First, it highlights Vice President JD Vance&#8217;s strong ties with his Senate freshman GOP class, despite his expanded vice presidential duties. Vance continues to participate in monthly dinners hosted by members of his 2023 class-nicknamed the &#8220;redshirts&#8221;-a group including senators Katie Britt, Ted budd, Markwayne Mullin, Pete Ricketts, and Eric Schmitt. These gatherings serve as a supportive space for career advice, party of achievements, and camaraderie. vance even hosted the group at the Naval Observatory, his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/despite-denials-joe-biden-was-involved-with-hunters-wheeling-and-dealing\/\" title=\"Despite Denials, Joe Biden Was Involved With Hunter\u2019s Wheeling And Dealing\">vice presidential residence<\/a>, illustrating his ongoing loyalty and connection to the group.<\/p>\n<p>Second, the article discusses a labor dispute involving CHA Street Food, an Asian fusion restaurant that recently opened in the Rayburn Cafeteria, replacing Steak &#8216;n Shake. The union representing House service workers has filed a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/doj-agrees-to-pay-andrew-mccabe-ex-fbi-official-fired-under-trump-700k-in-wrongful-termination-settlement\/\" title=\"DOJ Agrees To Pay Andrew McCabe, Ex...FBI Official Fired Under Trump, 0K In Wrongful Termination Settlement\">wrongful termination lawsuit<\/a>, claiming the new vendor was legally required to rehire the previous employees.This lawsuit follows similar legal actions against other new food vendors in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/police-planning-to-reinstall-fence-around-capitol-before-justice-for-j6-rally-report\/\" title=\"Police Planning To Reinstall Fence Around Capitol Before \u2018Justice For J6\u2019 Rally: Report\">congressional office buildings<\/a>, amid a wider vendor boycott supported by the Congressional Labor Caucus.<\/p>\n<p>the piece blends a look at personal relationships among Senate freshmen with an <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >ongoing labor conflict affecting food service workers<\/a> on Capitol Hill.  <\/p>\n<div id=\"ld-4686-3758\"><\/div>\n<p><script>(function(w,d,s,i){w.ldAdInit=w.ldAdInit||[];w.ldAdInit.push({slot:14832835450050406,size:[0, 0],id:\"ld-4686-3758\"});if(!d.getElementById(i)){var j=d.createElement(s),p=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];j.async=true;j.src=\"https:\/\/cdn2.decide.dev\/_js\/ajs.js\";j.id=i;p.parentNode.insertBefore(j,p);}})(window,document,\"script\",\"ld-ajs\");<\/script><\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Capitol Tea: JD Vance and the Senate&rsquo;s &lsquo;redshirt freshmen&rsquo;<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2202151\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Happy Tuesday, this is Congress Editor <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/author\/david-sivak\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">David Sivak<\/a> welcoming you to our fourth edition of Capitol Tea, a weekly column dedicated to life on Capitol Hill. Miss our last installment? <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/3490259\/capitol-tea-jim-justice-babydog-siblings-thom-tillis-parade\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Catch up here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>In this edition &hellip;<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/3497011\/graham-dc-most-dangerous-place-trump-police-takeover\/\">Lindsey Graham says DC &#8216;most dangerous place&#8217; on Earth in defending Trump police takeover<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/3496361\/elissa-slotkin-pushes-end-presidential-pardons\/\">&#8216;Get-out-of-jail-free card&#8217;: Elissa Slotkin pushes to end presidential pardons<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/3495754\/graham-trump-russia-ukraine-land-swaps-zelensky\/\">Graham echoes Trump on Russia-Ukraine &#8216;land swaps&#8217; that Zelensky rejected<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p><em>&ndash; <strong>JD Vance&rsquo;s class loyalty.<\/strong> The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/hunter-biden-defector-emails-pipeline-to-obama-admin-seen-as-currency\/\" title=\"Hunter Biden Defector Emails: &#039;Pipeline&#039; to Obama Admin Seen as &#039;Currency&#039;\">vice president<\/a> still dines with his &ldquo;redshirt freshman&rdquo; colleagues.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>&ndash; <strong>Food court blues.<\/strong> The union for House service workers is suing a third eatery.<\/em><\/p>\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>RISING SOPHOMORE<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>Vice President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/jd-vance\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"JD Vance\">JD Vance<\/a> is no longer Ohio&rsquo;s senior senator, but he still considers himself a member of his freshman Senate class.<\/p>\n<p>Vance and his wife, Usha, hosted his old GOP colleagues at the Naval Observatory this spring as part of a tradition dating back to his earliest days in the Senate.