Skip to content
RollCall logo

Staff

Paul V. Fontelo

The Latest From Paul V. Fontelo
Amy Wang

Gibberish in Washington keeps them guessing (and spelling)

By Paul V. Fontelo
Posted September 21, 2023 at 1:43pm
Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., speaks to airline pilots before a news conference at Reagan National Airport on July 10.

In the spotlight as FAA fight heats up: Sen. Mark Warner

By Paul V. Fontelo
Posted July 17, 2023 at 4:11pm
Capitol Police officers surround a small cluster of climate protesters at the Congressional Women’s Softball Game on Wednesday night.

Climate protesters disrupted the congressional softball game. Lawmakers had a dance party

By Paul V. Fontelo
Posted July 13, 2023 at 11:53am
Rep. Chris Stewart, R-Utah, at a Weaponization of the Federal Government Subcommittee hearing in February.

Utah Rep. Chris Stewart eyes September exit

By Justin Papp and Paul V. Fontelo
Posted June 1, 2023 at 12:54pm
Rep. Bryan Steil of Wisconsin was one of four members, all Republican, who participated in every House roll call vote last year without using the option to vote by proxy.

2022 Vote Studies: Proxies helped keep participation at record pace

By Paul V. Fontelo and Ryan Kelly
Posted March 22, 2023 at 5:30am
Maxwell Alejandro Frost, left, is the first member of Gen Z to come to Congress, but Gen X and millennials are gaining too. Above, Frost takes a selfie in December with Gen Xer Robert Garcia and millennial Delia Ramirez, along with other newly elected Democratic lawmakers.

Baby boomers loosen their grip on Congress

By Paul V. Fontelo
Posted January 12, 2023 at 5:00am
Rep.-elect Morgan Luttrell, left, speaks on a panel with his brother, Marcus Luttrell, during the Conservative Political Action Conference in 2021 in Dallas.

Twins, sons and happy meals: Things the 118th Congress will have that the 117th does not

By Paul V. Fontelo
Posted November 9, 2022 at 11:58am
Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., arrives in the Capitol via the Senate subway for a vote on Sept. 8.

Here’s who won 2022’s most competitive Senate races

By Niels Lesniewski, Mary Ellen McIntire, Kate Ackley, Jim Saksa, Aidan Quigley, Paul V. Fontelo, Daniela Altimari and Laura Weiss
Posted November 8, 2022 at 11:21pm, Updated November 23, 2022 at 8:34pm
Rep. Abigail Spanberger, right, and Sen. Mark Warner, both D-Va., meet with reporters following a Prince William County early voting rally for Spanberger in Woodbridge, Va., on Sept. 24. Spanberger won a competitive reelection race Tuesday.

How vulnerable House incumbents fared in the 2022 midterms

By Laura Weiss, Jessica Wehrman, Jim Saksa, Aidan Quigley, Mary Ellen McIntire, Paul V. Fontelo, Ariel Cohen, Daniela Altimari and Kate Ackley
Posted November 8, 2022 at 11:18pm, Updated November 23, 2022 at 8:20pm
A sign directs voters to polling booths on Election Day at Eastern Market in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Washington, D.C., on Tuesday.

Here’s who won open House seats in the 2022 midterms

By Kate Ackley, Daniela Altimari, Paul V. Fontelo, Mary Ellen McIntire, Lindsey McPherson, Aidan Quigley, Jim Saksa and Laura Weiss
Posted November 8, 2022 at 8:45pm, Updated December 5, 2022 at 8:39am
It was a good night for the lawmakers’ team at the Congressional Women’s Softball Game on Wednesday. Above, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz watches as Rep. Lisa McClain catches a line drive.

Lawmakers break losing streak at Congressional Softball Game

By Paul V. Fontelo
Posted September 14, 2022 at 10:33pm
Catcher Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., prepares to tag Rep. Kat Cammack, R-Fla., out at home plate during the Congressional Baseball Game at Nationals Park on Thursday.

Republicans dominate rainy Congressional Baseball Game

By Paul V. Fontelo
Posted July 28, 2022 at 10:42pm
Republicans celebrate their win during last year’s Congressional Baseball Game. This year, “nonviolent” demonstrators have vowed to disrupt the game.

Climate protesters will risk arrest at Congressional Baseball Game

By Paul V. Fontelo and Lindsey Gilbert
Posted July 26, 2022 at 5:05pm
Members of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Staff Association and other groups gather on the House steps on May 19 to mark Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.

AAPI staffers aim to show their power on Capitol Hill

By Paul V. Fontelo
Posted May 26, 2022 at 6:30am
Rep. Jim Costa, shown here in 2014, first came to Capitol Hill as an intern in the 1970s.

