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Word on the Hill: Franken’s ‘SNL’ Friends on Franken vs. Trump

Stabenow makes rounds, Cruz award, Johnson shows flexibility, Biden’s book and Scalia event

Dana Carvey, left, Kevin Nealon, second from left, and Sen. Al Franken, right, mock the Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings (with Phil Hartman, center, and Chris Farley) on “Saturday Night Live” in 1991. (NBC Universal)
Dana Carvey, left, Kevin Nealon, second from left, and Sen. Al Franken, right, mock the Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings (with Phil Hartman, center, and Chris Farley) on “Saturday Night Live” in 1991. (NBC Universal)

Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., could give President Donald Trump a run for his money. Or at least fellow “Saturday Night Live” alums Kevin Nealon and Dana Carvey think so.

“Will Al Franken run for president?” Nealon asks Carvey on his Twitter video series “Hiking With Kevin.”

“You know what? After Trump … anyone can run. It wouldn’t surprise me,” Carvey said. “The thing about Al, if, let’s say … if Trump was up against Al Franken, he’d be up against a comedian. So that would be Trump’s toughest challenge.”

“Al’s quick,” Nealon says. Carvey adds that comedian and former “The Daily Show” host Jon Stewart could also go up against Trump. They open with Nealon joking, “You know what’s crazy is that Al Franken is a senator now.”

Stabenow makes rounds at small businesses

Coffee, candy and candles — that’s how Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., spent her time this week. The senator checked out three local small businesses in the downtown Midland area, the Midland Daily News reported. The first stop was the Live Oak Coffeehouse, where she asked the barista for drink recommendations. She then popped over to a summer camp next door to say hello to children.

Her next stop was at a candy store called Heather ’n Holly and the owners, a local couple, told her about how they make most of the candy. Stabenow told them about when she worked on a dairy farm.

The last stop was the Coyer Candle Co., also owned by a local couple who showed Stabenow how to make a candle in 10 minutes.

In other Franken news, he’s at the state fair

The Minnesota State Fair began Thursday and Franken made the rounds at the “Great Minnesota Get Together.” He kicked off the day by cheering on colleague Sen. Amy Klobuchar while she was on the radio, and then met with local businesspeople. 

Cruz gets liberty award

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, received an award from the First Liberty Institute for his work for veterans, veteran memorials, and religious freedom. Cruz is a a former volunteer attorney for First Liberty. The institute’s 99th annual convention at the American Legion in Reno, Nevada, was Wednesday.

Former Harris intern pens foster care policy paper

Tiffany Boyd interned this summer for Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif. She’s now writing part of a policy paper advocating a national standard on services for foster children, the Daily Breeze reported. Boyd, 29, was in the foster system and wrote the paper with a dozen other former foster children across the country.

Johnson checks on riverbank

Rep. Bill Johnson, R-Ohio, made an unplanned stop in Pomeroy to check on erosion and slippage along the riverfront, My Daily Sentinel reported. Pomeroy’s acting mayor, Don Anderson, asked him to come to the location. To make the trip, Johnson reportedly moved things around on his schedule, which included a broadband meeting and a county fair.

Biden book cover revealed

Former vice president Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s memoir about his late son, Beau, will be released on Nov. 14. “Promise Me, Dad” is a reflection of the life and death of Beau Biden, who died in May 2015. People Magazine published the newly released cover of the book.

Save the date: Scalia essay event

The late justice Antonin Scalia’s essays on law and education will be the subject at a free event hosted by the Harvard Program on Education Policy and Governance on Sept. 15. The panel discussion will include scholars from Harvard, Boston College, and the University of Pennsylvania and will take place at the Hoover Institution in Washington (1399 New York Ave. NW) at 11 a.m. RSVP here.

Larson cites MLK

Rep. John Larson, D-Conn., participated in a vigil in West Hartford on Wednesday evening and posted this photograph on Twitter. He included a quote from Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.: “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that.”

Happy birthday to …

Rep. John Faso, R-N.Y., 65.

Rep. Susan W. Brooks, R-Ind., 57.

Rep. Elizabeth Esty, D-Conn., 58.

Rep. Raul Ruiz, D-Calif., 45.

What’s going on?

Have any tips, announcements or Hill happenings? Send them to AlexGangitano@cqrollcall.com.

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