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Jim Saksa

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Progressive staffers sent a letter Thursday proposing a 32-hour week for Hill staff during district work periods, and the same for district staff when members are in Washington.

A 32-hour week? It could work for Congress, staff say

By Jim Saksa
Posted January 16, 2025 at 10:43am
The flag-draped casket of former President Jimmy Carter is carried down the steps of the Capitol on Thursday, ahead of a funeral service at Washington National Cathedral.

Jimmy Carter’s funeral: Fanfare for the common man with an extraordinary life

By Jim Saksa
Posted January 9, 2025 at 12:57pm, Updated at 1:15pm
Speaker Mike Johnson, center, appears in the House chamber on Friday with vote flippers Ralph Norman, second from right, center, and Keith Self, far right, who were critical to his election.

GOP’s fragile majority

By David Lerman and Jim Saksa
Posted January 6, 2025 at 4:46pm
Mike Johnson was elected speaker on Friday in a nail-biter of a vote, as the 119th Congress began.

Johnson wins gavel on first ballot after flipping holdouts

By Jim Saksa
Posted January 3, 2025 at 1:33pm, Updated at 6:32pm
Sen. Debbie Stabenow looks back on her time on Capitol Hill, from her early years in the House to holding the No. 3 spot in Democratic Senate leadership.

Why retiring Sen. Debbie Stabenow still believes in the ‘win-win’

By Jim Saksa
Posted December 20, 2024 at 3:14pm
Kansas Republican Rep. Jake LaTurner is in his final weeks in Congress after serving two terms.

‘We’re not going to be in this season forever,’ says outgoing Rep. Jake LaTurner 

By Jim Saksa
Posted December 19, 2024 at 5:23pm
“If you want to get things done, the best way to get to do it is with Democrats and Republicans working together,” said Sen. Tom Carper, who is leaving the Senate at the end of this term.

Retiring Sen. Tom Carper talks bipartisanship and endorphins

By Jim Saksa
Posted December 19, 2024 at 12:34pm
For staffers on Capitol Hill, the usual post-election shuffle is in full swing. Meanwhile, the wider hiring landscape in official Washington is uncertain. Above, reporters and aides are seen at the Capitol in March.

Hanging over the usual post-election staff shuffle? Trump’s purge threat

By Jim Saksa
Posted December 18, 2024 at 1:34pm
Rep. Bob Good, R-Va., stepped down as Freedom Caucus chair in September after losing his primary in Virginia’s 5th District. “We’re pulling the conference to the right, no question,” he says.

Good says goodbye: ‘This Congress should have done even less’

By Jim Saksa
Posted December 16, 2024 at 3:21pm
Rep. Tony Cárdenas, now in his final weeks in the House, ran the Congressional Hispanic Caucus BOLD PAC for several years.

Rep. Tony Cárdenas on his legacy and Latinos’ electoral shift

By Jim Saksa
Posted December 11, 2024 at 4:36pm
“I honestly feel that people should come and serve and not spend the rest of their entire career in Congress,” says Rep. Larry Bucshon, seen here in the Capitol in October 2023.

After 14 years in the House, Rep. Bucshon moves on

By Jim Saksa
Posted December 10, 2024 at 6:14am
Reps. Jared Huffman and Jamie Raskin, seen here in July, are among those pushing for a changing of the guard at the committee level as House Democrats head into the second Trump era.

Seniority shake-up? House Democrats test committee norms

By Jim Saksa
Posted December 5, 2024 at 8:02pm
Books by Gioia Diliberto, David Greenberg, Katherine Carter, Michael Tackett, Dmitri Alperovitch and James R. Jones top our annual list of recommendations from lawmakers and policy experts.

Deck the Hill with books aplenty: Capitol insiders share their favorite reads of 2024

By Jim Saksa
Posted December 5, 2024 at 6:15am
Anna Eshoo spent three decades on the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Above, she is seen chairing a Subcommittee on Health markup in 2019.

Anna Eshoo looks back on 32 years in Congress

By Jim Saksa
Posted December 2, 2024 at 5:24pm
Pablo José Hernández Rivera will become Puerto Rico’s resident commissioner in the upcoming Congress. Above, he speaks during a press conference introducing new members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus during freshman orientation in Washington on Nov. 15.

Meet the newest nonvoting members of the House 

By Jim Saksa
Posted November 22, 2024 at 3:30pm
New York Democratic Rep.-elect Laura Gillen reacts after drawing the best chip at the traditional office lottery during new member orientation on Thursday.

Cheers, jeers and long-walk fears: Lottery decides freshman office spots

By Jim Saksa
Posted November 21, 2024 at 1:10pm
Jayden Daniels of the Commanders drops back to pass during Thursday’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles. Some hope the Washington football team could return to city limits, but before local leaders can make their pitch, they need Congress to act on a land lease.

Burgundy and hold: What’s next for the RFK stadium site bill?

By Jim Saksa
Posted November 18, 2024 at 11:37am
Sarah McBride, pictured here at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Aug. 20, is the first transgender person elected to Congress.

A night of firsts for the First State, as Delaware elects Sarah McBride, Lisa Blunt Rochester

By Jim Saksa
Posted November 5, 2024 at 11:20pm, Updated November 6, 2024 at 9:46am
Only a handful of people have served as a D.C. shadow senator so far, including civil rights activist Jesse Jackson in the early 1990s. This election will likely see a newcomer join the list. Above, tourists are seen amid shadows in the Capitol Rotunda earlier this year.

Casting a long shadow? DC’s shadow delegation enters a new era

By Jim Saksa
Posted November 4, 2024 at 3:54pm
Paul Winfree, president and CEO of the Economic Policy Innovation Center, has some thoughts about Washington’s think tank ecosystem. The onetime Senate Budget staffer and Trump White House official sees an opening for groups like his.

With an epic name, this conservative think tank sees opening 

By Jim Saksa
Posted October 31, 2024 at 6:00am
Election night watch parties are back this year in D.C., after the pandemic derailed most in 2020. Above, workers are seen in 2021 at Boundary Stone in the Bloomingdale neighborhood.

Bars in DC brace for election night

By Jim Saksa
Posted October 28, 2024 at 5:23pm
Rep. Mike Johnson is pictured on the House floor before his election as speaker on Oct. 25, 2023. House Republicans spent weeks searching for a new speaker that month, losing valuable legislating time.

Lawmaking lows? Congress heads into lame duck with slow pace

By Jim Saksa
Posted October 23, 2024 at 4:06pm
“When I would come here and advocate, I felt empowered. As a patient, it felt like I was more in charge,” says Adam Jardine, who now works for Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla.

He found a purpose working on the Hill. Now he needs a kidney

By Jim Saksa
Posted October 15, 2024 at 3:29pm
Rep. Derek Kilmer, D-Wash., walks up the House steps on Sept. 25 for the final votes in the Capitol before Congress’ October recess. The former chair of the Modernization Committee is in his final months as a congressman, after deciding not to run for reelection.

Even as he heads out the door, Derek Kilmer is still trying to fix Congress

By Jim Saksa
Posted October 3, 2024 at 6:15am
Senate Judiciary ranking member Lindsey Graham and Chair Richard J. Durbin will have a lot to consider in the lame-duck session. A press shield proposal may not make the list.

Despite last-minute press, reporters’ source shield faces hard deadline in Senate

By Jim Saksa
Posted September 26, 2024 at 4:48pm
Sarah Geary, left, and Harley Adsit created the "Crime in Congress" podcast. So far they’ve released more than a dozen episodes on topics ranging from Watergate to the murder of Philip Barton Key II.

Only murders in the Capitol? True crime podcast explores seedier side of Congress

By Jim Saksa
Posted September 26, 2024 at 6:30am
A statue of country music legend Johnny Cash is unveiled during a ceremony in Emancipation Hall on Tuesday.

