US senators set up a Creators Caucus. YouTube helped put it together

Cory Booker and John Kennedy launched the Senate Creators Caucus on 16 September 2026, with six creators on the opening panel.

Booker and Kennedy want creators treated as small businesses

The caucus is bipartisan. Booker sits for New Jersey, Kennedy for Louisiana. Their stated aim is to teach other senators how the creator business works. They also want creators counted as small businesses in law. Booker said Congress and its laws “haven’t kept up” with the sector (Senate press release, English).

Six creators sat on the opening panel, from Jackie Aina to MatPat

The panel brought Avery Smith of Louisiana Crawfish Company, Ian Schwartzman of the Joe Budden Network, beauty creator Jackie Aina, Sage Steele, Matthew Patrick of Theorist Media and Mark Vins of Brave Wilderness. More than seven other creators came to the event. Kennedy said creators hold “tremendous influence over how Americans communicate” (Senate press release, English).

YouTube’s government affairs team helped set the room

Leslie Miller, who runs government affairs at YouTube, took part on the platform side. That matters for brands, because the same platforms are already lobbying together in Washington on other files. Netflix, Amazon and YouTube set up a shared streaming lobby earlier this month. Creator pay is the next file where a shared line may appear.

Marketers should read this next to the money side of the same market. Brands still argue over what a creator post is worth, and rate cards remain thin.

The caucus has no bill attached to it yet. The question the next session settles is simple: does creator income get its own text, or stay buried inside wider tech bills? Watch which draft Booker and Kennedy put their names on first.