Take Five: Rep. Lynn Jenkins
Kansas Republican talks about Sweet 16, other sweets

It’s time again for Take Five, when HOH talks with a member of Congress about topics relatively unrelated to legislative work.
This week, Rep. Lynn Jenkins, R-Kan., talks about playing the drums, the Sweet 16, and her love of sweets, particularly at Dairy Queen. Q : As a Kansas State alum, are you still a University of Kansas basketball fan?
A : I support all of our great Kansas teams and have KU going all the way in my bracket his year. The only day I don’t root for KU is the couple times during the year that they play K State.
[Editor’s note: Kansas plays in the Sweet 16 on Thursday; check out Jenkins’ and other members’ picks in the Roll Call March Madness bracket]
Q : I hear you play the drums. What songs do you play?
A : I got a bright, shiny set in high school when I was in the stage band. As an adult, the only place I really play is in the praise-and-worship band at church. If you need a good “Awesome God,” I’m your gal.
Q : What’s your favorite type of candy or snack?
A : My favorite has always been Snickers and peanut M&Ms and it was some sort of divine intervention that they built a plant a few miles from my house and guess what they make? Peanut M&Ms and Snickers. So awesome.
Q : When you do have a break, what do you do with your time?
A : I haven’t ever done any [congressional delegations] or international travel for work, but on Thanksgiving, I went with eight friends from my church to El Salvador for a mission trip. But that’s really the first travel I’ve done. Normally, I just hang out. I’ve got a 24-year-old daughter that’s getting married this year, so I’ve been spending a lot of time with her planning that, and I’ve got a 21-year-old son who plays football at a private university in Kansas. So I spent my fall weekends traveling to watch him play. I offered [my daughter] the buy-out — just to go elope, but she didn’t take me up on that.
Q : What’s your favorite Kansas cuisine when you’re home?
A : Oh, that’s easy. It’s not unique to Kansas, but I’m a Dairy Queen fanatic. The district staff knows that the quickest way to get fired is to drive by a Dairy Queen with me in the car and not stop.
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