If they can't do their job without Twitter, then I can agree with the rest of what you said.
Sadly, the entire Congress is so dysfunctional that it's very hard to determine whether the staffers do or don't do a good job (and which of these possibilities is a better one).
That's the part which the UK student doesn't seem to get (and which makes me feel the savant label is fitting): knowing all the rules doesn't matter when playing by the rules isn't a goal.
Same goes for having the power which they never intended to use in the first place, because the unwritten rules matter more.
The whole thing about rules is that without a central enforcement mechanism, it's all about whether you have enough clout and chutzpah to use or break a certain rule. Just because a rule exists (and has been enacted before), doesn't mean invoking it isn't free.
It's just cheaper than doing the same thing against the rules.
Sure looks to me like they are. I guess we'll just have to disagree.