U.S. Senators spend 90% of their time fundraising.
Posted by The Joe Rogan Experience, Checked
- Sources
- 4 contradict1 support
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 60%
The Joe Rogan ExperienceNov 6, 2026
The 90% figure is not supported by any source. Reporting on senators' time puts fundraising at roughly 20-50% (Time and Vox on John Oliver's segment, 25-50% of time in Washington), about one-third (former Sen. Hollings, cited by the Brennan Center), or a minority of activity (The Fulcrum, which says most legislative time goes to legislative work).
This claim is about the present, so it is judged as of the day it was checked.
What was said
… And I cannot express to you how broken the Senate and Congress are. Like, they don't go against special interests. So why is that? Senator spends 90% of their time fundraising? A senator spends 90%, 90, yeaah. And, uhm, you know, in the original founding, the Constitution senators weren't directly elected. They were appointed by state legislators. So you voted for your state legislator, and then they would appoint a senator. …
The Joe Rogan Experience · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Contradicts. Vox and Time, summarizing John Oliver's 2016 segment, report that members of Congress spend about 25 to 50 percent of their time on fundraising, which is far below 90%.[2][3]
Contradicts. The Fulcrum reports that most time in Congress goes to legislative activity such as hearings and committee work, and that only a small share of members spend an inordinate amount of time fundraising.[4]
Contradicts. The Brennan Center cites former Sen. Fritz Hollings estimating that almost one-third of a senator's time is spent on fundraising, a figure well short of 90%.[5]
Supports. Some reporting describes heavy fundraising demands, such as Reuters' 2013 account of call time running four to five hours a day for lawmakers in tough races. This shows fundraising is significant but does not approach 90% of a senator's time.[1]
Sources
5 sources: 1 fact-checker, 2 tier 2, 2 not rated
- 1In Washington, lawmakers' routines shaped by fundraisingreuters.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports
- 2John Oliver Finds the Fun in Political Fundraisingtime.com · tier 2 · cited for: contradicts
- 3John Oliver takes a deep, terrifying look at the role of money in ... - Voxvox.com · tier 2 · cited for: contradicts
- 4Congress may be broken – but it’s not lazy - The Fulcrumthefulcrum.us · not rated · cited for: contradicts
- 533661_cvr_q6brennancenter.org · not rated · cited for: contradicts
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
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