This is, um, not a good look when people are still struggling to afford eggs and gasoline and other basic necessities:

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Friday ordered that the maximum cap on the rate of pay for staffers in the lower chamber be raised to $212,000 per year.

The move now puts the maximum salary for House aides at $38,000 more than what lawmakers on Capitol Hill make themselves.

Um, can someone please explain to me why we'll be paying our congressional lawmakers 21% less than some staffers? How exactly does that make sense? I can't imagine that's how the founders envisioned our republic being structured.

She's been at this for a while:

In 2021, Pelosi raised the maximum salary for House staff to $199,300. The salary cap was raised again in May to $203,700, at which point the speaker also instituted a minimum salary of $45,000 for staffers.

Rank-and-file members of Congress make $174,000 a year. Members of congressional leadership make slightly more, with Pelosi earning $223,500 per year as speaker of the House.

Just for reference, the current average U.S. salary is just under $54,000.