Team Congress gets rain-shortened win in Congressional Women's Softball Game
'We are so excited and, you know, we obviously would have loved to continue playing and beat the press by even more,' Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-Mich.). 'I think it's pretty clear we would have continued the pounding this year.'
Mica Soellner, congressional reporter for Punchbowl News, lamented a missed opportunity for the media team.
'You know it's disappointing with the weather, but overall, it was a pretty good game,' she said. 'We definitely could have made a comeback.'
The 17th annual Congressional Women's Softball Game pits members of Congress against D.C. journalists to raise funds for the Young Survival Coalition (YSC). The YSC is dedicated to helping young women affected by breast cancer by providing resources and support.
Diedra Burns, a breast cancer survivor who is now in remission, was represented on the field by Rep. Julie Johnson (D-Texas).
'Wow, it means a lot because I went through my journey last year, diagnosis, chemo, radiation,' she said. 'This has been a great week.'
The game raised over $650,000 for the coalition. Since 2009, the event has raised over $4.3 million for the YSC.
'It really is an opportunity for us to highlight the Young Survival Coalition,' said Rep. Stephanie Bice (R-Okla.), 'I have a friend who experienced the very thing, and so, for me, it's a bit personal. It's a fun night.'
At the beginning of the game, the organizers paid tribute to late Rep. Mia Love (R-Utah), the first Black Republican woman elected to Congress, who passed away from brain cancer in March. Her son and daughter received the Hall of Fame award on her behalf as a former member of Team Congress.
The lawmakers faced off against their media foes for the first time at Audi Field, a significant upgrade from elementary schools where it was hosted years prior.
'It's so exciting that we're at Audi Field this year,' said Bridget Bowman, political reporter at NBC. 'I've seen the game grow a lot since I first started playing almost ten years ago.'
The enthusiastic crowd was clearly skewed towards Congress, who had not claimed victory since 2022.
At first, it was a tight game. In the second inning, the score was 2-1 for Team Congress. Then, Rep. Sharice Davids (D-Kan.) drove in two runs to bring the score 4-1.
By the end of the third inning, Team Congress had widened their lead to 5-1. The Bad News Babes struck back with two runs in the fourth inning. But Rep. Lisa McClain (R-Mich.) put a stop to their surge with spectacular defense and the game was cancelled before the media members could do any more damage.
This year, the game featured 24 congresswomen from both sides of the aisle and 14 different media outlets represented on the field.
'Playing against the members is a great experience because we're often talking to them about serious, heavy, complicated things,' said Jen Bendery, senior politics reporter for HuffPost.
'This is a nice way to hit pause for a moment and come out here and actually talk to each other like normal people.'
'This is the best day of the year for Capitol Hill,' said the Bad News Babes coach, Abby Livingston, reporter for Puck News. 'I always bet on the Bad News Babes.'
Speaking before the game, Rep. Maxime Dexter (D-Ore.) correctly predicted the outcome.
'I think we're going to win and we're going to win with style,' she said.
Team Congress had seven rookies this year and a new pitcher, Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Fla.), who won the team's MVP award for its 2025 outing. The media babes gave its award to Katie Lobosco, reporter for Tax Notes.
The Rookie of the Year award was presented to Rep. Julie Fedorchak (R-N.D.), while the most improved player went to Cicely Wedgeworth, editor at the New York Times.
Finally, the most spirit award was given to CNN's Briana Keilar, pitcher for the Bad News Babes and Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-Mich.).
Other members of Congress were there to support their colleagues, including Speaker Emeritus Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and minority leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.).
The Congressional Women's Softball Game began in 2009, when Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) announced her fight against breast cancer. Starting the second year, the lawmakers asked members of the D.C. press corps to take them on, starting a tradition 17 years and counting.
