Reps. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) have withdrawn from their speaking slots at the National Tea Party Convention after controversy mounted about how proceeds would be used.

The convention is "for-profit," and the lawmakers worry that their participation might violate last week's Supreme Court decision in Citizens United vs. FEC. (For background on the ethics issue, see here.)

"Due to conflicting advice on whether Rep. Bachmann’s participation in the upcoming Tea Party Nation Convention would be in line with the Committee on Standards, Congresswoman Bachmann has decided not to participate in the event," said spokeswoman Debbee Keller.

Keller said the outspoken conservative congresswoman would "err on the side of caution," and stressed that her cancellation was not "a repudiation of the Tea Party Movement."

Blackburn also announced Thursday that she will withdraw from participation. The Tennessee Republican said she conveyed her doubts directly to the convention's organizer.

"I spoke to Judson Phillips this morning and let him know that I could not participate in the convention. I told him frankly that Tea Party Nation’s for-profit status has put many of his speakers in an awkward position," she said. 

A number of sponsors have also pulled out of the event after doubts were raised about whether organizers were trying to profit from the convention, despite organizers' claims to the contrary. 

Sarah Palin is still slated to speak at the event, scheduled for Feb. 4-6 in Nashville. Reports have emerged that she will receive a speaker's fee of $100,000, but neither Palin nor the convention's organizers will comment on her fees. 

Rep. Alan Grayson and three other Florida Democrats have hitched a ride home on Air Force One.

The four members were picked up by President Barack Obama, who a day after delivering his State of the Union address is headed to Tampa, Fla. to unveil a jobs bill.

Along with Grayson, the other three Democrats making the trip are Florida Reps. Kendrick Meek, Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Kathy Castor.

The free-speaking Grayson has emerged as a liberal firebrand and a maverick representative in his first year in Congress. That could make for a lively couple of hours before they're wheels down in Tampa.

Vice President Joe Biden will join Obama for the day, but as is typical when both the president and the vice president are traveling to the same location, they did not travel together.  

First Lady Michelle Obama looked radiant at last night's State of the Union address in a microfiber maroon 3/4 sleeve top and a matching high-waisted taffetta bubble skirt. She accessorized simply with a strand of pearls and an ultra-shiny blowout.

Dr. Jill Biden chose a royal blue skirt suit with a ruffled collar.

Obama's muted, one-layer look was a rarity in the House chamber, where female lawmakers tend to favor brighter colors and blazers.

The first lady hosted nearly two dozen people, including Biden, in her box with her for the hour-long address.

Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) will be speaking Thursday evening at an event for Haiti earthquake relief efforts.

The event, organized by Sen.  Arlen Specter's (D-Pa.) scheduler Maria Plakoudas, will be at the K  Street Lounge, according to Kate Kelly, Sen. Specter's press secretary.

All proceeds for the event will go directly to the Partners in  Health Earthquake Relief Fund. Partners in Health have been working with the people of Haiti for over 20 years. Warner's office, along with Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand, (D-N.Y.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine),  have recently appealed to State Department officials on behalf of a  Blacksburg, Va. woman who is trying to adopt a two-year-old Haitian girl. Elizabeth Moore and her daughter Lily are waiting in Haiti for the girl's immigration visa to be completed.

Warner was recently in the news due to his mother's death on Jan. 23 of Alzheimer's Disease.   

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) released a list of the guests who will join her Wednesday night in her private box for President Barack Obama's first State of the Union address. Among them are Service Employees International Union Treasurer Anna Burger and Barry Rand, CEO of AARP.

Unlike First Lady Michelle Obama's box, which is largely filled with students, entrepreneurs, and members of the military, Pelosi's guest list is comprised mainly of the heads of large non-governmental organizations and labor leaders.

