Niels Lesniewski
Bio:
Niels Lesniewski covers the Senate for Roll Call. He joined what is now CQ Roll Call in September 2007, hired by Roll Call for the GalleryWatch legislative tracking service that was integrated into CQ in 2009. He is known for his expertise on the peculiarities of Senate procedure.
Niels began covering the Senate for CQ in January 2010, taking the title of CQ SenateWatch editor in the summer of 2011. He has contributed to coverage of all the biggest policy stories on Capitol Hill in recent years, including the response to the 2008 financial collapse, the health care overhaul and several budget standoffs.
A Connecticut native, Niels graduated from Hamilton College in New York with a dual degree in theatre and government. Before joining CQ Roll Call, he worked for theater productions in D.C. and New England. While in college, he interned for ABC's "This Week with George Stephanopoulos." Outside of work, Niels is an avid sports fan. He started attending Nationals games back when the team was among the worst in the National League and still playing at RFK Stadium.
Stories by Niels Lesniewski:
Jan. 3, 2013
Two leading advocates of overhauling the Senate’s filibuster rules put the decision about the size and scope of the package squarely in Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s court Thursday afternoon.
Jan. 2, 2013
Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s lifetime in the Senate and his reputation as an honest broker is paying off in a big way for the vice president as he watches his stock rise after successfully negotiating a deal to avert the fiscal cliff.
Jan. 2, 2013
Senate Democratic and Republican leaders hope to avoid a legislative standoff on the first day of the 113th Congress by delaying any debate on filibuster rules changes until after the president’s inauguration ceremony on Jan. 21.
Jan. 1, 2013
Senate Democrats are unlikely to bring senators back to revote on an amended fiscal cliff package, if the House sends them one.
Jan. 1, 2013
Buried in the fiscal cliff deal passed by the Senate early Tuesday morning is a provision to halt a scheduled salary increase for members of Congress themselves.
Dec. 22, 2012
Aware that he may need every vote possible to advance legislation in the days after Christmas, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is calling on Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie to appoint a successor to fill Sen. Daniel K. Inouye’s seat in time to vote this year.
Dec. 21, 2012
As Washington bid final farewell to Sen. Daniel K. Inouye with a memorial service at Washington’s National Cathedral on Friday, a portrait emerged of the final moments of his life earlier this week.
Dec. 20, 2012
Senate Democratic leaders are warning their GOP colleagues that Republican opposition to a Superstorm Sandy aid package could “boomerang” on them if disasters strike their home regions.
Dec. 20, 2012
The decisions by Democratic Sens. Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont and Tom Harkin of Iowa to forgo taking over the Appropriations Committee in favor of keeping their current committee gavels could be a sign that the once-vaunted panel is losing its clout.
Dec. 19, 2012
Sen. Charles E. Schumer signaled Wednesday that a post-Christmas Senate session to handle any agreement on a package to avert the fiscal cliff is becoming inevitable.
Dec. 19, 2012
At a news conference Wednesday, Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, made a hilarious analogy comparing Speaker John A. Boehner’s “plan B” fiscal cliff aversion proposal with one of the more familiar tropes from “Peanuts” — Lucy pulling the football away from Charlie Brown.
Dec. 19, 2012
Speaker John A. Boehner’s proposed fallback plan to deal with the tax rate increases looming at the end of the year would give Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid what might be a much-needed Christmas present.
Dec. 18, 2012
On Monday night in Hawaii, one local TV station was already discussing the loss of federal money that’s expected to follow the death of Democratic Sen. Daniel K. Inouye.
Dec. 18, 2012
Sen. Daniel K. Inouye will lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda on Thursday, the late senator’s office confirmed Tuesday evening, as part of a series of services leading up to the burial of the late president pro tem.
Dec. 18, 2012
Sen. Patrick J. Leahy, D-Vt., is expected to take the gavel of the Senate Appropriations Committee in a committee chairman shuffle caused by the death Monday of Appropriations Chairman Daniel K. Inouye, D-Hawaii.
Dec. 17, 2012
With Sen. Patrick J. Leahy, D-Vt., suddenly in line to become chairman of the Appropriations Committee, California Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein could decide to claim the gavel on the Judiciary panel.
Dec. 17, 2012
In a letter delivered just hours before his death, Sen. Daniel K. Inouye, D-Hawaii, wrote to Gov. Neil Abercrombie asking him to appoint Rep. Colleen Hanabusa to succeed him.
Dec. 17, 2012
Senators sat at their desks Monday evening, wiping away tears and looking on in disbelief as Majority Leader Harry Reid announced the death of Appropriations Chairman Daniel K. Inouye.
Dec. 17, 2012
Senate Appropriations Chairman Daniel K. Inouye has died after suffering respiratory problems that kept him in the hospital since Dec. 6.
Dec. 17, 2012
West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin III, who has had the support of the National Rifle Association, joined the call for a conversation about new gun control measures Monday in the aftermath of the Dec. 14 mass shooting at a Connecticut elementary school.
Dec. 17, 2012
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has joined calls for a broader conversation about guns and public safety following the mass shooting Dec. 14 in a Connecticut grade school.
Dec. 16, 2012
Senate Appropriations Chairman Daniel K. Inouye remains hospitalized in Bethesda, Md., with his office reporting in a Sunday night statement that the Hawaii Democrat is experiencing “respiratory complications.” There is no timetable for Inouye’s return.
Dec. 13, 2012
The text of an emergency spending bill to help pay for recovery from superstorm Sandy could surface as early as tonight, according to one senior appropriator.
Dec. 12, 2012
A day after he and the White House traded offers, Speaker John A. Boehner of Ohio said he still has serious differences with President Barack Obama about how to come to a deal that can avert the fiscal cliff.
Dec. 11, 2012
Missouri Republican Sen. Roy Blunt launched a new push Tuesday against changing the Senate rules with a simple majority, as advocates sought to explain the constitutional justification for the maneuver.
