Word on the Hill: Dine Out and Donate

By Alex Gangitano

Posted April 6, 2017 at 5:00am

If you eat at certain restaurants in the area today, at least a fourth of your check will go to meal delivery and nutrition services for D.C. area residents living with HIV/AIDS, cancer and other illnesses.

Food & Friends’ annual Dining Out for Life event had over 70 restaurants sign on and pledge to donate between 25 percent and 110 percent of their sales to the nonprofit group.

The goal this year is to raise $180,000. Check out which restaurants are participating.

Weight loss program

The Senate Weight Loss Program’s first meeting is today, kicking off a 12-week Weight Watchers regimen for staffers. It runs until June 22 and today’s meeting kicks off at 1 p.m. in 562 Dirksen. Registration ended on Wednesday but call 202-224-7628 for questions about access.

Learn about Andrew Johnson

The Senate Historian is hosting a brown bag lunch talk today about President Andrew Johnson’s clash with Congress at the end of the Civil War. Learn some American history at noon in 188 Russell. Email historian@sec.senate.gov to register.

Staffer shuffle

The House Homeland Security Committee named Caroline Campbell as press assistant and Sarah Matthews as digital manager. Campbell most recently interned for Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, and Matthews interned at last year’s GOP convention and for the re-election campaign of Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio.

Elliott Broidy, who was national vice chairman of the Trump Victory Fund, is back at Broidy Capital Management as chairman and CEO. He was also vice chairman of the Presidential Inaugural Committee and was finance chairman of the Republican National Committee.

Millennial event headliner announced

Actress Allison Williams will be headlining MCON 2017 in June. This is the second year the event will take place in D.C. and it aims to turn topics interesting to millennials into action. Williams, 28, will join speakers in discussions about social justice, the planet, and identity.

Spotted

Actress Fran Drescher was spotted leaving The St. Gregory Hotel on Tuesday. She was seen wearing sunglasses and a black and white wrap dress, according to sources. They say Drescher, a cancer survivor, was in town to participate in the American Association for Cancer Research event.

Overheard on the Hill

“How come I’m not getting an alert?”— Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., when informed that President Donald Trump had removed chief strategist Steve Bannon from his National Security Council post.“I had to bring the little jerk along, otherwise he would have thrown a temper tantrum.”— Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., talking Wednesday about bringing Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., to a meeting with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson the day before.