'I feel like we all had really good energy out there. This is a time in history where I'll take all the good vibes I can get and getting good vibes while we're raising money for a good cause and winning, can't beat it!' said Davis, the Kansas Democrat.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Times
20 minutes ago
- New York Times
Health Cuts Would Result in Fewer Drugs for Americans, Budget Office Reports
Funding cuts to the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration could sharply reduce the number of new drugs available to Americans in the coming decades, according to an analysis released on Friday by the Congressional Budget Office. The Trump administration has proposed shrinking the budget of the N.I.H., the world's premier funder of medical research, by $18 billion, or nearly 40 percent. But even a 10 percent reduction would prevent roughly 30 additional drugs from coming to market in the next three decades, the budget office said. The budget office also assessed a hypothetical scenario in which staffing reductions at the F.D.A. would delay the review of new drugs by nine months. Such delays would prevent 23 additional drugs from becoming available in that time period, according to the analysis. About 3,500 F.D.A. workers, roughly 15 percent of the work force, have been laid off by the Trump administration or have left voluntarily in recent months. The cuts come at a time of rapid innovation in gene therapies and in targeting rare diseases, cancers and mental health disorders, said Rena Conti, who directs the Technology Policy and Research Institute at Boston University. 'Having these type of cuts will fundamentally set back progress in meeting the demand for these type of therapies,' she said. 'And that leaves patients without hope.' The budget office issued its assessment in response to a request from several members of Congress opposed to the cuts, including Senator Jeff Merkley, Democrat of Oregon. This group provided the office with the scenarios it ended up assessing, including the hypothetical nine-month delay to drug reviews. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
CBS News
20 minutes ago
- CBS News
Trump to sign landmark crypto bill, the GENIUS Act, at White House ceremony
Washington — President Trump is set to sign a landmark bill to regulate cryptocurrency on Friday, one day after the bill passed the House despite some opposition from conservatives. The legislation, called the GENIUS Act, will be the first major law governing digital currency, establishing a regulatory framework for the $250 billion stablecoin market. Stablecoins are viewed as a relatively safe type of cryptocurrency, since their value is pegged to other assets, like the dollar. The bill passed the House on Thursday with the support of 206 Republicans and 102 Democrats. The fate of the GENIUS Act was in question earlier this week when a dozen conservatives stymied a procedural vote. A compromise was ultimately reached, and the holdouts allowed the legislation to proceed. Lawmakers also approved two other cryptocurrency bills, capping what they dubbed "Crypto Week" in Congress. The Clarity Act would regulate digital commodities beyond stablecoins, and the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act prevents the Federal Reserve from issuing any retail central bank digital currency directly to Americans. Mr. Trump is scheduled to sign the GENIUS Act in a ceremony at the White House at 2:30 p.m. ET. The GENIUS Act wasn't the only bill that had House Republicans wringing their hands this week. The chamber also approved a request from the president to claw back about $9 billion in funding for foreign aid and public broadcasting in a late-night vote, signing off on changes the Senate made to the bill, known as a rescissions package, earlier this week. Passage of the funding cuts was held up this week over Democratic efforts to force the release of files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Ultimately, the package passed the House along party lines, with two Republicans joining Democrats to vote against it. The bill claws back about $8 billion for foreign assistance efforts, including by the the U.S. Agency for International Development, and about $1 billion for public radio and television stations. The president is expected to sign it soon. "REPUBLICANS HAVE TRIED DOING THIS FOR 40 YEARS, AND FAILED….BUT NO MORE," Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social, referring to cutting funding to the corporation that oversees federal funds for NPR and PBS. "THIS IS BIG!!!" Friday's signing ceremony for the GENIUS Act takes place against the backdrop of increased focus on the Epstein case. On Thursday evening, Mr. Trump ordered Attorney General Pam Bondi to seek the release of grand jury material related to Epstein, a convicted sex offender who died in federal custody in 2019. Mr. Trump has faced increasing pressure to disclose more information about the case after the Justice Department said no further documents would be released following a review of the evidence. "Based on the ridiculous amount of publicity given to Jeffrey Epstein, I have asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to produce any and all pertinent Grand Jury testimony, subject to Court approval," the president wrote on Truth Social. "This SCAM, perpetuated by the Democrats, should end, right now!" Bondi said the Justice Department is "ready to move the court tomorrow to unseal the grand jury transcripts." A judge will make the final call on whether the material can be made public, and the process could take weeks or Cunningham and Caitlin Yilek contributed to this report.
