Congressional Hits and Misses: Week of July 7 (Video)

As members discuss baby Jesus, car brakes and Africa’s views on President Barack Obama, Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, says some of them need to know when to “shut up.”

Gray Vetoes D.C. Budget, Cites Yoga Tax, Streetcar Funding

Lame duck D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray announced Friday that he plans to veto the D.C. Council’s fiscal 2015 budget, a move that could rekindle protests against the so-called yoga tax.

Imperfect People Get Elected to the Senate

In the heat of the campaign, it can be easy to disqualify or dismiss candidates based on unsettling, or sometimes unseemly, revelations. But all you have to do is look at the current lineup of senators to realize that imperfect people win elections.

Rating Change: New Jersey’s 3rd District

Republican Rep. Jon Runyan is only in his second term, but he quickly established himself as a very difficult target. His retirement from New Jersey’s 3rd District gives Democrats a better opportunity there, but this is no longer a pure tossup race.

• Rating Change: Wisconsin Governor

Text of Stockman Resolution Calling for House to Arrest Lois Lerner

Texas Republican Steve Stockman filed a resolution Thursday directing the House sergeant-at-arms to arrest former IRS official Lois Lerner on charges of contempt of Congress.

Justice Department Declines to Open Probe of CIA 'Spying' on Senate (Updated)

Updated 4:37 p.m. | The Justice Department is declining to open a formal investigation into the sparring between the Senate Intelligence Committee and the CIA.

Senate Filibusters Bipartisan Sportsmen's Bill

The bipartisan sportsmen’s bill championed by endangered Sen. Kay Hagan became another election year casualty today with a majority of the Senate refusing to end debate.

Pelosi Still Supports Senate-Passed ENDA Despite Diminishing LGBT Support

As advocacy groups withdraw support for a Senate-passed bill to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered employees from discrimination in the workplace, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi signaled on Thursday that she was still prepared to support the legislation should it come to the House floor.

West Virginia Newcomer Battles Carpetbagger Label

RIPLEY, W.Va. -- At the local Fourth of July parade, Alex Mooney proudly showed off his West Virginia concealed gun permit. The Republican’s campaign colors are blue and gold -- echoing the Mountain State’s flagship public college, West Virginia University. In a gold polo shirt, Mooney pointed to his son sporting a WVU baseball cap, standing near the campaign’s pickup truck stuffed with gold balloons.

• Shelley Moore Capito Campaigns Amid Father's Complicated Legacy
• 'Nicky Joe' Bets Political Survival on His Local Brand

Getting to the Meat of the Matter in Texas

From the looks of things on social media, folks in the Lone Star State can’t quite figure out exactly what they should be stuffing their faces with.

Photos: Storm Clouds Over Washington

Photo Editor Bill Clark braved the bad weather this week to capture some stunning images of ominous clouds over the Capitol. As you can see from the photos below, photographers often take the same objects and frame them differently to try to get the best results. Which framing of the Supreme Court do you like the best?

Politics, Not Policy, Shape Bridge Over Highway Cliff

Thursday will see this year’s most consequential vote in the once-mighty House Ways and Means Committee — to propose one of the more assertive legislative punts in recent memory.

• GOP Plan to Save Highway Trust Fund May Win By Default

Former Congresswoman Loans $500,000 to Her Comeback Campaign

Former Rep. Nan Hayworth, R-N.Y., has injected hundreds of thousands of dollars into her campaign to defeat freshman Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, D-N.Y.

• Dan Benishek Raises $487,000 in Top Michigan House Race
• Carl DeMaio Reserves $1.2 Million in Fall TV Time

GPO Might Turn Employee Parking Lot Into Commercial Development

In addition to plans to trim 100 workers from its ranks, the Government Printing Office is considering commercial development of an employee parking lot about a block west of Union Station.

House Side of U.S. Capitol Reopens After Asbestos Spill

The House side of the U.S. Capitol reopened at 9 a.m. after being briefly closed this morning so that Capitol Police and a hazardous materials team could address an asbestos spill that had occurred overnight. Portions of the building, though, will remain closed throughout the day. House leaders decided not to convene morning hour at 10 a.m. due to the accident, but were expected to go ahead with legislative business at noon.

Rubio Calls for Obama to Help Vet in Mexican Jail

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., voiced concerns Thursday about a Mexican judge’s decision to return Afghanistan war veteran Andrew Tahmooressi to jail for breaking Mexico’s strict gun laws.

CBO Score Continues to Vex Veterans Bill Talks

The sky-high CBO score for a veterans’ health care overhaul continues to stall progress weeks after separate bills blitzed through the House and Senate.

House Subcommittee Votes to Eliminate Funds for Eisenhower Memorial

Funding for the Dwight D. Eisenhower memorial would be eliminated in fiscal 2015 under a bill advanced Wednesday by the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior and Environment.

Howard Coble Wields Influence in North Carolina Race

Outgoing Rep. Howard Coble, R-N.C., has become a fixture in the GOP runoff to determine his successor in the 6th District.