Heard on the Hill: Overheard on the Hill

By Roll Call Staff

Posted October 25, 2011 at 6:48pm

“It’s just that I’m a smoker, and a lot of people on the staff said, ‘Just let Block be Block.’”

— GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain’s chief of staff, Mark Block, on Fox News on Tuesday explaining the choice to include a shot of him smoking at the end of a campaign ad.

Recent Stories

King Charles III arrives to address a joint meeting of Congress in the House chamber of the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday.

For one very brief moment, a king unites a divided Congress

Things need to change after recent sexual misconduct allegations roiled the Hill, some say — and that includes the culture. Above, staff and security prepare for a news conference at the Capitol in 2023.

Report sexual misconduct? It’s not that simple, staffers say

Former FBI Director James Comey arrives at the Rayburn House Office Building for a meeting with Republican members of the House Judiciary Committee and House Oversight and Government Reform Committee in 2018.

Justice Department indicts James Comey over seashell photo

The Capitol dome in Washington is seen on Nov. 12, 2025.

When it comes to ad reservations, parties typically don’t play games

Florida Rep. Daniel Webster will retire at the end of his current term. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call file photo)

Florida Rep. Daniel Webster is latest Republican to announce retirement

Zach Florman, communications director for Rep. Laura Friedman, D-Calif., is photographed outside of Longworth building on Thursday, April 23, 2026. Florman displays the screen of a bot he built to track House floor action in real-time.