Skip to content
RollCall logo

Staff

Ben Peters

The Latest From Ben Peters
South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, a candidate for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, records an episode of the “Cape Up” podcast with host Jonathan Capehart. (Courtesy Pete for America)

In crowded field, 2020 Democratic presidential hopefuls turn to podcasts

By Ben Peters
Posted May 3, 2019 at 11:00am
The large field of Republican presidential candidates in the 2016 cycle led Fox Business Network, based on poll ratings, to decide that Mike Huckabee, Carly Fiorina and Rick Santorum would participate in their own debate, separately from the top seven candidates in the race. (Andrew Burton/Getty Images file photo)

Think 20 presidential candidates is a lot? Try 300-plus

By Ben Peters
Posted April 25, 2019 at 5:00am
Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., was among three Democratic lawmakers who recently received death threats by voicemail at their D.C. offices. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call file photo)

Florida man arrested for death threats to Reps. Tlaib, Swalwell and Sen. Booker

By Ben Peters
Posted April 19, 2019 at 3:44pm
Media films a few pages of special counsel Robert Mueller's report on Russian interference in the 2016 election which was printed out by staff in the House Judiciary Committee's hearing room on Thursday, April 18, 2019. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

The Mueller report meme game has been strong on the internet

By Ben Peters
Posted April 19, 2019 at 11:01am
House Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., is seeking to obtain the full, unredacted report by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call file photo)

Chairman Nadler subpoenas fully unredacted Mueller report

By Ben Peters
Posted April 19, 2019 at 10:34am
A statue of Uriah Milton Rose of Arkansas is seen in the Capitol's Statuary Hall on Tuesday, April 16, 2019. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

Johnny Cash is replacing one of the Capitol’s Civil War statues

By Ben Peters
Posted April 17, 2019 at 4:03pm
A woman holds her voting sticker in her hand after casting her ballot in Leetonia, Ohio, on Election Day 2016. President Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton by 8 points to pick up the state’s 18 electoral votes . (Ty Wright/Getty Images file photo)

Has the longtime swing state of Ohio stopped swinging?

By Ben Peters
Posted April 15, 2019 at 4:57pm
Ralph Vanni retired this month after three decades as a senior audio technician at the Capitol. His congressional roots run deep; his father was a foreman in the Senate Cabinet Shop. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

He’s killing the mic on Capitol Hill after 34 years

By Ben Peters
Posted April 12, 2019 at 5:01am
UNITED STATES - MARCH 6: Reps. Kendra Horn, D-Okla., center, Andy Kim, D-N.J., and Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pa., are seen before a House Armed Services Committee hearing titled "Outside Perspectives on Nuclear Deterrence Policy and Posture," in Rayburn Building on Wednesday, March 6, 2019. (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

Kendra Horn still worries about her student loans. She’s not the only one

By Ben Peters
Posted April 12, 2019 at 5:00am
Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W. Va., is endorsing Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, for re-election next year. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call file photo)

Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin endorses GOP Sen. Susan Collins for 2020

By Ben Peters
Posted April 11, 2019 at 5:19pm
Sen. Elizabeth Warren speaks during the North America’s Building Trades Unions conference at the Washington Hilton on Wednesday. Many Democratic presidential hopefuls attended the conference in hopes of drawing the labor vote. (Zach Gibson/Getty Images)

Democratic presidential hopefuls appeal for union votes

By Ben Peters
Posted April 10, 2019 at 7:36pm
Isaac Loeb, a legislative aide of Vermont Democrat Rep. Peter Welch, playing Jeopardy. (Courtesy Isaac Loeb)

So you want to be on ‘Jeopardy!’? The online test draws nigh

By Ben Peters
Posted March 22, 2019 at 5:00am
Sam Houston Johnson worked as an aide to his brother, Senate Majority Leader Lyndon B. Johnson (Yoichi Okam/Courtesy Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library)

Flashback Friday: When Congress put the brakes on nepotism

By Ben Peters
Posted March 22, 2019 at 5:00am
Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., leaves the House Democrats' caucus meeting in the Capitol on Friday, Jan. 4, 2019. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call file photo)

Cummings says Trump administration’s use of private email violates records act

By Ben Peters
Posted March 21, 2019 at 4:45pm
Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., is not happy with President Donald Trump’s continued criticism of the late Sen. John McCain. (Bill Clark/Roll Call file photo)

This Republican plans to lash out at Trump over his attacks on John McCain

By Ben Peters
Posted March 20, 2019 at 11:00am
Members of Congress show off the American flags on their uniforms before the seventh annual Congressional women’s softball game near Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. (Al Drago/CQ Roll Call file photo)

Congressional women to take on female media members in annual softball game

By Ben Peters
Posted March 19, 2019 at 4:24pm
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. seen during a House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing in Rayburn Building. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

Some voters labeled AOC the biggest ‘villain’ in loss of NYC’s HQ2, poll says

By Ben Peters
Posted March 18, 2019 at 3:41pm
Daniel Hincapie, the fiancé of Wendy Martinez, who was killed while jogging in September, attends FiscalNote’s ReInvent Summit to announce The Wendy Martinez Legacy Project (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

