A Departure from ‘Animal House’

ABC News’ Z. Byron Wolf reports: The announcement Friday by Rep. William Delahunt, the long-serving Massachusetts Congressman, was just the latest departure of Democrats from the House of Representatives. But when Delahunt leaves it will be the first departure in some time of a Democrat from “Animal House,” the surprisingly modest, extremely messy, lawmaker group house profiled by ABC News in 2007. Many lawmakers spend their weeks in Washington and their weekends back home, with families that never make the permanent move. The all-male, fraternity-style townhouse that Delahunt has shared with Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., who owns the place, and Sens. Chuck Schumer, D-NY, and Dick Durbin, D-Ill., appears to be on the lower end of the spectrum of lawmaker group houses. “We will miss Bill, but the Animal House outlasts any single member. Bill’s bed was first occupied by Leon Panetta in 1983,” said Schumer today. Panetta lived in the house for years until he began working at the Clinton White House and ethics rules forced him move out. Separation of powers? Today Panetta is CIA Director. Other group houses, like the one shared by three Democratic Congresswomen, and owned by Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, D-New York. Other group houses are perhaps cleaner, but more notorious. A house shared by a fellowship of religious (mostly) Republicans and several Democrats on Capitol Hill became famous last year when a number of its inhabitants (and South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, who apparently hung out there) became embroiled in very public adultery scandals. Sen. John Ensign still represents Nevada, although he has since moved out of the group house. Rep. Chip Pickering resigned from the House in before nasty divorce proceedings began in 2008. His wife alleges he was not faithful to her while he was living at the so-called “C Street House.”