Déjà vu: Ben Affleck brings George Clooney’s adviser to Capitol Hill

Actor and humanitarian Ben Affleck will be on Capitol Hill on Tuesday to testify about violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and it’s fair say that female congressional staffers haven’t been this excited about a celebrity since George Clooney stopped by in October. 

But that’s not the only similarity between Affleck’s visit and Clooney’s. 

The other link is John Prendergast, an expert on African conflicts and co-founder of the Enough Project. A former Bill Clinton White House aide, Prendergast might be best known for accompanying Clooney into Sudan earlier this year, where the silver fox used his star power to help the international community monitor elections.

Prendergast will be sitting next to Affleck on Tuesday in the hearing room, and he’ll likely assist the actor in navigating the halls of Congress before and after the actual hearing. 

It was announced Monday that Affleck and Prendergast will be joined at the hearing by Cindy McCain, the wife of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and a longtime global health advocate.

For those hoping for a glimpse of the hunky actor (or for those who’d prefer to avoid the media frenzy), Affleck will address a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee in Rayburn House Office Building Room 2172 at 1 p.m.

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