‘Hello, I’m Johnny Cash’: Statue of the ‘Man in Black’ unveiled at the Capitol

By Jim Saksa
Posted September 24, 2024 at 2:57pm
Rep. Brittany Pettersen, D-Colo., is among those in the House calling for a proxy voting option for new parents.

Proxy voting for new parents among changes pitched to House Rules panel

By Jim Saksa
Posted September 19, 2024 at 4:24pm
Joylette Hylick and Katherine Moore, daughters of Katherine Johnson, accept the "Hidden Figures'" Congressional Gold Medal from Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday.

Once ‘Hidden Figures,’ now Congressional Gold Medal recipients

By Jim Saksa
Posted September 18, 2024 at 6:00pm
Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer, Sen. Deb Fischer and Speaker Mike Johnson take part in a Wednesday ceremony marking the start of inaugural platform construction at the Capitol.

Hammering the ‘first nail,’ lawmakers kick off inauguration construction

By Jim Saksa
Posted September 18, 2024 at 2:44pm
Wiley Brown, the son of go-go legend Chuck Brown, performs “Bustin’ Loose” with Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove, D-Calif., during the Congressional Record concert in the Capitol Visitor Center on Tuesday.

Members of Congress croon like Frank Sinatra, bust loose like Chuck Brown

By Jim Saksa
Posted September 18, 2024 at 11:14am
“When congressional workers come together to bargain for the pay they deserve, they win — and we’re just getting started,” the Congressional Workers Union said in a statement.

MOU money: Hill staff union announces pay bumps as talks continue

By Jim Saksa
Posted September 18, 2024 at 5:00am
Rep. John Duarte, R-Calif., cites water policy as one reason he ran for office.

‘When the mud hits the fan’: Rep. John Duarte talks water

By Jim Saksa
Posted September 16, 2024 at 2:10pm
“For me, it wasn’t about polar bears,” Rep. Eric Sorensen says of climate change.

In the Quad Cities or DC, Eric Sorensen is happy to talk about the weather

By Jim Saksa
Posted September 11, 2024 at 2:25pm
Rep. Jamie Raskin, seen here at the Democratic National Convention on Aug. 19, published a memoir in 2022 called “Unthinkable: Trauma, Truth, and the Trials of American Democracy.” Now it has inspired an oratorio.

Aria ready for ‘The Jamie Raskin Oratorio’?

By Jim Saksa
Posted September 3, 2024 at 2:58pm
Sarah McBride speaks to volunteers at her campaign office in Wilmington on July 27. A state senator since 2021, she’s now campaigning for Congress.

On track to be first trans member, Sarah McBride has hope for Congress

By Jim Saksa
Posted August 15, 2024 at 3:17pm
“I think there are some preconceived notions of what it’s like to be an elected official. But I’m an introvert” who likes to work behind the scenes, says Rep. Emilia Sykes.

How Emilia Sykes went from Junior Olympian to running for reelection

By Jim Saksa
Posted August 1, 2024 at 6:15am
“It’s an investment … the more that we can be decisive here, the less bureaucracy we have out there,” says Rep. Barry Loudermilk.

More congressional staff? Conservatives are coming around to the idea

By Jim Saksa
Posted July 30, 2024 at 5:00am
House Republicans finished off their July by adopting a resolution condemning Vice President Kamala Harris’ handling of the southern border. Above, Speaker Mike Johnson and Harris are seen in April.

Messaging bills are loud, but do voters hear them?

By Jim Saksa
Posted July 25, 2024 at 4:29pm
House Administration Chairman Bryan Steil, seen here in 2023, this week hailed the fall of Chevron deference as a chance to “rein in the administrative state.”

A bigger, bolder Congress? Panel debates how to respond to end of Chevron deference

By Jim Saksa
Posted July 23, 2024 at 2:59pm
Political influencer V Spehar, creator of "Under the Desk News," speaks at Friday’s conference on Capitol Hill hosted by the Democratic Digital Communications Staff Association.

