Can you smell what Congress is cooking? Tater-tots and more, washed down with Jell-O. Not to mention Rep. Michele Bachmann’s volcanic “Metro” dish with a whole can of sweet corn, or Sen. Amy Klobuchar’s hold-the-SPAM (not to be confused with e-mail) pepperoni...
Read more »
Photograph by Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call/Getty Images
Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., right, check on judges former Rep. Vin Weber, R-Minn., left, and House Chaplain Patrick Conroy during the second annual 'hotdish' competition in the Capitol Visitor Center, featuring casserole-like dishes from members of the Minnesota Congressional Delegation, on March 7, 2012. The dishes of Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., and Rep. Chip Cravaack, R-Minn., tied for first place in the competition.
Tater Tots and Pepperoni (Hold the SPAM) — What Congress is Cooking
Photograph by Jay LaPrete/AP Photo
Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, wearing the red jersey, riding in the Pelotonia with his son Will Portman, right in this file photo. Portman said his views on gay marriage began changing in 2011 when his son, Will, then a freshman at Yale University, told his parents he was gay and that it wasn't a choice but "part of who he was." Portman said he and his wife, Jane, were very surprised but also supportive.
Portman’s Signal of Political Evolution: Hello, Columbus
Written with Mark Niquette in Columbus, Ohio Republican Senator Rob Portman of Ohio, voicing support for same-sex marriage with a personal note that his son is gay, joins a bipartisan movement toward a recognition of rights that many Americans are...
Read more »
Courtesy Showtime
Showtime’s Cheney Wet Kiss: TV
In Showtime’s documentary, “The World According to Dick Cheney,” the man generally acknowledged to have been the most powerful vice president in U.S. history is asked to name his main fault. He punts. “Um, I don’t spend a lot of...
Read more »
Photograph by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images
Former Vice President Dick Cheney speaks at the Long Island Association fall luncheon at the Crest Hollow Country Club on Oct. 18, 2012 in Woodbury, New York.
Cheney Headed for Hell: Congressman
Further proof that the rifts in Washington are not all partisan: A Republican congressman unhappy with some of the wars the U.S. has waged suggests that former Vice President Dick Cheney, one of the champions of the U.S. invasion of...
Read more »
Photograph by Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty Images
Former first lady Laura Bush speaks at the Global Women's Cancer Summit in Washington on Feb. 4, 2013.
Laura Bush Opts Out of Gay Marriage Ad Campaign
Laura Bush generally steered clear of controversial issues during her eight years as first lady, and that’s a posture she wants to continue. Although she has voiced support in the past for legalizing same-sex marriage, she didn’t authorize and doesn’t want to be...
Read more »
Photograph by NYPL
O. Henry
Presidential Pardons: Few From Obama, and None for O. Henry
President Barack Obama hasn’t pardoned a lot of people. The 22 presidential pardons and one commutation of sentence issued by the president after four years in office amount to the fewest granted by any full-term president since George Washington, by...
Read more »
Photograph by Peter Foley/Bloomberg
Former President Bill Clinton, right, introduces his wife Hillary Clinton, at the annual meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) in New York.
Hillary Clinton’s $200,000-Plus Talking Points: Major League Speaker
As secretary of state, Hillary Clinton made $186,000 a year. As a former secretary of state, senator from New York, first lady and generally a “Friend of Bill” involved in her husband’s foundation work, she will make more than $200,000...
Read more »
Photograph by Daniel Acker/Bloomberg
Representative Dennis Kucinich, a Democrat from Ohio, greets delegates at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Sept. 4, 2012.
Kucinich to Fox: ‘Open’ to His Views
To the losers go the TV deals: This just in from The Plain Dealer and wires: Cleveland’s own Dennis Kucinich, the retired congressman and liberal firebrand, has a new assignment. FOX News contributor. Kucinich, 66, a former Cleveland mayor as well...
Read more »
Photograph by Carolyn Kaster/AP Photo
President Barack Obama announces his nomination of former Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel, center, as the new Defense Secretary, next to current Defense Secretary, Leon Panetta, left.
Sergeant Hagel: `No Political Future’ — Merely Historic Pentagon Nominee
Chuck Hagel, the president notes, stands to become the first enlisted man to serve as secretary of defense. If confirmed by the Senate where he once served with his brother, he’ll be one of few secretaries who have been wounded...
Read more »
Photograph by Shawn Thew/AFP via Getty Images
Former Vice President Dick Cheney with former President George Herbert Walker Bush in this file photo.
Cheney, Bush 41 Headline Romney Fundraisers in Texas
Former President George H.W. Bush and former Vice President Dick Cheney will headline fundraising events in Texas for Republican nominee Mitt Romney in the coming days. Cheney, who hosted a Romney fundraiser in July at his home in the mountain...
Read more »
Contributors
-
Al Hunt
is a columnist for Bloomberg View and host of the weekly show "Political Capital with Al Hunt" on Bloomberg TV. -
Mark Silva
is deputy managing editor for government news in Washington and editor of Political Capital. He has covered the White House and national politics. -
Emma Fidel
is political editor for Bloomberg.com in Washington. She previously covered financial regulation as a Bloomberg intern. -
Don Frederick
edits political and government coverage for Bloomberg News. He previously worked for more than a decade at the Los Angeles Times' Washington bureau. -
Gregory Giroux
analyzes elections, financing of congressional and presidential elections, political advertising and demographics in Bloomberg's Washington Bureau. -
Julie Bykowicz
covers the influence of money and lobbying in Washington, and covered the state legislature and city crime for the Baltimore Sun for 10 years. -
Jonathan Salant
covers campaign finance and lobbying in Washington. He was president of the National Press Club and started in Washington in 1987. -
Richard Rubin
covers federal tax policy. He worked at Congressional Quarterly and The Charlotte Observer before joining Bloomberg News in 2010. -
Julie Hirschfeld Davis
is a senior political reporter for the Washington Bureau. She covered the 2012 campaign for Bloomberg News and previously covered the White House for the Baltimore Sun. -
Lisa Lerer
covers the White House and covered the 2012 campaign for Bloomberg News. She covered Congress, lobbying and the 2008 campaign for Politico. -
John McCormick
is a national political reporter looking forward to the 2016 presidential campaign, which will be the fifth he's covered. He's also reported for The Des Moines Register and Chicago Tribune. -
Julianna Goldman
covers the White House for Bloomberg News and Bloomberg Television. -
Hans Nichols
covers the White House for Bloomberg News and Bloomberg Television. -
Margaret Talev
covers the White House for Bloomberg News and covered the White House for McClatchy Newspapers. She has covered California and Florida politics. -
Cary O'Reilly
is Editor at Large at Bloomberg First Word and is Washington Daybook columnist for Bloomberg Government and Bloomberg News.
