Christina Bellantoni

1 week ago | rollcall.com | Christina Bellantoni

When Roll Call’s debut edition came off the printing press in 1955, Rep. Harold Rogers was just a teenager. Now the dean of the House, the Kentucky Republican has seen plenty of change since arriving in 1981. Or, maybe not. Twenty-three terms. Presidents come and they go. Legislation becomes law. In fact, President Donald Trump is on track to sign an anti-drug-trafficking measure Rogers co-sponsored to permanently reclassify fentanyl to get the highest criminal penalty.

1 month ago | rollcall.com | Jason Dick |Christina Bellantoni |Neda Semnani

Former Roll Callers Christina Bellantoni and Neda Semnani have been leading their students on a tour of Washington during a time when Congress has been debating significant changes to tax and entitlement laws, such as at the House Rules Committee, shown here last week. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)

1 month ago | rollcall.com | Christina Bellantoni

It’s been nearly a decade since I left Washington for Los Angeles, and yet, as I prepared to arrive in the nation’s capital this week, it felt a bit like I was coming home. Perhaps I feel so connected to D.C. because, for awhile there, it was the city I’d lived in most of my adult life. Or more to the point, where I forged my professional path. That’s why I still push my USC Annenberg students to consider starting out here — a place with so many possibilities.

2 months ago | rollcall.com | Christina Bellantoni

LOS ANGELES — Sen. Bernie Sanders came and went, with two California visits inspiring “Bernie-chella” headlines. He, his populist heiress — Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — and organizers of their “Fighting Oligarchy” event in downtown Los Angeles boasted that at 36,000, it was the largest rally he’d ever held. The real test of political might, however, is coming this week in places like Palm Desert and Anaheim.

2 months ago | rollcall.com | Christina Bellantoni

California leaders might be on pace to match the number of times the state sued the first Trump administration. But it sure doesn’t feel like it out here. Instead, the state that once was a clear foil to President Donald Trump has mounted a muted defense and cautious offense. Eight years is a long time, and politicians here and in the congressional delegation say there are plenty of reasons California can’t be the loud opposition this time around.