It ‘opened my eyes’: Rep. Jim Costa on the summer of ’73

By Paul V. Fontelo
Posted March 31, 2022 at 6:15am
John Amara Walters worked in Sen. Chris Van Hollen’s office for several years, starting as an intern and rising to a legislative aide. The Maryland Democrat launched a new internship in his memory this year.

John Amara Walters had an ‘infectious laugh.’ Now his memory inspires interns

By Paul V. Fontelo
Posted March 31, 2022 at 5:15am
Rep. Harold Rogers, R-Ky., speaks with reporters at the Capitol in 2015. He now holds the title of dean of the House.

‘Plain old sticktoitiveness’: What it means to be dean of the House

By Chris Cioffi and Paul V. Fontelo
Posted March 23, 2022 at 5:45am
GOP Rep. Kevin Brady of Texas, who is not running for reelection and did not use a proxy option adopted in response to the coronavirus pandemic, missed the most votes in the House in 2021, a CQ Roll Call analysis found.

Proxy option fuels record-setting House vote participation rate

By Paul V. Fontelo and Ryan Kelly
Posted March 2, 2022 at 10:00am
Jim Hagedorn campaigns in the Applefest parade in La Crescent, Minn., on Sept. 16, 2018.

Rep. Jim Hagedorn, two-term Minnesota Republican, dies at 59

By Paul V. Fontelo
Posted February 18, 2022 at 9:51am
As Rep. Jim Langevin prepares to retire, he looked back to his first internship on the Hill.

Rep. Jim Langevin was an intern in the ’80s. Here’s what’s changed on the Hill since then

By Paul V. Fontelo
Posted January 26, 2022 at 6:30am
Rep. Tom Cole worked for fellow Oklahoman Mickey Edwards in the early 1980s as a political “enforcer” of sorts.

Why Tom Cole thinks former staffers make the best lawmakers

By Paul V. Fontelo
Posted November 18, 2021 at 6:30am
Arkansas Rep. French Hill got his start in Washington as an aide to Texas Sen. John Tower.

When French Hill banked on banking

By Paul V. Fontelo
Posted October 28, 2021 at 6:00am
Georgia Rep. Carolyn Bourdeaux got her start on Capitol Hill in the 1990s as a staffer to Oregon Democrat Ron Wyden.

Carolyn Bourdeaux saw how the ‘take no prisoners’ approach to politics began

By Paul V. Fontelo
Posted September 30, 2021 at 7:30am
Commitment to America

Take Five: Mike Garcia

By Paul V. Fontelo
Posted September 17, 2021 at 6:31am
Helen Beaudreau hopes the enactment of her boss Rep. Grace Meng’s anti-AAPI hate crimes bill is a signal of better things to come.

‘Yes, I do belong here’: AAPI staffers on a tough year working for Congress

By Paul V. Fontelo
Posted June 30, 2021 at 5:00am
Raphael Warnock, shown here on the campaign trail last year, returns to Georgia most weekends to deliver his sermons, peppered with mentions of his work in the Senate.

Raphael Warnock, the ‘senator reverend,’ keeps preaching most Sundays

By Paul V. Fontelo
Posted May 19, 2021 at 5:30am
Julia Letlow is running for the Louisiana seat won by her late husband, who died of COVID-19 complications before his swearing-in. If successful, she would join nearly 50 women who have taken a similar path to Congress over the years.

Widows describe what it’s like running for Congress

By Paul V. Fontelo
Posted March 18, 2021 at 6:00am
Raphael Warnock poses for a photo with D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser at Wednesday’s inauguration. He was later sworn in as a senator from Georgia, along with fellow Democrat Jon Ossoff, pictured in background.

Padilla, Ossoff and Warnock sworn in, sealing Democrats’ Senate majority

By Stephanie Akin and Paul V. Fontelo
Posted January 20, 2021 at 5:15pm
Georgia Democrat Raphael Warnock greets supporters during a campaign event in Atlanta in November.

Just a handful of pastors sit in Congress. Raphael Warnock will boost their ranks

By Paul V. Fontelo
Posted January 8, 2021 at 6:31am
The House in the 117th Congress will have more than 130 Catholics. Above, another kind of house, Saint Peter's Church on Capitol Hill in April.

Catholics rise to prominence in Congress

By Paul V. Fontelo
Posted January 1, 2021 at 9:00am
Rep.-elect Luke Letlow died of COVID-19 Tuesday, days before the 117th Congress he would have joined was set to begin.

Rep.-elect Luke Letlow dies of COVID-19

By Lindsey McPherson and Paul V. Fontelo
Posted December 29, 2020 at 11:13pm
From the lonely stylings of a piano to the sound of weary sighing, it’s been a musical December at the Capitol.

O Come, O Come, Coromnibus

By Paul V. Fontelo
Posted December 16, 2020 at 12:56pm
Rep. Roger Marshall is the fourth holder of Kansas’ Big First congressional district to win election to the Senate in the last 52 years.

