How lawmakers are spending spring break

Congress is off and running on one of its most highly anticipated intervals of the year: Spring Break. 

The traditional April recess starts this weekend and coincides with Passover, Good Friday and Easter. 

{mosads}It’s a two-week period that gives lawmakers a chance to reconnect with family and constituents before a typically heavier workload hits in the early summer. 

While beloved by congressional members and staff, the spring recess is evidence to critics that Congress is not getting much done. 

Approval of the House and Senate is at 13 percent, a two-point decline since March and only four points above its all-time low, according to Gallup. 

But that hasn’t stopped lawmakers from celebrating the lighter side of their just-begun sabbatical from Washington.  

From a “Bunny Bonanza” in Chicago (with Democratic Rep. Mike Quigley) to a “Rattlesnake Rodeo” in rural Alabama (touted by GOP Rep. Martha Roby), lawmakers kicked off their recess with a spate of fair-weather events. 

It is fun, games and a little work for most members. But there’s at least one lawmaker who will be sweating it out until Congress returns on April 28. 

Freshman Rep. Vance McAllister (R-La.), known for his connection to the “Duck Dynasty” family, is under fire for his romantic involvement with a female staff member. 

A surveillance video posted online last week showed McAllister and his staffer kissing inside his district office. Both are married to other people. 

Since then, the conservative Republican has been “hunkered down” in his hometown, where he is “focused on making amends with his family,” the local News-Star reported. 

The controversy is notable because of McAllister’s brief congressional tenure — he’s only been in office four months — and the fact that his is perhaps the first political sex scandal caught on video. 

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) has called McAllister an “embarrassment” and urged him to resign from Congress. 

And in a foreboding comment this week, Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said the freshman has “decisions he has to make” about the future. 

For most other lawmakers, the start to spring recess has been much more relaxed, at least according to Twitter.  

Several baseball fans have welcomed the nice weather. 

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) expressed excitement for the Diamondbacks-Dodgers weekend series, and Reps. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) and Joe Crowley (D-N.Y.) both live-tweeted from Little League games on Saturday. 

In Miami, Rep. Ilena Ros Lehtinen (R-Fla.) let Twitter users in on a favorite snack: Cuban hamburgers. 

“Enjoying el sabor de #Miami: #fritas!” the congresswoman tweeted Friday afternoon. “I hear they’re bad for me but everyone here said “[what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger]!” 

Other lawmakers were still conducting business as of Saturday. 

House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) is currently leading a congressional delegation to Colombia, where the group will meet with U.S. and Colombian special forces, according to Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.). 

And in New Hampshire, Republican lawmakers flocked to the conservative Freedom Summit, which plays host to conservative presidential hopefuls.

The gathering included Sens. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) along with Reps. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.). 

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who is seen as a likely 2016 presidential candidate, was scheduled to speak. 

At the same time across town, a liberal lawmaker was laying the groundwork for a potential White House bid. That was Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who addressed the New Hampshire Institute of Politics.

—This post has been updated to reflect that Rep. Quigley is a Democrat, not a Republican.