The way to voters’ hearts? It must be memes and TikTok, influencers say

By Jim Saksa
Posted July 16, 2024 at 3:03pm
Pins to promote voting by Native Americans are at a display counter during a cultural meeting at the Comanche Nation fairgrounds in Lawton, Okla., on Sept. 30, 2023.

100 years after gaining citizenship, Native Americans face barriers to voting

By Jim Saksa
Posted July 8, 2024 at 9:10am
Shye Robinson and Erick Alvarez are in Washington for the summer as part of CCAI’s internship program. Above, they sit on the House steps on June 20.

These Hill interns are bringing their foster youth stories to Congress

By Jim Saksa
Posted June 27, 2024 at 6:30am
Cheri Bustos collides with Debbie Wasserman Schultz during the Congressional Women's Softball Game in 2021. Bustos will return to the game this year as an announcer.

Key players return to Congressional Softball Game, this time at the microphone

By Jim Saksa
Posted June 21, 2024 at 2:36pm
Pay has improved for entry-level congressional staffers in recent years, but 7.6 percent of Senate aides still made below a living wage in 2023, according to a new report from Issue One. Above, staffers stand on balconies of the Russell Senate Office Building to view the solar eclipse on April 8.

Nearly 8 percent of Senate aides make less than a living wage, report finds

By Jim Saksa
Posted June 13, 2024 at 5:00pm
Rep. Jake Ellzey, R-Texas, scores in the first inning during the Congressional Baseball Game at Nationals Park on Wednesday night.

Protesters run on the field while GOP runs roughshod over Dems at Congressional Baseball Game

By Jim Saksa
Posted June 12, 2024 at 10:59pm
Visitors walk across the Supreme Court plaza last October. The court is expected to issue a decision soon that could discard or limit the Chevron doctrine.

What would Congress do without Chevron deference?

By Jim Saksa
Posted June 5, 2024 at 3:16pm
Voting signs are seen outside a polling place in New York during a special election this February. As the presidential campaign season heats up, election administrators around the country are calling for more security grant funding.

Election officials, retired lawmakers plead for more money to protect voting

By Jim Saksa
Posted June 4, 2024 at 1:04pm
James R. Jones was once a Hill intern himself. Now he studies the demographics of congressional staff. “We need transparent hiring data,” he says.

Is Congress still ‘The Last Plantation’? It is for staffers, says James Jones

By Jim Saksa
Posted May 29, 2024 at 6:00am
Speaker Mike Johnson and Rep. Chip Roy hold a May 8 news conference on the House steps to unveil voting legislation they dubbed the SAVE Act. The bill saw committee action this week.

Noncitizen voting bill advances as Republicans continue messaging push

By Jim Saksa
Posted May 23, 2024 at 4:00pm
Matt Stoller, left, and Oren Cass are seen in Washington on Jan. 31, 2024.

From the left and the right, these two thinkers are upending Washington’s neoliberal consensus

By Jim Saksa
Posted April 3, 2024 at 6:15am
World War II “Ghost Army” veterans are applauded after receiving the Congressional Gold Medal on Thursday.

After decades of secrecy and years of lobbying, Congress grants Ghost Army gold medal

By Jim Saksa
Posted March 21, 2024 at 2:51pm
Generative AI has the potential to change American elections, experts warn. Above, a voting sign is seen at a polling place in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn, N.Y., in 2022.

Election laws not ready for deepfakes, experts warn: ‘It’s the Wild West right now’

By Jim Saksa
Posted March 14, 2024 at 5:00am
A pair of Senate panels this week held hearings on voting rights and election security. Above, a voter prepares to cast a ballot at a polling place in Arlington, Va., on March 5.

Senators warn of threats to ’24 election, but disagree on what they are

By Justin Papp and Jim Saksa
Posted March 12, 2024 at 7:51pm
Staffers for Sen. Edward J. Markey, seen here in 2021, announced progress in their unionization effort.

