Red, White, And Royal TWO

Chapter 20

Alex arrives at the DOE complex right as the C-SPAN channel starts. He's ushered upstairs via the elevator and brought to the second floor. He's guided to an empty, stuffy conference room with a table of doughnuts and a coffee machine. There's a homemade banner on the wall adjacent to the TV, and it says, "PASS THE BILL!" There is a lot of glitter and paint.

"My niece made that for me last night," Alex turns his attention to Karla, who comes strolling into the room, with only her two assistants and one teenage intern. "She and her mom came over last night and we made dinner."

"I didn't know you had a sister." Alex responds.

"Yeah." she responds curtly.

Alex peers at his watch. It's 9:59 AM. He dashes around the room to find the remote and bashes the on button. Thankfully, C-SPAN flicks on and the conference committee hearing is in full swing. Congressman Yankert is spearheading the bill, so he's speaking about the contents and how they'll address the issues we need to confront and blah blah blah.

"Eeeeek!" Karla squeals in excitement, and Alex giggles at her. She grins back.

After about an hour and a half, the experts and educators who helped co-write the bill and support it have finished their speeches advocating for it, and the committee members are reviewing notes. Yankert and the speakers have been dismissed for a break, so Karla's team and Alex do the same.

"So, are you excited?" Karla asks.

"Nervous, but yes, excited." Alex responds.

"Why?"

"Well, I just want the moderates to make as few amendments to the bill needed to keep them from being radicals."

"Fuckin' moderates. Just strung out Republicans who support gun control, right?" Karla says jokingly.

"Jesus," Alex mumbles in response, muffled by a short laugh.

Before they know it, the break is over, and the committee hears opposing arguments. Unfortunately for Alex, Jeffrey Richards is a ranking member for the committee, AKA the Republican chair, so he directs the opposing speakers. As Alex expected, it's just boring old white men from PragerU and some Vice Principal from bumfuck Alabama who need to get laid instead of worrying about a 3% higher property tax rate.

About two hours later, the hearings are adjourned for the day, and everyone goes home. The Speaker of the House wanted a shorter day for committee hearings so they could focus on the upcoming State of the Union address. This was only the first of nine committee hearings before the committee vote. Nine. Jesus Christ I barely made it through one. Alex had forgotten to bring a portable charger, so his phone died after the break. All he had to do then was watch the opposing arguments. It took everything in him to not fall asleep right in that conference room. He's relieved when he hops in the limo and plugs his phone in, restarting with a comforting CNN headline on the lockscreen: BIG DAY FOR FSOTUS: DOE BILL GOING THROUGH COMMITTEES. Fuck yes. Henry also screenshotted the same headline and texted it to Alex an hour before. "good job babe" is all it says.