Sean Penn and daughter tour Capitol with Kucinich

Penn’s appearance was a surprise to Kucinich’s staffers, one of whom told ITK that he was unaware of any scheduled events with the actor.

“We’re busy counting votes today,” he said, referring to a motion the lawmaker proposed to end the war in Afghanistan.

ITK later learned that the Kuciniches had been giving Penn and his daughter an impromptu tour of the Capitol, and that the group was joined by humanitarian activist David Peretz.

No word on what Penn is doing in Washington, but one possibility is that he’s here to meet with Haitian President Rene Preval, who visited the White House on Wednesday. Following last month’s massive earthquake, Penn founded the Jenkins Penn Haitian Relief Organization with Diana Jenkins to aid in rescue and rebuilding efforts.

Penn, a strong supporter of Democrats, made political donations to Kucinich in 2004 and 2007, according to opensecrets.org.

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