Markey staffers begin collective bargaining, a win for union organizers

By Jim Saksa
Posted March 11, 2024 at 5:19pm
Rep. Matt Rosendale, R-Mont., said Friday he will not seek reelection to the House, after previously launching and then ending a bid for Senate.

In second reversal, Rosendale will not run for House reelection

By Jim Saksa
Posted March 8, 2024 at 2:18pm
Nevada Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto speaks with “Keeper of the Cup” Phil Pritchard during the Stanley Cup’s visit to the Capitol on Wednesday.

Nevada senators bring Golden Knights’ Stanley Cup to Congress

By Jim Saksa
Posted March 6, 2024 at 3:02pm
“I’m used to action all the time,” says Rep. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger, seen here in 2019.

Dutch Ruppersberger will miss the ‘action’ in Congress

By Jim Saksa
Posted March 5, 2024 at 6:15am
“Partisan gerrymandering is a real problem,” says North Carolina Democratic Rep. Kathy Manning.

Gerrymandered off the Hill, Kathy Manning eyes what’s next

By Jim Saksa
Posted February 27, 2024 at 6:15am
Congressional aides gather on the House steps on Nov. 8 as they unfurl a banner demanding a cease-fire. Now staffers have organized a fundraiser for humanitarian aid.

‘We will not be complicit in this’: Hill staffers challenge their bosses on Gaza

By Jim Saksa
Posted February 21, 2024 at 5:30am
Former House Clerk Cheryl Johnson, center, receives the Freedom Award on Tuesday. She is joined on stage by, from left, Rep. Troy Carter, former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, former House Clerk Lorraine Miller, and Capitol Historical Society President Jane Campbell.

Cheryl Johnson, who made history as House clerk, gets another round of applause

By Jim Saksa
Posted February 13, 2024 at 8:11pm
Rep. John Sarbanes, D-Md., speaks at a 2021 rally in support of his proposal to overhaul voting access and money in politics. He has been “toiling in those vineyards” for years, he says now.

Rep. John Sarbanes says he’s staying on the ‘democracy team’

By Jim Saksa
Posted February 13, 2024 at 6:15am
Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, donated hundreds of millions of dollars to support election administration efforts during the pandemic.

Lawmakers clash over ‘Zuckerbucks’ and how to stop private election funding

By Jim Saksa
Posted February 7, 2024 at 1:24pm
Harry Dunn arrives for a ceremony on Dec. 6, 2022, honoring police officers with a Congressional Gold Medal for defending the Capitol on Jan. 6.

Harry Dunn, former Capitol cop running for Congress, isn’t done yet

By Jim Saksa
Posted February 7, 2024 at 1:18pm
Rep. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger, D-Md., said Friday he will retire at the end of this term.

Maryland Rep. Ruppersberger to retire after 11 terms

By Jim Saksa
Posted January 26, 2024 at 1:17pm
Former Hill staffers Dan Lips, Aubrey Wilson and J.D. Rackey are seen on Capitol Hill on Jan. 19. Each now works for a group that is out to improve the federal government.

Does your Congress need fixing? Call these former staffers

By Jim Saksa
Posted January 25, 2024 at 5:00am
Musician Jason “Jelly Roll” DeFord testifies before the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee on Thursday.

Jelly Roll was once a drug dealer. Now he’s pushing Congress to pass an anti-fentanyl bill

By Jim Saksa
Posted January 11, 2024 at 1:45pm
Rep. Mike Levin, D-Calif., is seen in his office on Capitol Hill on Dec. 7.

In a purple district, Rep. Mike Levin stays focused on green energy

By Jim Saksa
Posted January 11, 2024 at 6:15am
Former Texas Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson is seen here at a news conference with other House Democrats in April 2019.

Texas trailblazer Eddie Bernice Johnson dies at 88

By Jim Saksa
Posted January 2, 2024 at 1:22pm
Anthony Weiner resigned from Congress in 2011 amid a sexting scandal. He is just one of many to see his career derailed in recent years.

