Lawmakers are finding it a bit difficult coordinating their personal plans for the holidays with the ever-shifting congressional schedule.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) made sure her large family came together over Thanksgiving in case work duties cropped up around Christmas.
{mosads}“We had an absolutely glorious Thanksgiving, which is the time when all of our children — I have five children — and our grandchildren from all over the country [meet],” she told The Hill. “That’s an absolute certainty for us that we will have that time together, because you never know what the congressional schedule may be.”
Christmas wasn’t far from their minds, though.
“This year, for the first time, I had a Christmas tree at Thanksgiving,” Pelosi said with a laugh. “I wanted the children to have that atmosphere for sure.”
Coordinating with her brood of 19 grandchildren and great-grandchildren is also proving tough for Rep. Sue Myrick (R-N.C.) this holiday season.
“It is always hard and frustrating to plan,” she wrote in an email. “We were going to have Christmas with two families on the 17th, but now it looks like we will be here [in D.C.], so we’ll have to find another date.
“We were trying to avoid a conflict with our congressional schedule, and now with the schedules — of all of theirs plus mine — it will probably end up [the] day after Christmas. My family has always understood and is flexible.”
Juggling congressional duties with family will be a new challenge for Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle (R-N.Y.) this year. The freshman member has six children and 12 grandchildren.
“This is my first Christmas here, so we’ll see, but once we figure out what happens here, then we’ll plan accordingly,” she said. “But my guess is I’ll spend it with the kids.”