McCotter commits fashion crime in Speaker’s Lobby

It may not be the worst fashion faux pas in the world, but Rep. Thaddeus McCotter (R-Mich.) broke the dress code last week by appearing in the Speaker’s Lobby and on the House floor in denim. McCotter is a repeat offender, according to a Capitol employee, as is Rep. Butch Otter (R-Idaho).

“The dress code [for men] is ties, jackets, no jeans,” the employee said, explaining that McCotter and Otter have been known to wear jeans when they are rushing to catch a plane. But the source added, “They know better.”

But McCotter spokesman Bob Jackson maintains that wearing jeans was appropriate considering what else the congressman was doing that day. Jackson explained that McCotter was taking part in a friendly protest called the “Blue Jean Revolution” at the Belarus Embassy near Dupont Circle in support of the pro-Democracy movement in Belarus.

“What happened was he was scheduled to appear at 11 a.m. and then was called for the vote, so he zipped straight over to the vote,” he said. “I know the fashion police probably frowned upon it, but the congressman was expressing support for freedom in Belarus.”

Valentine’s Day proved to be quite a parade of crimson fashion last week.

A senior Senate GOP aide who always speaks on background said that business would conclude around 6 p.m. that day. When asked why, he replied that many senators had plans for the evening.

“In some respects, Valentine’s Day is more important than many federal holidays,” he said, summing up the feelings of the senators. He explained the reason in one word: “Spouses.”

Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) was a vision in red in a head-to-toe red pants suit. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) also chose the red pants suit, as did Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.). Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) donned a bright red skirt and blazer. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) sort of had Valentine’s Day on her mind with her signature pants suit in chocolate brown and a fleshy pink collared shirt underneath.

Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) chose Halloween colors by pairing a black blazer with an orange blouse. Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) opted for a lavender pants suit.

The red-tie brigade included Sens. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.), Jim Talent (R-Mo.), Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Trent Lott (R-Miss.), Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), John McCain (R-Ariz.), Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.), Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Mel Martinez (R-Fla.), Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), Craig Thomas (R-Wyo.), Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), Rick Santorum (R-Pa.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Democratic Minority Leader Harry Reid (Nev.).

Those who strayed from red include Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), who wore a lavender tie, and Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), who wore a dark blue tie with violet stripes. Sen. Tim Johnson (D-S.D.) chose a silver tie with black stripes. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) seemed to be trying for a Valentine’s Day look of sorts in a blue-and-white tie with faint red stripes.

Behind every great man there is sometimes a great woman, and behind Sen. Wayne Allard (R-Colo.) there is Joan.

Joan Allard has a desk in her husband’s office and spends her days with her husband on Capitol Hill. She works on special projects such as the Allard Capitol conference that brings constituents to Washington every summer.

“She’s my best volunteer,” Allard said.

She doesn’t do windows, but she writes thank-you letters to constituents and researches the Capitol to color her tours with interesting facts. When she is not working on behalf of her husband, she researches her family tree.

Allard’s wife isn’t the only spouse to set up shop in her husband’s office. Sen. Daniel Akaka’s (D-Hawaii) wife, Millie, also has a prominent presence in the office, but only in the fall and spring, when it’s not too hot and not too cold.

“She won’t come when it’s cold,” says Akaka’s press secretary, Donalyn Dela Cruz. “When constituents come by, she’ll entertain them. … She reads newspapers. She sits in the back office.”

Ever since Signatures closed last fall, the GOP has been forced to find a new place to party after work. Last week, ITK asked readers to submit possibilities. Answers range from a Georgetown bar to a Maryland prison (ouch!).

Here’s a sampling of the submissions.

• “The address is 14601 Burbridge Road S.E. It’s called FCI Cumberland. For those of you who don’t know, FCI Cumberland is the Federal Correctional Institute in Cumberland, Md. It’s a place a lot of Republicans will be going to real soon.”

• From a bartender/employee at a GOP member-based lobbying shop on the Hill: “Old Glory in Georgetown would fit the bill nicely, with a new chef, new expanded menu, 75 different bourbons and a bourbon club; to become a member of it seems ideal to suit young Republicans searching for some good BBQ, cold beers and warm bourbon.

“A new expanded drink menu has come out with various bourbon martini drinks and cocktails to appeal to women who don’t think they like the taste of bourbon.” (Of course, everyone knows a good GOP woman drinks bourbon.)

• This idea came from a Democratic public-affairs firm: “They should all go take over at Two Quail on the Hill. It sounds like a Cheney shootout — I mean hangout.”

• And finally, another obviously anti-Republican reader wrote in to say, “How about the Capitol building where they can work on cleaning up the mess they’ve made of our country?”

Rep. loretta Sanchez will not change her cat’s name

Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Calif.) has a male cat named Gretzky and in light of the gambling controversy involving hockey legend Wayne Gretzky and his wife, Janet Jones, serious questions about the cat’s name have been raised.

But no, Gretzky’s name stays as is, controversy and all. “I don’t believe so, no,” said Sanchez’s spokeswoman Carrie Brooks, explaining that the cat is about 10 years old. “It would be a little tough. He’s always in the holiday card, everyone has come to know him. It’s his professional name.”

Rep. Udall’s deputy chief heading to the YMCA,

Former Tipper Gore press aide becomes flack for L.A. Dodgers

Cookab Hashemi, deputy chief of staff to Rep. Mark Udall (D-Colo.), will leave Capitol Hill at the end of February to be a public-policy associate in the international-affairs division of the YMCA. Hashemi, 34, who has been with Udall since June 2002, will leave at the end of February.

In other moves, Camille Johnston, former press secretary to Tipper Gore and Robert Reich, is now director of communications for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Neil Bradley, policy director for House Majority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), proposed to Kiki Kless, policy staffer to House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), on Valentine’s Day.

As one staffer put it, “It is all the buzz up here right now.”

A date for the wedding has not been announced.