--- title: Ben Affleck Mentions Batman In Congressional Testimony description: Ben Affleck testified before the Senate Thursday and found a way to mention Batman in his opening remarks. canonical: https://time.com/3759932/ben-affleck-congress-batman/ author: Tessa Berenson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-03-26T15:48:45.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T05:28:27.277Z article:section: Politics og:title: Watch Ben Affleck Mention Batman In His Congressional Testimony og:description: Ben Affleck testified before the Senate Thursday and found a way to mention Batman in his opening remarks. og:url: https://time.com/3759932/ben-affleck-congress-batman/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt905a42fc8a4482b5/698785688e06014c1b45af7c/ben-affleck.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: Ben Affleck, actor, filmmaker and founder of the Eastern Congo Initiative, testifies before a Senate Appropriations State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs Subcommittee hearing on "Diplomacy, Development, and National Security" on Capitol Hill in og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Watch Ben Affleck Mention Batman In His Congressional Testimony twitter:description: Ben Affleck testified before the Senate Thursday and found a way to mention Batman in his opening remarks. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt905a42fc8a4482b5/698785688e06014c1b45af7c/ben-affleck.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Watch Ben Affleck Drop a Batman Reference in His Congressional Testimony > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Mar 26, 2015 3:48 PM UTC  Ben Affleck, actor, filmmaker and founder of the Eastern Congo Initiative, testifies before a Senate Appropriations State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs Subcommittee hearing on "Diplomacy, Development, and National Security" on Capitol Hill in Washington March 26, 2015. Ben Affleck, actor, filmmaker and founder of the Eastern Congo Initiative, testifies before a Senate Appropriations State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs Subcommittee hearing on "Diplomacy, Development, and National Security" on Capitol Hill in Washington March 26, 2015. Yuri Gripas—Reuters  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Mar 26, 2015 3:48 PM UTC Ben Affleck testified before the Senate Thursday as a philanthropist, not an actor. But he still found a way to mention Batman in his opening remarks. The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs hearing was on diplomacy and national security; Affleck is the founder of [Eastern Congo Initiative](http://www.easterncongo.org/), an advocacy and grant initiative focused on helping communities in eastern Congo. As he addresses the ranking members of the panel, Affleck turns to Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy and says, “I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge my costar in Batman. The role is marginally smaller than mine, but I understand that you are quite good.” Leahy laughs. Affleck is starring as Batman in next year’s _Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,_ but Leahy is a known Batman fanatic who has [appeared in cameos](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0495004/) in previous Batman films. So it seems he’ll be joining the caped crusader once again in 2016. 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