<\/p>\n<p>Each month, the group will dine at a restaurant, with a different senator hosting each time, but Vance chose his vice presidential residence, a 9,000 square-foot property that boasts a pool, solarium, and private garden, when it came his turn in early May.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;All of our spouses came in town for that one, so that was really, I mean, special and surreal,&rdquo; said Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL), one of five Republicans who entered the Senate with Vance in 2023.<\/p>\n<p>The gathering, which has not been previously reported, is a sign of how close Vance, despite his ballooning VP portfolio, remains with his GOP classmates, a group made up of Britt and Sens. Ted Budd (R-NC), Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), and Eric Schmitt (R-MO).<\/p>\n<p>They now maintain two separate text chains, one with Vance on it and one without, to avoid inundating his phone. (I&rsquo;m told the text threads are &ldquo;fun and sometimes spirited.&rdquo;)<\/p>\n<p>But Vance, who plays an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/3458684\/trump-one-big-beautiful-bill-senate-vote\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">outsize role<\/a> in the Senate as vice president, still has a standing invitation to the dinners, and Britt said he &ldquo;comes when he can.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Collectively, the class calls itself the &ldquo;redshirts,&rdquo; a nickname I discovered in talking to staffers about the dinners. I received conflicting accounts on the origin story, but the senators have embraced the obvious sports reference &mdash; the &ldquo;redshirt freshmen&rdquo; who defer their eligibility to play an extra year in college.<\/p>\n<p>There is plenty of Senate lore to uncover surrounding class names. Britt, whose husband played for the New England Patriots, made &ldquo;redshirt freshman&rdquo; T-shirts for each of her classmates, one of which is hanging in Mullin&rsquo;s office.<\/p>\n<p>The 2014 class, a crop that includes Sens. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) and Tom Cotton (R-AR), also goes by the &ldquo;Bear Den,&rdquo; and Britt cited their nickname as inspiration in adopting their own.<\/p>\n<p>(<em>Roll Call<\/em> has a helpful <a href=\"https:\/\/rollcall.com\/2016\/02\/22\/senate-freshmen-aim-to-be-force-not-faction-2\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">deep dive<\/a> on the &ldquo;Bear Den,&rdquo; if you&rsquo;re curious.)<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Vice President JD Vance, right, greets Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL) during a dinner for Republican senators in the State Dining Room of the White House, Friday, July 18, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Alex Brandon)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/3495052\/john-thune-europe-nato-delegation-gop-freshmen\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">THUNE TO VISIT NATO NATIONS WITH DELEGATION OF GOP FRESHMEN<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>For two-plus years, the dinners have anchored the friendship between Britt and her class colleagues. She called it a &ldquo;trusted space&rdquo; for career advice, especially early in their Senate terms.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;For me, being away from my husband and my kids, and trying to figure out, where is your lane, and how do you make all this work? &hellip; I mean, this was instrumental in being able to kind of get my footing,&rdquo; Britt said.<\/p>\n<p>The meals have also become a venue to celebrate their accomplishments, as they take on new <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nrsc.org\/about-us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">leadership<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.barrasso.senate.gov\/newsroom-news-releases-barrasso-announces-deputy-whip-team\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">roles<\/a> or sponsor <a href=\"https:\/\/www.budd.senate.gov\/2025\/01\/20\/budd-statement-on-passage-of-laken-riley-act\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">high-profile<\/a> pieces of legislation.<\/p>\n<p>Before the recess, the group held an impromptu dinner after Schmitt ushered a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/3473443\/trump-doge-cuts-passes-senate-rescission\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">$9 billion rescission bill<\/a> through the Senate. GOP leadership and Britt&rsquo;s son joined them for the occasion.<\/p>\n<p>The dinners will be held everywhere from Mastro&rsquo;s Steakhouse to the Capital Grille. In one off-campus excursion, the class also cheered Schmitt on at Nationals Park for this year&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/sports\/3435893\/who-will-be-playing-in-2025-congressional-baseball-game\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Congressional Baseball Game<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Ricketts was a particularly good sport and wore the St. Louis Cardinals logo on their &ldquo;Schmitt Nation&rdquo; T-shirts. (The Ricketts family owns the Chicago Cubs.)