9 facts about new members of the 117th Congress

By Paul V. Fontelo and Ryan Kelly
Posted November 5, 2020 at 6:00am
Michigan Democratic Rep. Andy Levin followed his father into Congress, but there were signs that dynasties were on a decline in Congress even before voters in Massachusetts rejected a Kennedy last week.

Family business in decline? Fewer get to Congress through heredity

By Paul V. Fontelo
Posted September 9, 2020 at 12:13pm
Oklahoma GOP Reps. Markwayne Mullin, left, and Kevin Hern both own firms that received PPP relief funds.

$14M in relief funds find members of Congress and family

By Paul V. Fontelo
Posted July 8, 2020 at 7:01am, Updated July 9, 2020 at 6:03pm
Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla.

Matt Gaetz describes himself as ‘single step-parent’ to Nestor Galban

By Paul V. Fontelo
Posted June 19, 2020 at 5:34pm, Updated June 20, 2020 at 2:29am
Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz has a son, a fact he kept concealed from those who previously asked about whether he had a family.

Matt Gaetz and the until-now unknown adopted son from Cuba

By Paul V. Fontelo
Posted June 18, 2020 at 6:48pm
Illinois Rep. Darin LaHood remembers crashing on a friend’s couch, manning the door at a bar in Georgetown and working as a “glorified intern” on the Hill in the early ’90s. His dad was a staffer back then too.

This congressman’s career advice? Play softball

By Paul V. Fontelo
Posted May 27, 2020 at 5:45am
Members of the Maryland National Guard help run a temporary COVID-19 testing site in the parking lot of FedEx Field on March 31.

These National Guard members also serve in Congress. Now they’re fighting COVID-19

By Paul V. Fontelo
Posted April 4, 2020 at 8:00am
Virginia Rep. Gerald E. Connolly worked through three leadership changes in the Senate as a staffer for the Foreign Relations panel. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call file photo)

He was ‘Mr. Foreign Aid’

By Paul V. Fontelo
Posted January 30, 2020 at 6:00am
Erika Ninoyu, a fellow in Rep. Grace Meng’s office, performs on the taiko drum. (Thomas McKinless/CQ Roll Call)

Taiko drummer follows musical path to Capitol Hill office

By Paul V. Fontelo
Posted December 17, 2019 at 6:00am
Hawaii Rep. Ed Case spent time as a House intern and staffer in the House and Senate before coming to Congress. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

Think big, be humble and remember to serve coffee

By Paul V. Fontelo
Posted December 17, 2019 at 5:30am
Congressional workers say the loan repayment program provides an opportunity for those trying to manage the cost of education while embarking on a Capitol Hill career. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call file photo)

Hill staffers worried about expenses turn to student loan benefit

By Paul V. Fontelo
Posted October 18, 2019 at 6:00am
Minnesota Rep. Jim Hagedorn got his first taste of life in Congress as the son of a former congressman and as a staffer to Minnesota Rep. Arlan Stangeland. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call file photo)

For Jim Hagedorn, being staffer in the minority was formative time

By Paul V. Fontelo
Posted September 20, 2019 at 6:00am
The Facebook page of Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., aired campaign ads for the congressman, a potential violation of House Ethics rules. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

Richard Neal Facebook page mixes campaign, congressional business

By Paul V. Fontelo
Posted August 26, 2019 at 6:02pm
Virginia Republican Rep. Ben Cline went from legislative correspondent to member of Congress in 25 years’ time. (Caroline Brehman/CQ Roll Call)

Live in the ‘here and now,’ even in traffic court, says Rep. Ben Cline

By Paul V. Fontelo
Posted June 21, 2019 at 7:30am
(Composite by Chris Hale/CQ Roll Call)

These senators running for president made $7.1 million writing books

By Paul V. Fontelo
Posted June 11, 2019 at 5:00am
Rep. T.J. Cox, D-Calif. discusses his Filipino heritage and why he decided to run at Kaliwa, a restaurant in D.C.'s Wharf area. (Thomas McKinless/CQ Roll Call)

Congressman TJ Cox talks Filipino food, heritage and why he decided to run

By Nathan Ouellette, Paul V. Fontelo and Thomas McKinless
Posted May 30, 2019 at 3:22pm
68 members, or 13 percent of Congress, reported that either they or their family members have student loan debt. (Illustration by Chris Hale/CQ Roll Call)

Members of Congress are rich with student debt

By Paul V. Fontelo, Niels Lesniewski and Eleanor Van Buren
Posted March 12, 2019 at 5:05am
Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., has been Congress’ richest member for years. Now he and several other multimillionaires are headed for the exits. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)

Congress Cashes Out as Rich Members Depart

By Paul V. Fontelo
Posted December 21, 2018 at 5:05am