Congress Gone Wild? Lawmakers Take on Spring Break
ABC's Alexander Mallin, Erin Dooley and Ryan Struyk report:
Congress' annual two-week Spring vacation from the nation's capital is well underway, and many of the 535 lawmakers are following the tradition of sharing their wild (and in some cases, mild) experiences via social media.
What exactly does Spring Break mean for a typical Washington politician? From what we found, it's fairly clear that most of them graduated from college a long time ago - although New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker did spend some time back in high school this week.
Meanwhile, Rep. Jared Polis, D-Co., tweeted a photo of himself with a mouthful of matzah (it's Passover, after all - Chag Sameach!) and Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., strapped on some sneakers to train for next week's Boston Marathon.
Then there were Sen. John Hoeven, R-ND, and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who took to Twitter to share photos from their Eurotrip with Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., to Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania. Nothing says spring break like ocean-side military protocols.
Visited #Tallinn's beautiful medieval Old Town yesterday w/ Sen Hoeven #Estonia pic.twitter.com/rYP4IGyrTW
- John McCain (@SenJohnMcCain) April 15, 2014
Observed joint exercise yesterday w/ @SenJohnMcCain, @SenJohnBarrasso, US, Latvian & Estonian soldiers pic.twitter.com/hPdp92ijit
- Senator John Hoeven (@SenJohnHoeven) April 16, 2014
House Speaker John Boehner traveled to Afghanistan along with seven other House Republicans to soak up some sun and visit troops as well as Ambassador James Cunningham and General Joseph Dunford, according to the Speaker's office.
Video update from #Afghanistan: http://t.co/JBkxjes20o - Speaker John Boehner (@SpeakerBoehner) April 14, 2014
Spring Break, it seems, is a great time for lawmakers to pig out. Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., tweeted out this photo of her and a large stone pig in front of Farmland, a subsidiary of Smithfield Foods.
Great day in Lincoln, Friend, & Crete. Stopped by the Farmland facility in Crete this afternoon. Thx for the tour! pic.twitter.com/CyFGMdRoqp - Senator Deb Fischer (@SenatorFischer) April 15, 2014
Sen. Lindsey Grahm, R-SC, hosted a good ole' southern barbeque.
Great crowd for our #TeamGraham BBQ in Summerville. Thank you for the strong showing of support. #sctweets #scsen pic.twitter.com/7tExDMW4QY - Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) April 14, 2014
And the Jewish Rep. Jared Polis, D- Colo., noshed on Matzah in honor of Passover.
~Matzah, matzah man… I wanna be a Matzah man~ pic.twitter.com/QuSrmRh7QB - Jared Polis (@jaredpolis) April 15, 2014
Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., daydreamed about pizza crust stuffed with hotdogs, chili and cheese.
Just learned New Zealand Pizza Huts sell pizza w crust stuffed w hot dogs stuffed w chili & cheese. Go there soon must I. - Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) April 16, 2014
Other lawmakers used the holiday as a chance to get in shape. Reps. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz, and Joe Kennedy, III, D-Mass. kept busy training for the Boston Marathon.
We run for #BostonStrong. Help us support @OneFundBoston, donate http://t.co/mS9Hzzk9uv pic.twitter.com/V2ExMNQnpi - Kyrsten Sinema (@kyrstensinema) April 15, 2014
Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R- W.Va., celebrated her dad's 91st birthday.
Happy 91st birthday, Dad! pic.twitter.com/l4VYsMN9ZA - Shelley Moore Capito (@RepShelley) April 16, 2014
A few lawmakers kew where to go to recapture the wild spring break zeitgeist - back to school. Sen. Cory Booker, D-NJ, certainly captured the heart of the young, hip set. Way to go, #bro.
I enjoyed my visit to Tenafly High School today. Nice meeting you. RT @michaelroura thanks for the pic bro #TheMan pic.twitter.com/ijO05yzLWi - Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) April 16, 2014
Reps. Walter Jones, R-NC, Joe Heck, R- Nev, Patrick Murphy, D-Fla. and Lee Terry, R-Neb., also tried to drum up support from young people.
Enjoyed meeting with the NC State Young Americans for Liberty yesterday! pic.twitter.com/X2Gl6KxiiA - Rep. Walter Jones (@RepWalterJones) April 16, 2014
Great meeting w/ students frm @UNLVDECA yesterday. These students are future business leaders of our community. #NV03 pic.twitter.com/w7sRFN0uvk - Congressman Joe Heck (@RepJoeHeck) April 16, 2014
Great morning at All Saints Catholic School to discuss community involvement and their SIFMA stock market challenge. pic.twitter.com/1Qv4PRRmqJ - Patrick Murphy (@PatrickMurphyFL) April 16, 2014
Had a great time speaking to @m_south_hs government students this morning. The Patriots asked some great questions! pic.twitter.com/g5SeUft9ok - Rep. Lee Terry (@LEETERRYNE) April 16, 2014
And Rep. Kerry Bentivolio, R-Mich., apparently thought no one's too young to care about Congress.