<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL) and her husband, Wesley, at the Congressional Baseball Game at Nationals Park in June with Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-NE). They are joined by Sen. Eric Schmitt&rsquo;s (R-MO) wife, Jaime. (Photo courtesy of Britt&rsquo;s office.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Their meals typically do not include Sens. Peter Welch (D-VT) and John Fetterman (D-PA), the two Democrats who joined the Senate in 2023, but they will have a classwide dinner about twice a year, according to Britt.<\/p>\n<p>She is also friendly with the pair and had a separate dinner with them this spring.<\/p>\n<p>As for the most recent crop of senators, Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH), who replaced Vance in January, is lobbying for his class to be known as the &ldquo;outsiders,&rdquo; given many of the GOP freshmen were businessmen before entering politics.<\/p>\n<p>But the name isn&rsquo;t official yet &mdash;&nbsp;Moreno came up with it in a brief interview while offering a friendly jab at the &ldquo;redshirts.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s the second-best class,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Ours is obviously the best.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>He noted his GOP classmates, who host monthly breakfasts together, have camaraderie of their own. Later this month, they will <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/3495052\/john-thune-europe-nato-delegation-gop-freshmen\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">travel to Europe<\/a> with Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) as a congressional delegation.<\/p>\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>HOUSE FOOD FIGHT<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thechacompany.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">CHA Street Food<\/a>, the Asian fusion eatery that opened in the Rayburn Cafeteria on Monday, is facing a wrongful termination lawsuit from the union representing House service workers.<\/p>\n<p>According to court documents, Unite Here Local 23 is seeking relief for Steak &lsquo;n Shake employees who lost their jobs as part of a larger reshuffling in the House&rsquo;s food offerings. The complaint, <a href=\"https:\/\/portal-dc.tylertech.cloud\/app\/RegisterOfActions\/#\/B874539EA82783B96A844FD0644EA8B29B12140DAB45BC5A8BF85E2C70A7C9674903823FE3909E04F8C966AA7ADE2845B956E7F0A48E17821A8BBDAB7EE13EC3988FCF83F6531AE95A73A73496033C84\/anon\/portalembed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">filed on July 29<\/a> and first reported here, alleges that under D.C. law, CHA Street Food was obligated to rehire the workers when it took over the Steak &lsquo;n Shake food stall.<\/p>\n<p>The restaurant is the first local chain to be sued as new vendors begin to open over the August recess. Previously, Unite Here <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/3482566\/house-union-lawsuit-starbucks-jimmy-johns-vendors\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">filed a lawsuit<\/a> against a Starbucks that is replacing Dunkin&rsquo; in the Longworth Office Building, plus another against the new Jimmy John&rsquo;s in Rayburn.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/3482566\/house-union-lawsuit-starbucks-jimmy-johns-vendors\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\"><strong>HOUSE UNION SUES STARBUCKS AND JIMMY JOHN&rsquo;S VENDORS OVER EATERY SHAKEUP<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The court battle is taking place alongside a vendor boycott that has attracted the support of the Congressional Labor Caucus.<\/p>\n<p>We reached out to CHA Street Food but did not hear back.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_2202151\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"2202151\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Capitol Tea: JD Vance and Senate&#8217;s &#8216;redshirt freshmen&#8217; update<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2651,"featured_media":2473861,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/AP25064075749265-1024x592.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[4172,5894,61138,3740,15469],"class_list":["post-2473860","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-capitol","tag-politics","tag-redshirt-freshmen","tag-senate","tag-vance"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/AP25064075749265-1024x592.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2473860","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2651"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2473860"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2473860\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2473864,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2473860\/revisions\/2473864"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2473861"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2473860"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2473860"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2473860"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}