His fiancée was murdered while running. Now he’s racing in the Boston Marathon

By Ben Peters
Posted March 18, 2019 at 9:00am
Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., arrives for the votes in the Senate to keep the government open on Feb. 14, 2019. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)

Sen. Cory Booker is officially dating actress Rosario Dawson

By Ben Peters
Posted March 14, 2019 at 5:41pm
A view East from the top of the US Capitol dome. (Douglas Graham/CQ Roll Call file photo)

Move over &pizza, Steak ’n Shake is coming to Rayburn

By Ben Peters and Katherine Tully-McManus
Posted March 12, 2019 at 11:28am
Rep. Ilhan Omar’s comments about Jews prompted an animated discussion on Capitol Hill. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call file photo)

Seems like everyone’s talking religion on Capitol Hill — here’s the breakdown

By Ben Peters
Posted March 8, 2019 at 6:25pm
GOP starting pitcher Rep. Mark Walker, R-N.C., pitches during the annual Congressional Baseball Game at Nationals Park in Washington on Thursday, June 15, 2017. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)

Rep. Mark Walker wades into fight over student-athlete compensation

By Ben Peters
Posted March 7, 2019 at 6:10pm
Reps. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., and Andy Levin, D-Mich., are seen outside the Capitol after the last votes of the week in the House on Jan. 11, 2019. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call file photo)

Rep. Tlaib announces plans to file impeachment resolution against Trump

By Ben Peters
Posted March 6, 2019 at 1:11pm
House Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., has asked dozens of people and groups for information related to his panel’s investigation. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)

What the people tangled up in Nadler’s Trump probe are saying

By Ben Peters
Posted March 5, 2019 at 4:08pm
Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., speaks during a news conference with fellow members of the Senate Banking Committee on Republican opposition to Richard Cordray's nomination to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2011. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)

Sen. Jeff Merkley will run for re-election instead of president

By Ben Peters
Posted March 5, 2019 at 9:12am
Sen. Bill Frist, R-Tenn., prepares to recieve a small pox vaccination shot from RN Lucienne Nelson, with the National Institutes of Health, at the Department of Health and Human Services, Friday. (CQ Roll Call)

Teen who defied his mother to get vaccinated will testify before Congress

By Ben Peters
Posted March 5, 2019 at 7:45am
Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, speaks with reporters in the Capitol after the Senate vote to reopen the government on Monday, Jan. 22, 2018. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)

His father delivered Luke Perry. Now Sherrod Brown is mourning him

By Ben Peters
Posted March 4, 2019 at 5:40pm
Chairman Elijah Cummings, D-Md., arrives to conduct the hearing featuring Michael Cohen, former attorney for President Donald Trump, in the House Oversight and Reform Committee on Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2019. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)

Oversight Chairman Cummings wants more info on Kushner security clearance

By Ben Peters
Posted March 1, 2019 at 8:01pm
Fox News Channel and radio talk show host Sean Hannity (left) interviews President Donald Trump before a campaign rally at the Las Vegas Convention Center on September 20. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Rep. David Cicilline says Sean Hannity should be subpoenaed over Michael Cohen

By Ben Peters
Posted March 1, 2019 at 9:25am
A man went viral after he was caught on camera eating pizza outside a hearing room Wednesday. (Courtesy &pizza)

‘Hallway pizza’ guy gets menu item named for him after his viral on-camera moment

By Ben Peters
Posted February 28, 2019 at 2:34pm
Michael Cohen, former attorney for President Donald Trump, testifies to the House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing on Wednesday. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)

Cohen implicates Trump’s sons, Donald Jr. and Eric, in mistress hush money scheme

By Griffin Connolly and Ben Peters
Posted February 27, 2019 at 10:23am
Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., attends a House Financial Services Committee organizational meeting in Rayburn Building on Wednesday, January 30, 2019. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

Reps. Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar sign petition to impeach Trump

By Ben Peters
Posted February 26, 2019 at 4:44pm
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid says the pancreatic cancer he was diagnosed with in 2018 is now in remission. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call file photo)

Harry Reid says compared to Trump, George W. Bush is ‘Babe Ruth’ of presidents

By Ben Peters
Posted February 25, 2019 at 8:06pm
When Rep. Lori Trahan was a scheduler, she tried to be the first one at the office, if only for a little quiet time. Now that she’s the boss, she doesn’t want her staffers to burn the candle at both ends. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)

Lori Trahan got the band back together as she staffed up her office

By Ben Peters
Posted February 22, 2019 at 5:02am
Last year Rep. Clay Higgins became the latest member to call on Congress to drug-test itself. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call file photo)

Will members of Congress ever drug-test themselves? They’ve certainly tried

By Ben Peters
Posted February 22, 2019 at 5:00am
Rep. Dan Kildee, right, poses with actor Alec Baldwin on Wednesday in Flint, Michigan. Baldwin interviewed the Michigan Democrat for an upcoming documentary on the Flint water crisis. (Courtesy Rep. Dan Kildee)

Rep. Dan Kildee interviewed by Alec Baldwin for Flint documentary

By Ben Peters
Posted February 21, 2019 at 4:38pm