United States Senate

The United States Senate functions in the novel as both a physical space and a political institution that shapes Alex Claremont-Diaz's identity long before the events of the story begin. It is the building whose layout Alex has had memorized since his father first got elected, the place where he has picked up his encyclopedic knowledge of policy and procedure, and where he spends more afternoons than he is supposed to, charming aides and trawling for gossip. His mother, President Ellen Claremont, pretends to be annoyed by his frequent presence but slyly asks him for intel later, a dynamic that reveals how the Senate serves as an informal training ground for the First Son's political instincts. The institution is thus not merely a governmental body but a formative environment where Alex's ambitions, his relationships, and his understanding of power are cultivated.

The Senate as Alex's Political Home

The Senate is the arena where Alex's most significant political relationships are forged, most notably with Senator Rafael Luna, an Independent from Colorado and the newest member of the body at only thirty-nine. Luna is Alex's favorite senator, a figure whose rise to prominence is marked by winning a special election and a general in consecutive upsets for his Senate seat, and by dominating The Hill's 50 Most Beautiful list. Alex's father, Oscar Diaz, took Luna under his wing back when Luna was merely a promising attorney, establishing a connection that Alex inherits and deepens. Alex spent the summer of 2018 in Denver working on Luna's campaign, and their relationship is built on shared experiences of tropical-flavored Skittles from gas stations and all-nighters drafting press releases. Alex sometimes feels the ghost of carpal tunnel creeping back from those sessions, a fond ache that testifies to the intensity of their collaboration. The Senate is where Alex goes to seek political favors, as when he visits Luna's office to ask about securing an endorsement from Stanley Connor, Delaware's kooky and beloved old Independent senator, a potential get that would be significant in a race projected to be close. The exchange reveals the informal networks of influence that operate within the institution, with Luna teasingly asking whether Alex is inquiring about Connor's likelihood of endorsing or about what strings need to be pulled to make it happen.

The Senate and the Presidential Race

The Senate's significance extends beyond Alex's personal connections to the broader political contest of the 2020 presidential election. The institution is the backdrop against which the novel's central conflict plays out, as the Republican presidential candidate, Senator Jeffrey Richards, uses the exposure of Alex's relationship with Prince Henry to attack the Claremont administration. When the Daily Mail publishes the private emails between Alex and Henry under the moniker "The Waterloo Letters," Richards seizes on the scandal to question President Claremont's ability to be impartial on issues of both international relations and homosexuality, and to raise concerns about the private email server used by White House residents. The Senate, as the body where Richards holds his power, becomes the platform from which he launches his political assault, framing the personal revelation as a matter of national security and presidential fitness. The institution thus serves as the stage for the collision between private life and public office, where the stakes of the affair are measured in electoral terms.

The Senate and the Conspiracy's Exposure

The Senate is also the institution through which the conspiracy against the Claremont family is ultimately exposed. When Nora Holleran, Alex's friend and the White House Trio's resident researcher, uncovers the extent of Richards's scheme, she reveals that Richards hired a firm that hired the hackers who obtained surveillance tapes from the Beekman hotel, and that he then hired another third party to buy the material and resell it to the Daily Mail. The plot involved private contractors surveilling a member of the First Family and infiltrating White House security to try to induce a sex scandal to win a presidential race. The exposure of this conspiracy comes through Senator Rafael Luna, who, after apparently infiltrating the Richards campaign, sends a coded message to Alex that serves as verification of the plot. Alex recognizes the message as coming from Luna, telling his mother, "This isn't a hacker. Rafael Luna sent this to you. That's your verification." The Senate, which had been the site of Luna's political rise and his connection to the Claremont family, becomes the origin point of the evidence that exposes Richards's hostile act of conspiracy against a sitting president. The institution thus completes a narrative arc from political training ground to the scene of the scandal's resolution, as the podcast host Oliver Westbrook observes that Rafael Luna is perhaps the unlikeliest hero of the 2020 presidential race.

The Senate's Institutional Significance

The Senate's role in the novel reflects a broader commentary on the nature of American political institutions and the individuals who inhabit them. The body is portrayed as a space where personal relationships and institutional power are intertwined, where a senator's charm and appearance can be as politically significant as their legislative record. Luna's status as both Latino and openly gay is noted as a factor that may have cost him votes, yet his success in consecutive upsets suggests a changing political landscape. The Senate is also the institution that connects the novel's two political worlds: the American presidency and the British monarchy, as the scandal that originates in the Senate's political calculations reverberates across the Atlantic, affecting Prince Henry and the royal family. The institution thus serves as a reminder that political power is exercised not only through legislation but through the networks of influence, surveillance, and betrayal that operate within and around the halls of government. The Senate, in this telling, is both a symbol of democratic governance and a site where the boundaries between public service and private ambition are continually tested.