Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler Is Expecting

Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler knows what’s coming for her new kid: a lifetime of correcting people that “No, no, it’s pronounced ‘Butler.’”

That was how the Washington Republican announced on her Facebook page today that she and her husband, Dan, are “expecting a baby.” This will be the couple’s first child.

Herrera Beutler’s Evergreen State colleague, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, was the last congresswoman to give birth while in office, in 2010. McMorris Rodgers is also the first woman to give birth twice while a member of Congress. Her first child was born in 2007.

Other congresswomen who gave birth in office? Rep. Linda T. Sánchez, D-Calif., in 2009. Then-Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, D-S.D., in 2008, and then-Rep., now-Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., in 2008.

Mark Sanford’s Argentine Love At Victory Celebration

Former South Carolina Gov. and Rep. Mark Sanford continued his comeback from the Appalachian Trail on Tuesday with his onetime mistress, now fiancée, at his side.

On Tuesday night, as Sanford was celebrating his victory in South Carolina’s 1st congressional district runoff election for the Republican nomination, María Belén Chapur congratulated him at the watch party, and took her place to his right when he spoke to the crowd.

In 2009, Sanford made headlines, and put the final nail in his marriage’s coffin, when he went missing for several days. Aides were stuck telling the press that the then-governor was hiking the Appalachian Trail. He was actually in Argentina with Chapur, whom he later described as his “soul mate.”

After returning from his South American tryst, Sanford gave an infamously honest press conference wherein he admitted the infidelity and proclaimed his love for Chapur. The couple announced their engagement in August 2012.

Several weeks ago, Scott English, Sanford’s former chief of staff, tweeted a joke about the pope in which he referenced the ex-governor’s disappearance. The Internet laughed out loud.

Roskam Surprises McCarthy With Birthday Portrait

(Courtesy Peter Roskam)

Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy of California is supposed to know what all his members are up to, but he got a birthday surprise on Monday night.

No, it wasn’t a successful whip count or even a member refusing to vote for a leadership-endorsed bill. It was a painting.

Chief Deputy Whip Peter Roskam, R-Ill., surprised the California Republican, who turned 48 on Jan. 26, with a oil-on-canvas portrait of McCarthy and his wife Judy, hand-painted by Roskam’s wife, Elizabeth.

“He doesn’t know a thing about it and he’s a tough guy to catch flat footed because he usually knows everything that’s going on in the conference,” Roskam said. “Kevin McCarthy is always the guy who’s watching out for other members, so this is an opportunity for him to get recognized.” Full story

Flake’s Big Week

Flake’s daughter Alexis recently became engaged to fellow BYU student Arias. (Courtesy Sen. Jeff Flake)

Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., has had quite a week.

It began with his 50th birthday, which officially happened 15 minutes before midnight on New Year’s Eve, and ended with his being sworn in as the new junior senator from Arizona.

“It was just phenomenal,” Flake tells HOH. “It was really neat.” He sounded overwhelmed, happy and joyful just moments after his swearing-in.

For the father of five, the highlight of the week, however, was the engagement of his daughter Alexis, 21, to Jason Arias, 26, on the Capitol Dome on Wednesday.
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Welcoming a Baby Wyden

Sen. Ron Wyden highlighted the birth of a baby daughter on Twitter Friday afternoon, no surprise given the Oregon Democrat’s embrace of the Internet.

The new baby girl, Scarlet Willa Wyden, was born Thursday morning at a hospital in Portland, Ore. She is the third child for Wyden and his wife Nancy Bass Wyden, according to The Associated Press in Portland. Wyden also has children from a previous marriage.

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DC Theatre Collective Stages Reading of ’8′ to Support Maryland’s Question 6

DC Theatre Collective hopes a dramatized recounting of the Proposition 8 case in California will help spur Marylanders to vote in favor of Question 6, which would allow same-sex marriage in the Old Line State.

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Fifty Shades of Mitt Romney

Those merry pranksters at Joe Digital have mashed up the planks of GOP hopeful Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign with “Fifty Shades of Grey.” The results are awesome.

50 Shades of Mitt from The Final Edition on Vimeo.

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Love in Tampa

(Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

Updated 1:48 p.m. | Move over kiss-cam engagements and using a plane to write out your proposal against a clear blue sky. For the young, conservative set, the first step in making your love legal is onstage in front of hundreds of GOP delegates and thousands of political reporters.

Because nothing says true love like asking someone to marry you at the Republican convention in Tampa, Fla., in front of a bunch of snarktastic strangers. Le sigh. At least that proved to be true for the Republican National Convention’s production manager and his newly engaged production coordinator, Laura Bowman. He dropped to one knee in front of her on the stage, while “Laura Bowman, will you marry me?” flashed on the big screens. She said yes.

USA Today’s Susan Davis caught the whole geekishly sweet moment on her camera video thingy.

Congratulations, you crazy kids.

Sex Trade Welcomes GOP to Tampa with Open … Arms?

The tropical storm watch has kinda got everyone here in Tampa feeling down.

No worries, though. Because the Tampa Bay area’s kinkiest are working overtime to keep visiting conventioneers’ spirits up.

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The Annals of the Marrieds

Everything comes in threes (at least until Saturday — more on that later), including Congressional weddings.

In early July, Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) and Jim Ready did their nuptials, complete with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) breaking it down on the dance floor.

In a ceremony on July 21, Rep. Sander Levin (D-Mich.) tied the knot with Pamela Cole in Ferndale, Mich. The couple held a larger celebration Aug. 6 at the Levin home in Martha’s Vineyard. The Congressman’s immediate family, including his four children and 10 grandchildren, were in attendance, as was his younger brother, Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.).

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Barney Frank Gets Ready to Wed

Rumor has it that retiring Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank and his longtime partner James Ready are tying the knot this weekend.

And by rumor, we mean that North Carolina Rep. Brad Miller (D) says so on his Facebook page.

(Screenshot)

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Dick Cheney’s Daughter Marries Longtime Partner

Mary Cheney and her longtime partner, Heather Poe, have tied the knot.

The mothers of two children, one boy and one girl, got hitched Friday in Washington, D.C.

Mary’s father, former Vice President Dick Cheney, and her mother, Lynne, couldn’t be more pleased for the couple.  Full story

Cooking Up Controversy

Talk about biting the hand that feeds you.

After sharing the news that a former Hill staffer was now climbing the ranks of champion barbecue sauce creators, a current Congressional insider called us out for not digging even deeper into the deliciously layered story.

John Scofield, the former House aide turned boutique lobbyist and Washington Post recipe contest winner, has welcomed some into his home who believe his wife, Jennifer Hing, is the true culinary artist of the pair.

“Those who have sampled the cooking of both John and Jen widely agree that Jen’s cooking is superior,” a leadership aide well fed by the couple assured HOH. Full story

Your Wife Is Lovely: The Hunt to Meet Clooney

A postcard from the weekend from CQ Roll Call’s Eugene Mulero: How the dreams of one reporter’s wife came true this past weekend:

It is said the most important day in a woman’s life is when she meets George Clooney. For Sarah, my wife, that day happened Saturday at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner. Full story

Budgeting for Three

It’s a girl!

Courtesy Jason and Wendy Knox

Bicameral Republican aides Jason (Senate Budget Committee) and Wendy Knox (House Small Business Committee) welcomed daughter Tenley Ava Knox at 7:17 p.m., Thursday.

The little girl, their first child, weighed 7.4 pounds and spanned 19 inches. Although not even a week old, sources assure HOH she’s already declared her allegiance to the University of Florida Gators.

Mother and baby are reportedly doing just fine. Dad, as seen above, is obviously ecstatic.