The mission is crucial: the senator who occupies it has to make sure that his drawer is always full. Especially during weeks of intense negotiations like the ones Congress just carried out on Joe Biden’s colossal investment plans: the American debt and the budget.
“I can guarantee you that the candy desk is currently, and will continue to be, well stocked.”its occupant, the Pennsylvania senator, told AFP Pat Toomey.
Lawmakers, nearly 30 of whom are in their 70s, sometimes find themselves stuck in the Senate overnight, waiting for a decisive vote, and get a boost of energy with chocolates and candy.
During Donald Trump’s first impeachment trial in 2020, Republican Toomey’s team carried entire boxes of candy through the Senate halls to keep his desk stocked during long court hours.
The senator has been in charge of this little-known drawer since 2015 and of which there are few images due to the strict regulations that prohibit photos in the hemicycle.
“It makes sense for the senator from Pennsylvania to occupy the candy desk, as we are the number one candy maker in America and the world.”said Toomey.
There are about 200 chocolate makers in Pennsylvania, including Hershey’s, which employs about 10,000 people, according to Toomey.
There is a rule that prohibits senators from accepting gifts, but there are exceptions, such as inexpensive products that come from their states and are intended to be distributed.
The tradition began in 1968, when a Californian Republican, actor and dancer George Murphy, took up residence at that desk.
Known for his fondness for sweets, he invited his colleagues to share his supply of chocolates, which he kept in the drawer.
Since then, the sweet custom has continued with other Republicans who have occupied that table, such as John McCain or Rick Santorum, who sat there during Bill Clinton’s impeachment trial in the Monica Lewinsky case.
“It really plays an important role in keeping senators awake during those long hours of testimony.”Santorum told NPR radio in January 2020.
According to the former Pennsylvania senator, the Democratic president’s legal team complained at the time that he was deprived of chocolates.
Santorum acknowledged the injustice and made sure there were enough chocolates for the remainder of the trial, despite the fierce political battles.
“I run the candy desk!” Democrat Cory Booker told AFP.
Pat Toomey distributes the chocolates on the Republican side “and I on the Democrat,” insists the New Jersey senator who, during Donald Trump’s impeachment trials, entertained his side with M & Ms, manufactured in his state since the 1940s.
“Many of my colleagues, especially Majority Leader Chuck Schumer,” eat my M&M “, insists, full of enthusiasm, this former candidate for the US presidential primary.
“Now that I think about it, I wonder why I never put a chocolate on Toomey’s desk,” he admitted to the consultation and said that now he is “motivated” to do it as soon as possible.
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