At the start of their careers, Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, had very little in common. Gillibrand was born in upstate New York and worked for a Manhattan-based law firm. Ernst joined the reserves after graduating from Iowa State University and rose to become a lieutenant colonel in the Iowa Army National Guard.

But as stories surrounding sexual harassment and assault in the military multiplied, and how the military conducted investigations (or didn’t) came to light, the two senators found a common cause. That cause and friendship became stronger when they traveled together to Afghanistan in 2019, as The 19th and others have reported.

Anecdotes abound about how trips taken by congressional delegations (called CODELs) have led to social relationships, and then to bipartisan legislative collaborations. Two House members once hashed out some AmeriCorps funding questions on a return flight from Europe. The primary drivers of the major $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill that became law in 2021 were Rob Portman and Kyrsten Sinema, senators on opposite sides of the aisle. The pair first bonded on a civil rights trip to........

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