Viewers watching the speech should keep their eyes out for, from left to right:

Pelosi's son, Paul Pelosi, Jr.
Pelosi's brother, former mayor of Baltimore Thomas D'Alesandro (D)
Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley (D)
Washington, D.C.Mayor Adrian Fenty (D)
Ted Kennedy, Jr., son of the lateSen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.)
Ophelia Dahl, Executive Director, Partners In Health
Barry Rand, CEO, AARP
Janet Murguía, President and CEO, National Council of La Raza
Ben Jealous, President and CEO, NAACP

Other guests in the Speaker's box will include:
Ambassador Elizabeth Bagley, whose husband, Democratic fundraiser Smith Bagley passed away earlier this month
Anna Burger, SEIU
Richard Trumka, president, AFL-CIO
Jim Guest, president and CEO, Consumers Union

Pelosi has also invited former Speaker of the House Tom Foley (D-Wash.)

Washington is known for being too serious too much of the time, but some fun was had when (and before) actress Kelly Carlson stopped by Rep. John Conyers Jr.’s (D-Mich.) office this week.

Best known for her role as the sultry but disturbed Kimber Henry on the racy FX show "Nip/Tuck,” Carlson walked into Conyers’s office — and found the lawmaker “rocking out to [jazz legend John] Coltrane!" she told ITK at a dinner at Teatro Goldoni on K Street.

Carlson praised Conyers's style and warmth. "He's so lively," she said, smiling.

The actress was visiting Capitol Hill with fellow thespian and former congressional staffer Wendie Malick, where the duo met with Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Mary Landrieu (D-La.), as well as Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.). 

On their agenda were two bills moving through Congress: one to end the slaughter of horses (H.R. 503) and another to protect mustangs and burros in the American West (S. 727).

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) made a special delivery Wednesday to Sen. Mary Landrieu's (D-La.) office following the Minnesota Vikings' weekend loss to the New Orleans Saints in the NFC championship game.

As had been previously agreed to in a friendly bet on the game, Klobuchar served Landrieu a gumbo while wearing the jersey of Saints quarterback Drew Brees.

Klobuchar stayed up late Tuesday night cooking the Big Easy specialty stew of shrimp, sausage and okra.

This was the first time the Great Lakes lawmaker had ever made the distinctly Southern dish, and she exclaimed to a staffer earlier that day, "I can't believe I'm going to have to make a roux!" Roux, a blend of wheat flour and butter, forms the base of gumbo.

Landrieu's office provided the jersey and threw in a few Mardi Gras beads and a Saints necklace, but as Klobuchar was headed out the door to Landrieu's office, she couldn't help but don a Vikings hat for good measure.

Not surprisingly, the Minnesotan and the Louisianan have different ideas of what "spicy" is. Landrieu took one bite of the gumbo and whipped out the hot sauce. Klobuchar tasted the sauce and it burned her mouth, which caused the Southerner to burst out laughing.

Klobuchar later told ITK, "While the gumbo was a bit mild, the Tabasco sauce helped. I'm sure I would have won a ‘best gumbo' award as long as the judges were more accurate than the referees in the Vikings-Saints game."

Ouch. The NFL fines players and coaches if they criticize referees. But not senators.

The Saints will face the Indianapolis Colts in the Super Bowl on Feb. 7.

Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) has joined Twitter. The 67-year-old's first tweet was time stamped around 5 p.m. Tuesday and read: “Welcome to my newest adventure -- stay tuned for independent-minded tweets.” He also said President Barack Obama’s spending freeze is a good first step to getting the fiscal house in order.

Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) attended his mother's funeral on Wednesday.

Marjorie Warner, 81, died at her Connecticut home on Saturday morning after a long struggle with Alzheimer's disease. 

A spokesman for the senator said Warner would return to Washington as soon as possible. 

Warner's father, Robert Warner, and his sister Lisa have cared for Mrs. Warner since she developed the degenerative neurological disease nearly a decade ago.Earlier this month Warner was unable to attend Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell's (R) inauguration because of his mother's illness.