Terri A Sewell

The Federal Election Commission ruled Thursday that a candidate can use campaign funds to pay for child care.

The FEC ruled in favor of Liuba Grechen Shirley, who is running in New York’s 2nd District and requested an advisory opinion last month on her request to use her campaign funds to pay for child care for her young children while she was involved in campaign activities.

South Korea would limit its steel exports to the United States and open its markets to more American-made cars and trucks under a preliminary agreement to revise the 2012 bilateral trade deal between the countries, the White House said Tuesday.

Under the pact, which still needs to be finalized, South Korea would allow U.S. automakers to double their vehicle exports to 50,000 a year, while Seoul would win a permanent exemption from the 25 percent tariffs on steel imports President Donald Trump announced March 8. It's unclear when the final agreement could be reached.

Matt Reel is running for Congress. But he can’t campaign until June — two months before Tennessee’s August primary.

Even if his staff knew where he is — which they don’t — and even if he had time while overseas, Reel can’t legally communicate with them about campaign strategy for his 7th District race while he’s on active duty.

Welcome to Political Theater, Roll Call’s podcast and newsletter on the spectacle of politics and how it fits, or doesn’t, into the nation’s culture. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here. 

President Donald Trump loves football. He played in high school. He owned a USFL team, the New Jersey Generals. He tried to buy the Buffalo Bills. He inserted himself into the NFL imbroglio over players kneeling during the National Anthem. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise he attended part of the College Football Championship Game in Atlanta on Monday between the University of Alabama and University of Georgia. 

Sen. Cory Booker will return to Alabama on Wednesday for the first time since campaigning for Sen. Doug Jones in the state’s Senate election last month.

The New Jersey Democrat is slated to the give the keynote address at the National Baptist Convention USA’s winter meeting in Mobile.

Alabama Sen. Doug Jones took office on Wednesday as the only Democrat in the Senate with an African-American chief of staff.

Dana Gresham, Jones’ new chief, was previously assistant secretary for governmental affairs at the Department of Transportation. He was nominated by former President Barack Obama and held the position for all eight years of the administration. He most recently was a consultant in D.C.

Welcome to At the Races! You can keep track of House and Senate races by subscribing to this weekly newsletter here. We want to hear what you think. Email us at attheraces@cqrollcall.com with your questions, tips or candidate sightings. — Simone Pathé and Bridget BowmanThis week … A Democrat won in deep-red Alabama, Minnesota’s getting a new female senator and another Texas Republican isn’t coming back in 2019.

Holding on: We’ll get back to Alabama in a second, but first ... embattled Texas Rep. Blake Farenthold is retiring, GOP sources confirmed Thursday. But he says he’s not going anywhere yet. The four-term Republican will serve out the remainder of his term, which means an ethics probe into allegations of his misconduct will continue. Some of his fellow Texas members were already ready to show him the door. Just last night, Roger Williams endorsed one of Farenthold’s primary challengers. The filing deadline for Texas congressional races was Monday.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — When Rep. Terri A. Sewell joined Doug Jones on the campaign trail in Alabama, she would often say she needed help in Washington, D.C., as the lone Democrat in the delegation.

Standing onstage here with Jones as he celebrated his historic win over Republican Roy Moore in the Alabama Senate race Tuesday night, Sewell interjected at one point, yelling, “Help is on the way!”

Democrats in Alabama celebrated after former U.S. Attorney Doug Jones pulled off a stunning upset victory and became the first Democrat elected in the state in more than 20 years.

Moore was a heavy favorite in the solidly red state, but as allegations of improper contact with under-age girls swirled around him, Jones crept up in the polls, pulling ahead in some, as Election Day neared.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala.— For the first time in more than two decades, Alabamians are sending a Democrat to the Senate.

Doug Jones pulled off a stunning upset, defeating Republican nominee Roy Moore in Tuesday’s special election, 50 percent to 48 percent.