Capitol Lens | A bloom with a view

By Bill Clark and Tom Williams

Posted March 31, 2025 at 5:29pm

The weather in Washington has gotten warmer in the past few days and springtime is definitely here.

Tourists are descending on the Tidal Basin to see the cherry blossoms, which reached their peak bloom over the weekend, according to the National Park Service.

Roll Call’s photojournalists share some of their photos from the past few days of spring in Washington.

Tulips bloom on the East Front of the Capitol in Washington on Friday. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)

Members of the Sisters of Life and other tourists view cherry blossoms at the Tidal Basin on Monday. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

A girl inspects cherry blossoms in a tree at the Tidal Basin on Monday. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

Mallard ducks float among fallen cherry blossom petals in the Tidal Basin on Monday. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

Tourists wait in line to enter the Capitol Visitor Center on Thursday. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

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The Presidential seal is packed away in National Statuary Hall in the Capitol on Wednesday after President Donald Trump canceled the signing ceremony for the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act.

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National Guard troops patrol the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on June 22, 2026. The Trump administration has accused vandals of damaging the reflecting pool.

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Senate Commerce Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and ranking member Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., talk before the start of a June 18 markup of a college sports bill the duo primarily wrote.

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Rep. Jay Obernolte, R-Calif., is seen at a House Science panel hearing in February. The panel on Thursday advanced his bill that would put the federal AI standards office into law. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)

Heard on the Hill