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A day of color and surprise on Capitol Hill
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Tuesday was a particularly busy day on Capitol Hill with the 108th Congress convening and Tom Daschle's surprise announcement that he would not run for the White House in 2004. The headlines missed some of the drama and color of the day. Here's a taste of some of the behind-the-scenes activity. • Frost for Frist? After escorting fellow Mississippi Sen. Thad Cochran to the president's chair to be sworn in for another term, Republican Trent Lott was greeted by Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle for a hearty handshake, a laugh and an embrace. Lott would have been majority leader were it not for the political firestorm over remarks last month that many saw as an endorsement of segregation. Lott gave up that post in the face of growing GOP discontent and a challenge from Tennessee's Bill Frist, who was elected to the Senate leadership post by his GOP colleagues. Tuesday, Frist stood next to Daschle and he seemed to be ready for a handshake as well. Lott brushed right by him without making eye contact. • Lady's Man. Bob Dole returned to the Senate Tuesday, this time as the proud spouse of a freshman senator -- his wife Elizabeth. The former majority leader from Kansas escorted Elizabeth Dole to the president's chair for her swearing in as the new Republican senator from North Carolina. Strom Thurmond, 100, escorted his successor, Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South Carolina. • Surprise Decision. Daschle's announcement that he would not seek the Democratic presidential nomination caught even some of his most senior advisers by surprise, several aides said. As of 7 p.m. Monday night, a top Senate aide was interviewing candidates for what would have been the South Dakota's Democrat's presidential staff. Daschle hastily called a meeting of his senior advisers at about 10:30 a.m. Tuesday to inform them of his decision. At least three had no idea that he was about to pull the plug; they had expected to work Tuesday on preparing an announcement that Daschle would indeed be a presidential contender. In fact, preliminary plans had already been made for a presidential announcement in Daschle's hometown of Aberdeen, South Dakota.
• Making History. Nancy Pelosi was all smiles Tuesday as she formally took the reins as House minority leader. The California Democrat is the first woman to lead either party in Congress. For her swearing-in, she was surrounded by her grandchildren. Rep. Richard Gephardt, her predecessor, swore her in for the leadership post. "In our lives, there are always times and days that we will never forget where we feel we are part of history," the Missouri Democrat said. "This time, on this day, is one of those times." • Democratic Dissenters. Four conservative Democrats from the South declined to support Pelosi as leader when lawmakers voted on who would serve as House speaker. As expected, Republican Dennis Hastert of Illinois was re-elected to that post, but Democrats nominated Pelosi for the job. Pelosi picked up all but four votes from members of her party: Ken Lucas of Kentucky, Charles Stenholm of Texas, Ralph Hall of Texas and Gene Taylor of Mississippi. The first three voted "present" instead of voting in favor of Pelosi, whom they consider too liberal to lead the party. An aide to Pelosi said the three members notified the leader's office in advance they would not support her. "They get a pass on this," said communications director Brendan Daley. Taylor voted for another conservative Democrat, Rep. John Murtha of Pennsylvania, as he did two years ago. • Pizza Rule. House Republicans Tuesday weakened their own ethics rules related to food, travel and lodging. Under the so-called "pizza rule," the value of food had counted against a $49.99 ceiling for a single gift to a lawmaker from a lobbyist. The change calls for the value of each slice or plate of food eaten by each person to count against the cap, not the total value of the pizza or food purchase. The changes also mean charities can pick up the travel and lodging tabs for lawmakers. Rep. Martin Frost, D-Texas, denounced the changes as opening "a proverbial can of worms." -- CNN Congressional Correspondent Jonathan Karl, Capitol Hill Producer Ted Barrett and CNN.Com Producer Sean Loughlin contributed to this report.
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