{"id":2566987,"date":"2026-02-07T06:26:01","date_gmt":"2026-02-07T11:26:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/capitol-staffers-suffer-own-affordability-crisis-as-celsius-prices-rise\/"},"modified":"2026-02-07T06:28:51","modified_gmt":"2026-02-07T11:28:51","slug":"capitol-staffers-suffer-own-affordability-crisis-as-celsius-prices-rise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/capitol-staffers-suffer-own-affordability-crisis-as-celsius-prices-rise\/","title":{"rendered":"Capitol staffers suffer own affordability crisis as Celsius prices rise"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/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-staffers-suffer-own-affordability-crisis-as-celsius-prices-rise%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=2566987&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>Capitol Hill staffers are confronting an affordability squeeze, highlighted by a recent 10-cent rise in Celsius energy drinks to $4 a can. The small price bump, wich reportedly went unlisted for weeks until checkout, could add about $50 annually to a staffer\u2019s caffeine budget. Even with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/new-la-police-chief-sworn-in-as-one-of-the-highest-paid-chiefs-in-the-us-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"New LA police chief sworn in as one of the highest-paid chiefs in the US - ...\">entry-level salaries<\/a> around $55,106 in the Senate and a $45,000 minimum in the House\u2014both above the national average of about $33,318\u2014rising costs of living are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/dei-looks-to-be-on-its-deathbed-after-woke-giants-announce-slashes-to-diversity-budgets\/\" title=\"DEI&#039;s Demise Imminent as Woke Giants Cut Diversity Funding\">impacting daily life<\/a> on the Hill. Celsius is widely consumed by staffers, members of Congress, lobbyists, and federal workers, described as the fuel that keeps the Capitol engine running, making price changes feel personal amid broader affordability concerns as the 2026 elections approach. The piece frames this as part of a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/state-officials-warn-huntington-beach-after-city-proposed-to-check-voter-id-in-elections\/\" title=\"Huntington Beach cautioned by officials over voter ID proposal.\">larger national discussion<\/a> on wages, inflation, and partisan messaging around cost of living.  <\/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 Hill staffers suffer their own affordability crisis as Celsius prices rise 10 cents<\/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\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2489784\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/capitol-hill\/\">Capitol Hill<\/a> staffers don&rsquo;t have it easy. They&rsquo;re overworked to the point of exhaustion, and they aren&rsquo;t immune to the vagaries of the economy.<\/p>\n<p>Entry-level <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/senate\/\">Senate<\/a> staffers earn $55,106 a year, according to the Congressional Research Service, while the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/house\/\">House <\/a>sets a $45,000 minimum salary for full-time aides &mdash; both well above the <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >national average entry-level pay<\/a> of $33,318. But inside the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/capitol-hill\/\">Capitol<\/a>, the latest cost-of-living crisis isn&rsquo;t rent or groceries. It&rsquo;s caffeine.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/4449748\/bill-clinton-demands-public-hearing-connections-epstein\/\">Bill Clinton demands public hearing on his connections to Epstein: &#8216;Kangaroo court&#8217;<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/4449266\/mark-amodei-announces-retirement-house-after-15-years-service\/\">Mark Amodei announces retirement from House after 15 years of service<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/4448990\/james-comer-investigation-ilhan-omar-husband\/\">James Comer launches investigation into Ilhan Omar&#8217;s husband&#8217;s business dealings<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>Celsius, as the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/3046172\/celsius-energy-drink-fueling-capitol\/\"><em>Washington Examiner <\/em>previously reported<\/a>, is the fuel that keeps the Capitol engine running, so staffers are understandably up in arms as the cost of a can has suddenly spiked by a whopping 10 cents to now cost $4. The rise may seem trifling, but staffers work long hours, and a caffeine budget is a necessity. The rise in price could add an additional $50 a year to an already necessary caffeine budget.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s an open secret that the Hill runs off Celsius, so when prices rose by $0.10 without notice, it came as a bit of a shock,&rdquo; one Senate staffer told the <em>Washington Examiner.<\/em> &ldquo;That adds up over time. And to make matters worse, they neglected to update the listed prices for at least three weeks, meaning the price increase was only discovered at the point of sale. It&rsquo;s especially upsetting at a time when affordability should be top of mind for members of both parties.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Another Senate staffer was more succinct. &ldquo;Terrible,&rdquo; they said of the cost increase.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Shameful!!&rdquo; a former House staffer and Celsius enthusiast exclaimed to the <em>Washington Examiner. <\/em>&ldquo;What is this administration&rsquo;s plan to lower Celsius prices?&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/3385129\/women-in-politicics-clothing-rental-services-mix-up-capitol-hill-wardrobe\/\"><strong>WOMEN IN POLITICS TURN TO CLOTHING RENTAL SERVICES TO MIX UP CAPITOL HILL WARDROBE<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Affordability was a central focus for last year&rsquo;s elections as both Govs. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) and Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) focused much of their campaigns on affordability, as did New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani.&nbsp;It has become one of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/where-vance-and-walz-stand-on-top-issues-ahead-of-debate-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Where Vance and Walz stand on top issues ahead of debate - ...\">top issues ahead<\/a> of the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/2026-election\/\">2026 midterm elections<\/a>, as both parties rush to find messaging that resonates in hopes of picking up seats in either chamber.<\/p>\n<p>Not only do Capitol Hill staffers drink Celsius, but so do members of Congress, lobbyists, and federal workers.&nbsp;House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) is <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/MatthewFoldi\/status\/1800512259384557958\">known to be a connoisseur<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/3469214\/subway-trapping-us-senators\/\"><strong>THE EXCLUSIVE CAPITOL SUBWAY THAT KEEPS TRAPPING US SENATORS<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s frustrating to see them cash in on their popularity,&rdquo; government relations associate Jane Evans told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. &ldquo;Knowing they&rsquo;re raising prices makes me think twice about buying one, particularly since my office supplies them anyway.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Rising prices are at the forefront of voters&rsquo; minds across the country, as Washington is not the only place with rising Celsius costs.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It must be a Capitol thing!&rdquo; a New York political operative said. &ldquo;The price went up to $4 in the New York State Capitol!!&rdquo;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Capitol Hill staffers grapple with 10-cent Celsius rise<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3691,"featured_media":2566988,"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\/2026\/02\/GettyImages-2240656304.jpg?w=594","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651,538],"tags":[18297,32592,73225,73226,58959],"class_list":["post-2566987","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","category-washington-examiner","tag-affordability","tag-capitol-hill","tag-capitol-staffers","tag-celsius-network","tag-cost-of-living-2"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/GettyImages-2240656304.jpg?w=594","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2566987","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\/3691"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2566987"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2566987\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2566991,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2566987\/revisions\/2566991"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2566988"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2566987"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2566987"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2566987"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}