In their final days in Congress, retiring Marylanders are office-less ‘nomads’

Maryland Rep. John Sarbanes works from a ground floor banquet room set up for Congress members who are retiring and needed to leave their offices so the spaces could be readied for the new members. Jeff Barker/Staff

WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger sat alone on a bench in an ornate Capitol corridor as congressional staff and reporters scurried past in advance of a vote.

It was a puzzling sight. It’s rare to spot Congress members simply sitting, without aides hovering nearby.

“There’s no place to go,” the Baltimore County Democrat said Thursday.

Ruppersberger, 78, who is retiring next month after 11 two-year terms, explained that House administrators — preparing for the arrival of the next Congress on Jan. 3 — had been politely evicting departing members from their office suites over the last few weeks.

Furniture gone, staff dispersed, laptops returned, remnants of lengthy congressional careers carted away. It all felt a little undignified.

“He’s like a nomad,” said Jaime Lennon, his longtime aide. “He’s still there voting. They still have a critical job to do.”

Attention on Friday focused on continuing efforts in Congress to approve stopgap funding before a midnight deadline to prevent a partial government shutdown.

Congress had similarly scrambled in September to approve a three-month extension with a bill called a continuing resolution, or CR.

Friday’s negotiations played out against the unusual backdrop of dozens of office-less House members. Fifty-three members retired or sought another office this year, while others resigned.

Maryland Sen. Ben Cardin and Maryland Reps. John Sarbanes and David Trone, all Democrats, are among those stepping down, although Cardin and other senators have not been required to pack up yet. Their terms end when the new Congress is sworn in on Jan. 3.

It takes weeks for the 435-member House to make room assignments — new members enter a lottery — and freshen up offices in advance of the transition.

“It’s like a military operation,” said Democrat U.S. Rep. John Sarbanes, who was spending his final days in Congress working out of a reception room on the ground floor of the Rayburn House Office Building. He had a computer, a cubicle and two bags to haul around his work necessities. His district is split between Howard and Anne Arundel Counties, with a piece of Carroll County as well.

Sarbanes’ successor, Democrat Sarah Elfreth, recently drew lottery number 21 out of 57 in a drawing to determine the order of choice for House offices. She chose an office in the Longworth House Office Building.

“We’re getting a new carpet and a fresh coat of paint,” she said Friday. She gets the keys on the morning of Jan. 3.

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