U.S. Congressman Kerry Bentivolio visits @KeithElementary to talk to 3rd gr Ss about MI Government #realworldcontext pic.twitter.com/fOdk6mJ5xj - Melody Arabo (@mrsarabo) April 16, 2014
Some GOPers used their break to get a head start on higher political ambitions. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, traveled to the early presidential primary state of South Carolina to talk to the Free Enterprise Foundation.
Honored to join the Free Enterprise Foundation's 8th Annual Awards Dinner this evening at The Citadel! pic.twitter.com/5UkSeoerT2 - Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) April 16, 2014
And 2012 Vice Presidential nominee Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., made a spring break appearance in the ever-crucial swing state of Ohio to talk about the economy.
Thanks to my friend @RepPaulRyan for visiting us in Cleveland to talk job creation and tax reform pic.twitter.com/9T7N8km1O3 - Rep. Jim Renacci (@RepJimRenacci) April 16, 2014
And failed 2012 presidential contender Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., who is retiring from the House this election cycle, kept her 2016 options open by traveling Liberty University in the swing state of Virginia.
We're excited to have Rep. @MicheleBachmann speaking in #LibertyConvo today! Watch live at 10am here: http://t.co/lAgjee7y8j - Liberty University (@LibertyU) April 16, 2014
Some didn't even take off work at all. Rep. Daniel Lipinski, D- Ill., strapped on his working boots.
On Tuesday, @RepLipinski reviewed operations at the Hanson Quarry in McCook. https://t.co/AUNSOtGbvK pic.twitter.com/XAJqaGIPaz - Rep. Daniel Lipinski (@RepLipinski) April 16, 2014
Rep. Patrick Meehan, R-Penn., hosted a field hearing at Drexel University with members of the House Homeland Security Committee to talk cybercrime.
Chairing a @HouseHomeland field hearing at @DrexelUniv on protecting consumer's personal data from cyberattack pic.twitter.com/dgiJMh8lQ8 - Patrick Meehan (@RepMeehan) April 16, 2014
Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., spent part of his spring break using public buses to talk with constituents and jumping on the selfie bandwagon with Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.
Hopped on the Q line in New Haven to hear what's on people's minds pic.twitter.com/wzN5gUfxOU - Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) April 15, 2014
@ChrisMurphyCT and @SenBlumenthal kick off #NationalLibraryWeek with the first #HPseLfie! http://t.co/LlxjOQyxBd pic.twitter.com/4TbeHoh9VB - Hartford Pub Library (@HPLCT) April 14, 2014
And what would Spring Break be without town halls?
Countdown to 700th town hall with No. 697 in Hood River County. Great questions at Hood River Valley High School. pic.twitter.com/h8X6SuD1Gu - Ron Wyden (@RonWyden) April 15, 2014
Thanks to all who came out to my town hall tonight. #FL15 pic.twitter.com/9yHdQmg4wu - Dennis Ross (@RepDennisRoss) April 16, 2014
Tons, and tons of town halls.
Discussed national debt (fitting for #taxday), education, SS & #Obamacare at my town hall meeting in Bastrop today pic.twitter.com/itxC3f6QSW - David Vitter (@DavidVitter) April 15, 2014
Rep. Gosar at Golden Shores townhall: Government isn't the engine that drives business pic.twitter.com/hSNnslDVHx - Rep. Paul Gosar, DDS (@RepGosar) April 16, 2014
Big thanks to everyone who came out to my town hall meeting tonight in Cookeville! #TN06 pic.twitter.com/0Z01nfm0Jn
- Diane Black (@RepDianeBlack) April 16, 2014
Way too many town halls.
Harlan Town Hall 31 ppl Topics-Ukraine, PostOffice,Obamacare, GasTax,regs, SocialSecurity, Benghazi,ForeignAid, FlatTax, immig, debt,MinWage
- ChuckGrassley (@ChuckGrassley) April 15, 2014
Kicking off the prairie chicken town hall in Roswell. pic.twitter.com/5dc3WPdE8g
- Steve Pearce (@RepStevePearce) April 15, 2014
Sen. McConnell speaks w/ Kentuckians about #Obamacare at his 65th hospital townhall @ Trigg Co. Hospital in Cadiz, KY pic.twitter.com/7fb1Kj6kls
- Sen. McConnell Press (@McConnellPress) April 15, 2014