Senators Play Secret Santa for One Night
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The Office of Sen. Al Franken(WASHINGTON) — On Tuesday night, the Senate turned from its bickering and dysfunction to a Secret Santa exchange to spread some holiday cheer on Capitol Hill.
For the third year in a row, Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., organized the official Senate Secret Santa exchange, where 23 Republicans and 42 Democrats swapped small gifts.
“Anything that brings Democrats and Republicans together and builds relationships is a good thing,” Franken said. “That’s why three years ago I came up with the idea to hold a Secret Santa in the Senate and I’ve been doing it ever since.”
“It’s something that we did back in grade school in St. Louis Park and I think it genuinely brings some much necessary bipartisan cheer to the Senate,” he added
Senators had a gift limit of $15 and kept their gifts and recipients a secret until Tuesday night. Franken picked Sen. Joe Donnelly, D-Ind., and gave him a hand-drawn map that highlighted states which were important in Donnelly’s life.
Many of the gifts were tied to senators’ home states. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., bought chocolates from Pennsylvania’s Gertrude Hawk Chocolates, which he gave to Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska. Casey, in turn, received chocolates and coffee from Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas.
Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, gave Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., donuts and coffee from Massachusetts-based Dunkin Donuts. Warren purchased her favorite lotion from Plum Island Soap Company in Massachusetts for Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., while Gillibrand selected a bottle of whiskey from her home state of New York to give to Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.V.
Manchin likely had the most creative twist on his gift to Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla. The West Virginia senator, who comes from a coal-producing state, gave Rubio a statue made of coal that was in the bipartisan shape of an elephant and donkey.
Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., wins the award for oldest item given to another senator. Bennet paid $8 for a 125-year-old map from Wyoming which he gave to Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo.
And Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., probably had the scariest gift – fake rattlesnake eggs and a real scorpion lollipop, which he presented to Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii.
Franken’s office declined to provide a full list of senators who participated in the event.
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