Meet The Lawmakers Who Sleep, Shower, Work — All On Capitol Hill

When South Dakota Republican Kristi Noem was looking for a new office at the beginning of this Congress, she knew she'd need one thing in particular: closet space.

Noem is one of dozens of lawmakers who, by day, work in the office buildings on the House side of the U.S. Capitol and, by night, live in them.

"There's storage in this room here for my blankets and pillows," Noem told NPR in a recent tour of her office in the Rayburn building.

These lawmakers say office living has some political benefit, but it's mainly good way to save a buck in Washington.

Noem sleeps on a pullout in her office. She described her morning routine this way:

"There's a gym in the basement, so I get up in the morning and go down to the member's gym and work out with a group of people," she said. "And then I go to the women's gym and shower and put my makeup on and stuff and come back up here and get dressed."

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