--- title: Congress Twitter: Who Has Most Influence? description: More than 200 members of Congress follow a conservative think tank and the country's largest business organization, according to an analysis of congressional Twitter accounts.... canonical: https://time.com/4465194/congress-twitter-influence/ author: Daniel White article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-09-01T13:31:46.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T00:11:06.447Z article:section: Politics og:title: Meet the Groups With the Most Influence in Congress on Twitter og:description: A conservative think tank and the country's largest business organization. og:url: https://time.com/4465194/congress-twitter-influence/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt75b71a74d5fd7488/6988a416f887dc8653e9739c/us-capitol-dc.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: U.S. Capitol Dome og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Meet the Groups With the Most Influence in Congress on Twitter twitter:description: A conservative think tank and the country's largest business organization. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt75b71a74d5fd7488/6988a416f887dc8653e9739c/us-capitol-dc.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Meet the Outside Groups With the Most Influence in Congress on Twitter > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### 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 [Daniel White](https://time.com/author/daniel-white/) ## Daniel White Sep 1, 2016 1:31 PM UTC  The U.S. Capitol dome in Washington on Aug. 11, 2016. The U.S. Capitol dome in Washington on Aug. 11, 2016. Bill Clark—CQ Roll Call./Getty Images by [Daniel White](https://time.com/author/daniel-white/) ## Daniel White Sep 1, 2016 1:31 PM UTC More than 200 members of Congress follow a conservative think tank and the country’s largest business organization, according to an analysis of congressional Twitter accounts. A report by [Quorum Analytics](http://www.quorum.us) found that 205 members of Congress follow the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and 203 members follow the Heritage Foundation, making them the two most followed non-media and non-government accounts by members. Heritage Foundation was an early adopter of Twitter, joining the social network in 2007 and making the site a key component of its online presence. “Members of Congress and their staff are a primary audience for Heritage, which is why we’ve made it part of our mission to communicate our policy research on Twitter,” Rob Bluey, vice president of publishing at the Heritage Foundation, told TIME. “We know it’s a platform influencers in Washington use to consume news and information.” Beyond those two outside groups, most members follow media outlets and reporters, as well as government Twitter handles. The member of Congress with the most members following is Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, with 280 members following. 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