Senate staffer scandal just latest in line of self-sabotaging selfies

By Jim Saksa
Posted December 21, 2023 at 12:17pm
Rep. Drew Ferguson, R-Ga., walks down the House steps after the last vote on March 30.

Republican Rep. Drew Ferguson announces retirement

By Jim Saksa
Posted December 14, 2023 at 12:01pm
Rabbi Levi Shemtov, center, joins congressional leaders on Tuesday to light a menorah.

‘Overwhelm it with light’: Speaker Johnson addresses antisemitism at menorah lighting

By Jim Saksa
Posted December 12, 2023 at 9:14pm
Rep. María Elvira Salazar says she knows why voters are abandoning Democrats in Florida: “Don’t you see? It’s socialism.”

Rep. Maria Salazar discusses Cuba spy donor, creeping Marxism, and immigration stalemate

By Jim Saksa
Posted December 12, 2023 at 6:15am
Religious Democrats see differences both theological and constitutional as they size up Speaker Mike Johnson, seen here at a Tuesday news conference about antisemitism on college campuses.

How Democrats of faith see devout Speaker Mike Johnson

By Jim Saksa
Posted December 6, 2023 at 12:11pm
Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., not only won't seek reelection next year, he's leaving Congress.

McCarthy quitting Congress, says he’ll serve country ‘in new ways’

By Jim Saksa
Posted December 6, 2023 at 11:57am, Updated at 3:48pm
Readers in and around Congress give these books a thumbs-up for your year-end reading list.

Capitol Hill insiders share their favorite books to read in 2023

By Jim Saksa
Posted November 30, 2023 at 7:00am
“Cynical and political and outrageous and incredibly scary” is how Rep. Greg Landsman describes a recent move by Speaker Mike Johnson.

He has a theological degree. Here’s how Rep. Greg Landsman sees faith in Congress

By Jim Saksa
Posted November 28, 2023 at 5:00am
Rep. Herb Klein, D-N.J. poses for a portrait on Sept. 13, 1993.

Former New Jersey Rep. Herb Klein dies at 93

By Jim Saksa
Posted November 27, 2023 at 2:50pm
“Anytime you start trying to impose your religion on others … that’s just a red line,” says Rep. Jared Huffman, who describes himself as a humanist.

How the nonreligious in Congress view Speaker Mike Johnson

By Jim Saksa
Posted November 13, 2023 at 2:17pm
Rep. Kevin Kiley, seen here at a Judiciary Committee hearing in April, says his state under Gov. Gavin Newsom has trended in a direction that is “not where we want to go as a country.”

Gov. Newsom’s biggest critic might be this California congressman

By Jim Saksa
Posted November 7, 2023 at 6:15am
Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville speaks to reporters in the Capitol on Sept. 19.

Tommy Tuberville is just the face of a ‘broken’ confirmation process, critics say

By Jim Saksa
Posted November 3, 2023 at 1:24pm
Rep. Ken Buck speaks to reporters after an Oct. 10 forum for candidates for House speaker in the Longworth House Office Building.

Buck says GOP is ‘lying to America’ and he won’t run again

By Jim Saksa
Posted November 1, 2023 at 3:25pm
A member keeps a tally on the House floor during a failed attempt to elect a speaker on Oct. 18.

Whip it good? Not exactly, say Democrats who watched the GOP speaker fight 

By Jim Saksa
Posted October 27, 2023 at 1:59pm
Guillermo Creamer Jr. and Carlos Mark Vera, seen here in 2019, founded the group Pay Our Interns.

After success on the Hill, Pay Our Interns says its mission is still ‘not complete’

By Jim Saksa
Posted October 26, 2023 at 5:30am
Mike Johnson responds to colleagues on the floor during Wednesday’s session electing him as speaker.

In a raucous vote after weeks of chaos, House GOP picks a mild-mannered speaker

By Jim Saksa
Posted October 25, 2023 at 3:53pm
Del. James C. Moylan of Guam is one of three delegates in the House Republican Conference.

