8

The last image in Business Insider's 12 Republicans voted against giving medals to Capitol police officers, 2 of whom died after the insurrection is that of US House of Representatives member John Rose (R-TN).

The way that the token is held up prominently in one hand and pointed to by the other combined with the facial expression which seems to project some kind of wide-eyed pleasant satisfaction suggests that this object has some function or at least some significance.

Does it?

It is perhaps a 3 to 3.5 cm diameter white circular token, and written around the edge it says HOUSE OFFICE BLDG. with the additional numeral 6 displayed large and prominently in the center.

enter image description here

Rep. John Rose (R-TN). Joshua Roberts/Reuters

Improve this question
2
  • 1
    Here's an NPR article from 2016 which sheds light on the office lottery. One fun note, "...in years past, folks have resorted to cartwheels and backflips and prayers for good luck."
    – BruceWayne
    Commented Mar 18, 2021 at 19:48
  • Is explanation regarding specific poses , gestures , facial expressions of political personalities in photos on topic on Politics SE? yes, some can be.
    – uhoh
    Commented Jun 26, 2021 at 7:39

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
7

That is a House Office lottery token indicating that among incoming representatives choosing an office, he had sixth choice, as described in the caption for the stock image. He looks satisfied because he will be able to choose one of his most preferred offices, rather than being stuck with the more limited selection for those at the end of the lottery queue.

Improve this answer
8
  • 1
    Now I wonder why there would be different quality offices, instead of them all being the same design. Is location an issue (e.g. being closer to the Speaker's office)?
    – Barmar
    Commented Mar 18, 2021 at 9:45
  • 4
    @Barmar, that sounds like a separate question. "one of the better offices" was poor choice of words on my part, since there's probably a lot of subjectivity based on an individual's preferences. Rather, he would have one of the widest choices among available offices instead of whatever was left after all other representatives had selected an office.
    – user4556274
    Commented Mar 18, 2021 at 10:21
  • 3
    @barmar some reasons are discussed in this article.
    – CGCampbell
    Commented Mar 18, 2021 at 13:12
  • 3
    @Barmar even if they were identical inside, some could be a lot further from desirable facilities or otherwise less convenient
    – Chris H
    Commented Mar 18, 2021 at 16:05
  • 1
    @ChrisH Indeed, that's what the article linked to says. I didn't realize that these offices were scattered throughout the neighborhood, I thought they were just rooms in the capital building. But on reflection that was obviously silly, it's not big enough for over 500 Congressmen and all their staff.
    – Barmar
    Commented Mar 18, 2021 at 16:16

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .