Schumer boasts of being Panetta’s roommate

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) last week boasted on the Senate floor that he roomed with Leon Panetta for 11 years in Washington.

Panetta, who was confirmed by the Senate unanimously as President Obama’s new Defense secretary, is a former House lawmaker and an ex-member of the so-called Boys Night Out.

According to a 1989 Washington Post article, the group consisted of 15 to 20 House lawmakers who socialized in the nation’s capital. The core group included “The Roommates” — Schumer, Panetta, then-Rep. Marty Russo (D-Ill.) and Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.). 

Schumer still lives the college-like life in D.C., rooming with Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Miller. 

In a 2007 article in The New York Times, Schumer jabbed Durbin for balking at disposing of a household rodent. 

‘’I once had to pick up a mouse by the tail that Durbin refused to pick up,’’ said Schumer at the time. 

In his speech last week on the Senate floor, Schumer resisted the urge to needle Panetta, saying, “He is a strong, smart, honorable and devout man.” As Obama’s CIA director, Panetta played a major role in the killing of terrorist Osama bin Laden. But did he ever grab a mouse by the tail?

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