Up close without a vote: Delegates weigh in on speakership mess

By Jim Saksa
Posted October 19, 2023 at 4:02pm
Rep. Jim Jordan is seen on the House floor Wednesday afternoon.

Jim Jordan sat stone-faced as he lost another speaker vote. But John Boehner got a laugh

By Jim Saksa
Posted October 18, 2023 at 4:43pm
Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, Republican nominee for speaker of the House, is seen on the House floor after he did not receive enough votes to become speaker in Tuesday's first round of voting.

‘Oh, come on!’ Groans, eye rolls and gritted teeth as Jordan loses first speaker round

By Jim Saksa
Posted October 17, 2023 at 4:26pm
Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., is seen on the House steps on Sept. 13.

DCCC Chair Suzan DelBene thinks voters will reject Republican ‘chaos’

By Jim Saksa
Posted October 17, 2023 at 6:15am
Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, center, and other lawmakers are seen on the House floor during a vote in May. The turmoil Gaetz set off this month is a symptom of larger structural problems, some congressional observers say.

What’s to stop the House speaker chaos from happening again to the next guy?

By Jim Saksa
Posted October 12, 2023 at 3:36pm
Rep. Sharice Davids, seen here in December, says being in Congress is “not what it looks like on TV.”

Sharice Davids’ secret to winning over swing voters? ‘It’s kind of like MMA’

By Jim Saksa
Posted October 11, 2023 at 6:15am
Rep. Kevin Hern leads the Republican Study Committee, which describes itself as the “conservative conscience of Congress.” He was first elected to Congress in 2018 and often talks about his career as a McDonald’s franchisee.

They called him ‘McCongressman.’ Now Kevin Hern could be an unlikely choice for speaker

By Jim Saksa and Paul V. Fontelo
Posted October 6, 2023 at 4:59pm
Rep. Patrick McHenry, seen here in July, is suddenly back in the limelight.

How Patrick McHenry went from partisan ‘attack dog’ to holding the fate of the House in his hands

By Caitlin Reilly and Jim Saksa
Posted October 4, 2023 at 5:53pm
Florida Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz talks with reporters Tuesday morning in the Capitol.

How the vote to boot Speaker McCarthy played out inside the chamber

By Jim Saksa
Posted October 3, 2023 at 6:38pm
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, seen here in May, will be mourned this week in California, as Senate colleagues plan to make the trip.

Senators will cut the week short to travel to Dianne Feinstein’s funeral

By Jim Saksa
Posted October 2, 2023 at 4:35pm
Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., speaks with reporters after the Senate Democrats’ weekly lunch in the Capitol on Wednesday.

Suits are back: It’s been a wild two weeks for the Senate floor’s dress code

By Jim Saksa
Posted September 28, 2023 at 11:24am
Rep. Ro Khanna, center, won an award for workplace culture this summer. Above, he poses in the Cannon Building on Tuesday with some of his aides: from left, Ky Ban, Emma Preston, Abhay Dewan and Marie Baldassarre.

Happy staff, happy constituents? Reps. Khanna and Moore think so

By Jim Saksa
Posted September 28, 2023 at 6:30am
Rep. Anthony D'Esposito leaves a meeting of the House Republican Conference in the Capitol on Sept. 19.

How Anthony D’Esposito went from cop to GOP congressman in a Biden district

By Jim Saksa
Posted September 26, 2023 at 6:15am
As senators picked their camps — comfort or decorum — Sen. John Fetterman weighed in. Above, Fetterman is seen at the Capitol on Wednesday.

Senate dress code spat continues: Avoid a shutdown and I’ll wear a suit, Fetterman says

By Jim Saksa
Posted September 18, 2023 at 7:34pm, Updated September 20, 2023 at 1:36pm
Georgetown medical student Perry Diaz speaks during a naloxone training offered to congressional staffers by the Bipartisan Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Task Force on Wednesday.

Congressional aides learn how to provide overdose aid

By Jim Saksa
Posted September 14, 2023 at 1:32pm