Rep. McMahon's greatest regret: never having been a staffer

Rep. Mike McMahon's (D-N.Y.) biggest regret in life is that he neve worked as a Capitol Hill staffer, he said at the Quinn Gillespie holiday party on Tuesday night.

Standing with his legislative assistant, Kathryn DiBitetto, McMahon observed, "I look at people like Kathryn, and I wonder, 'Why wasn't I smart enough to take a few years in my twenties and come down to Washington and work on the Hill?'"

McMahon, pictured here with fundraising aide Lauren Bergmann (left) and DiBitetto (right) is a relative newcomer to Capitol Hill; he arrived in January of 2009 after spending six years on the New York City Council.

"People ask me all the time what I find most surprising about being a congressman, and I'll tell you, it's how incredibly hard everyone works, especially the staff. I mean, I'm here at a party, and I know that my staff is still at the office at 9 p.m., preparing my briefings for tomorrow."

McMahon's staffers aren't the only ones busting their tails in his office: the lawmaker said he's never worked harder in his life than he does now.