This Week in Washington: Boycotts, Arrests, and More

I think this past week in the Senate went by more quickly than any other week of my fellowship so far. There was a lot happening in the White House, in the Senate, and I was still trying to shake that chronic cough that had settled into my lungs.

Let's face it - has there ever been this much excitement around a president? I'm sure there has, but not in my lifetime. That, I am sure. A week ago today we were learning about the ban on immigrants from seven Muslim majority nations. Lawsuits were being filed, protests at airports were taking place, and last Sunday I participated in a White House protest-turned-march to the Capitol over the ban.

If I've said it once, I've said it one-hundred times. Richard Nixon never looked so good.

I'm not even sure what happened on Monday; it's all a blur now. Tuesday morning I gave a video presentation for a colleague at the University of New Hampshire about fatal child maltreatment, so I got into the office late that morning. When I arrived on the second floor of the Dirksen Senate Office Building, I was overwhelmed with the number of people standing in the hallways protesting the upcoming vote out of the Judiciary Committee on Senator Jeff Sessions for Attorney General. I paused when I came out of the stairwell and unknowingly said out loud, "Wow!" There was a police offer straight in front of me and in return he said, "Yep..." There must have been fifty people gathered, another fifteen-twenty from the media, and about ten police officers. Shortly after I settled into my cubical, I heard yelling outside the hallway and when I inquired about what was going on, staffers said, "Oh, just someone getting arrested over Jeff Sessions." Make sure to follow that link. You'll see two women dressed in full "Code Pink" gear. They were back the next day, too.

Then, just moments later, Democratic senators on the Senate Finance Committee boycotted the committee votes on Steve Mnuchin for Treasury Secretary and Representative Tom Price for Health and Human Services Secretary, arguing that new information about questionable financial operations had just come to light. The Democratic senators were also out in the hallway doing a mini press conference.

And, this was just a couple hours on Tuesday morning! The Judiciary Committee never did get together a quorum that day, unable to get adequate attendance from either party, in order to vote. So, their vote was delayed until Wednesday; and, of course, Senator Jeff Sessions was favorably reported out of committee. The final vote will probably come in this coming week.

Tuesday evening I walked back to my apartment past the Supreme Court. People were already lined up waiting to protest the announcement of the president's pick for the empty seat on the court. The media was there, too, already practicing their coverage, checking on lighting, etc.

On Wednesday morning, the Senate Finance Committee scheduled a vote again on the Mnuchin and Price nominations. The Democratic Senators did not attend this meeting, either. The Republicans voted to suspend the rules of the committee and to vote without any members of the minority party present. Mnuchin and Price will advance to the next stage. No surprise there.

Meanwhile, the public was outraged about the nomination of Betsy DeVos to be Secretary of Education. As I saw on Facebook, many of my Maine friends were hoping that Senator Susan Collins would break ranks with her party and vote against DeVos. She voted with her party in the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pension Committee vote. This means that her vote helped to advance DeVos to the next round of votes. But, she announced on Thursday that she, and Senator Lisa Murkowski from Alaska, would not vote in favor of DeVos on the Senate floor. This would mean a 50-50 vote. When there is a tie, the vice president steps in, so VP Pence will come to the Senate floor and cast his vote in order to break the tie. Many have been tearing Senator Collins down for what is perceived to be a very calculated move. But, yesterday a staffer said to me, "I don't know...I think it's very hard to break ranks with one's party. It's a brave move." So, there's that perspective, too.

One of the things that I have learned about working in the Senate is that you never know what a day is going to look like. Protests, arrests, boycotts, and more. You just never know. This week I was asked to write memos in two areas where I have very little knowledge, but they were issues that had come up and were pressing for immediate action.

Add my chronic cough to this excitement and you have a wild week. I was asked if I have consumption, whooping cough, pneumonia, and more. A senior staffer asked me if I might be better off taking a few days of rest at home. At rehearsal on Monday, instead of asking me to give the pitch, the conductor asked me if I could cough up an "A." In truth, I have bronchitis, which as it turns out is just an inflammation of one's bronchial system. No fever. No infection. No fluid in my lungs. Just a raging cough, especially any time I talk. This happens a lot. I'm not sick anymore, I just have a cough. Somehow I'm always spared coughing when I run, so thankfully, my exercise regime doesn't take a hit. Same with playing oboe. But, let's just say that teaching my class this week was a special event for everyone. Readers will be glad to know that I am now taking a cough suppressant, which turns out to be like a miracle drug.

Speaking of miracle drugs...this week, as with most weeks, I brought my famous peanut butter and chocolate chip cookies into the office. Reportedly, the Senator was praising them yesterday when I was out at a meeting and he asked who had made them. Yes, that would be me. Me, over here in the cubical!! Little did he know that some of my office mates were calling them "bronchitis cookies..."