Nobody in Washington D.C. pays any attention to rank and file congressmen, especially if they’re in the minority. The bureaucracy listens to the Speaker of the House and the senate majority leader and maybe a few committee chairmen but other than that, congressmen are basically irrelevant.
That nicely sums it up. They do love nicely coifed hair, cameras, the sound of their own voices, and pretty web sites, though. In terms of serious governance, they are useless.