Yahoo
34 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump Celebrates Congress Pulling $1.1 Billion in Funding From ‘Atrocious' NPR and PBS: ‘This Is Big!'
President Donald Trump took a victory lap after Congress formally passed his measure to claw back $9 billion in previously approved funding, including $1.1 billion for PBS and NPR — which public media execs have said could force dozens of local stations to shut down. Early Friday, the House gave final approval to Trump's rescission package by a 216-to-213 vote, after the Senate a day earlier had OK'd the measure in a 51-to-48 vote. The bill cancels about $8 billion in foreign aid and $1.1 billion for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (which provides funding to NPR and PBS) over the next two years. It now awaits Trump's signature to go into effect. More from Variety Trump Threatened Legal Action to Block Publication of Embarrassing WSJ Jeffrey Epstein Story Nick Offerman Goes Full 'Parks and Recreation' and Scolds Trump for Cutting $267 Million From National Parks Budget: 'That's Called S--ting the Bed' Senate Votes to Strip $1.1 Billion From Public Broadcasting in Blow to PBS and NPR Trump proudly noted that his effort to eliminate federal funding from PBS and NPR comes after decades of attempts by conservative lawmakers to do the same. The White House has alleged that public media outlets have 'spread radical, woke propaganda disguised as 'news'' and that 'NPR and PBS have zero tolerance for non-leftist viewpoints.' 'HOUSE APPROVES NINE BILLION DOLLAR CUTS PACKAGE, INCLUDING ATROCIOUS NPR AND PUBLIC BROADCASTING, WHERE BILLIONS OF DOLLARS A YEAR WERE WASTED,' Trump posted on his Truth Social platform late Thursday night. 'REPUBLICANS HAVE TRIED DOING THIS FOR 40 YEARS, AND FAILED….BUT NO MORE. THIS IS BIG!!!' The rescission package slashes $535 million annually for the CPB for a two-year period starting in October. PBS CEO Paula Kerger said in a statement Thursday that the cuts 'will significantly impact all of our stations, but will be especially devastating to smaller stations and those serving large rural areas.' She added, 'Many of our stations which provide access to free unique local programming and emergency alerts will now be forced to make hard decisions in the weeks and months ahead.' NPR CEO Katherine Maher, in a statement after the final House vote, called the defunding 'an unwarranted dismantling of beloved local civic institutions, and an act of Congress that disregards the public will.' Maher said, 'Parents and children, senior citizens and students, tribal and rural communities — all will bear the harm of this vote.' PBS and its member stations receive about 15% of their revenue from CPB's federal funds. For the fiscal year ended June 30, 2024, PBS reported $721 million in total revenue, investment gains and other support. According to NPR, about 2% of its annual operating budget comes in the form of grants from CPB and federal agencies and departments. For its fiscal year ended Sept. 30, 2024, NPR reported $336.6 million in revenue, gains and other support. However, smaller local NPR and PBS stations rely far more on federal funding for their operating budgets. An internal NPR report from 2011 estimated that up to 18% of its approximately 1,000 member stations would be forced to shut down if they lost federal funding and that up to 30% Americans would lose access to NPR programming, according to the New York Times. Republicans criticized PBS and NPR for a perceived left-wing and 'woke' bias. 'American taxpayers should not be forced to subsidize programming that glorifies radical gender ideology in schools or pushes to defund the police,' Sen. Eric Schmitt, a Republican from Missouri, said Wednesday. Prior to the Senate vote approving the package, Sen. Ruben Gallego, a Democrat from Arizona, said the funding cuts would devastate rural stations in his state and threaten children's programming like 'Sesame Street' and 'Daniel Tiger' that would not be viable on commercial television. 'For many families, public television is one of their only early childhood education tools,' the senator said. CPB was established by Congress via the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967. The private, not-for-profit corporation's mission is 'to ensure universal access to non-commercial, high-quality content and telecommunications services,' according to its website. Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week 'Harry Potter' TV Show Cast Guide: Who's Who in Hogwarts? Final Emmy Predictions: Talk Series and Scripted Variety - New Blood Looks to Tackle Late Night Staples Solve the daily Crossword
