Word on the Hill: Trump and the Awkward Buffet

By Alex Gangitano

Posted October 27, 2017 at 5:03am

It’s been a hectic week between budget talks, President Donald Trump’s trip to Capitol Hill and Republican senators taking shots at their president.

Then imagine Trump having to fend for himself in a buffet line in front of a roomful of senators, one of whom the president had engaged in a war of words with that morning.

Senate caucus lunches like the one Trump attended Tuesday are sometimes buffet-style and there aren’t a lot of staffers in the room, so there’s not much “pampering,” as Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., put it.

“I think nobody really thought of the awkwardness of nobody having planned to get a plate of food for the president,” Sasse said on “The Remnant Podcast with Jonah Goldberg.”

“All the rest of us were there before the president was there just to show respect for when he arrived. And when he got there, [he] was shown to his seat at kind of the head table, there was no food and someone had to elbow him and say, ‘There’s the buffet line over there.’”

Breast cancer awareness seminar

The Senate Health Promotion office is holding a seminar today to talk about breast cancer, the effectiveness of early detection and prevention screening, and alternative treatments. It’s at noon in the Russell Senate Office Building, Room 118. Register for the seminar, open to Senate staffers only, at lms.senate.gov or call (202) 224-7628 for more details.

Bipartisan pups for Halloween

The office of Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., is hosting a bipartisan Senate Halloween dog costume party on Tuesday and it’s being billed as a real showing of #bipawtisanship. It’s tentatively scheduled for 5:30 p.m. outside of the senator’s office in the Dirksen Senate Office Building, Room 185.

A somber anniversary for McCain

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who was a prisoner of war in Vietnam, reminded his Twitter followers that Thursday marked the 50th anniversary of his plane being shot down over North Vietnam.

Hard to believe 50 years ago today my plane was shot down in Vietnam. The honor of my life was to serve in the company of heroes in Vietnam. pic.twitter.com/UhKff5HYzP

— John McCain (@SenJohnMcCain) October 26, 2017

Freshman Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., also recognized the occasion.

Thank you for your lifetime of service, Senator https://t.co/e4ese0NUUK

— Raja Krishnamoorthi (@CongressmanRaja) October 26, 2017

Well, there’s that

Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, saw his name as a clue in the Wall Street Journal’s Daily Crossword yesterday and his first guess didn’t fit in the boxes.

Hmm, “devilishly handsome” is too many letters… pic.twitter.com/nudMAGFJiv

— Senator Angus King (@SenAngusKing) October 26, 2017

Meanwhile, in Detroit

The Women’s Convention, which plans to bring together female advocates ahead of the 2018 midterms, kicks off today and goes through Sunday. Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., and Reps. Brenda Lawrence, D-Mich., and Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., are scheduled to speak.

The convention’s theme is “Reclaiming Our Time” to honor Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif, who is scheduled to attend the convention Saturday night. Waters popularized the expression at a House Financial Services hearing in July. She repeatedly said she was “reclaiming her time” while interacting with Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, whom she felt was stalling instead of answering her question.