Word on the Hill: Inauguration Week

By Alex Gangitano

Posted January 17, 2017 at 5:00am

It’s the week of Donald Trump’s inauguration, which means parties, crowds and traffic in the nation’s capital.

Check out our list of balls and galas going on this week. If you have more to add, email AlexGangitano@cqrollcall.com.

Stay tuned for details on events and a list of counter-parties as well.

Also happening this week…

Wednesday

• Breakfast with outgoing White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest, hosted by The Christian Science Monitor at 9 a.m. at the St. Regis, 923 16th St. NW. Earnest is keeping up a tradition set by previous White House press secretaries Tony Snow, Dana Perino and Jay Carney.

• Debate among candidates running to chair the Democratic National Committee, hosted by The Huffington Post and George Washington University, 7 p.m. at the university’s Jack Morton Auditorium.

• U.S. Conference of Mayors: Welcome reception with Mayor Muriel Bowser and Colombian Ambassador Juan Carlos Pinzon. 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the ambassador’s residence, 1520 20th St. NW.

• Special performance of “Roe” at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater, 1101 Sixth St. SW, at 8 p.m.

Overheard

“I think Washington psychiatrists are going to be doing a brisk business.”

— Earnest, referencing the next four years under the incoming Trump administration.

Staffer shuffle

Rachael Dean, communications director for Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., announced last Friday she is leaving the office. Press secretary Julie Tarallo will take over the role.

Mara Stark-Alcala, press secretary for the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced Friday she is leaving to work for the American Public Transportation Association.

The saga of the Ferguson painting

Last week was filled with heated confirmation hearings and a late-night vote-a-rama, but one story required constant updates: Some GOP lawmakers kept taking down a controversial student painting in the Cannon tunnel. Watch this video for a play-by-play.

Health care decoded

As a new administration takes over, the nation’s evolving health care system — valued today at more than $3 trillion — will face significant changes again.

On March 16, Roll Call Live, in partnership with the CQ News editorial powerhouse, invites you to a packed morning of expert analysis and nonpartisan discussion to examine the many questions that health care industry stakeholders and policymakers will face. Check out the agenda and register!