Circuit

• By FCW Staff
• Apr 02, 2007

Davis’ seat
One of the seemingly unnoticed items from the Lurita Doan hearing March 28: Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.) may be pondering a career change.

Davis, the ranking minority member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, was one of the most vocal defenders of Doan, administrator of the General Services Administration.

One of the allegations facing Doan is whether she violated the Hatch Act by attending a brown bag lunch meeting at GSA headquarters on Jan. 25. The meeting featured Bush administration political operatives. The Hatch Act prohibits government agencies and employees from engaging in political activities on the job.

During the hearing, the committee handed out the PowerPoint slides from that meeting. Most of them reviewed the November midterm elections. One slide also listed the Republican House targets for 2008. Another listed Republican seats that might be vulnerable.

One seat listed as vulnerable is Davis’ district in Northern Virginia. And Davis’ name had an asterisk, indicating that the “member may not seek re-election.”

Of course, Davis has been considering a run for a Senate seat should Sen. John Warner (R-Va.) decide to retire. But could Davis be pondering a career change altogether?

Speaking on Federal News Radio in Washington, D.C., last week after the hearing, Davis said he’s not  leaving  any time soon.
Back in 2005, Davis pondered leaving the House for a high-paying  job with the National Federation of Independent Business. He decided to stay put.

“I’m the focal point on these issues, and if I were to leave, somebody would have a hard time picking up the ball,” Davis said. “There will come a time when I look back and say that there is a time for somebody else, but as long as I’m feeling productive for the region, I feel honor-bound to stay.”

Water, water everywhere
What’s that famous joke? “I wouldn’t have to be paranoid if everybody wasn’t out to get me.”

Well, the bloggers don’t miss a thing. During Doan’s hearing last week, the committee had to take a break for floor votes, and the audio catches her saying, “Take my water, and my glasses. I don’t want to leave any fingerprints, they’ve got me totally paranoid.”

The new must-have e-mail address
One of the cachet items in Washington, D.C., is to have a who.eop.gov e-mail address. That, of course, refers to the White House’s Executive Office of the President. But during the Doan hearing,  it came out that  apparently some White House staff members were using a gwb43.com e-mail address, which stands for George W. Bush, the 43rd president. According to records, gwb43.com is owned by the Republican National Committee.

What — the White House e-mail system doesn’t work?