Fox News announced Thursday that California-based reporter Bill Melugin has been “promoted” to congressional correspondent. He might as well have stayed in Los Angeles covering the Kardashians, for all the reality show-level drama and hijinks on display last week on Capitol Hill. From boozing to busts, from calls for rebellion to cavorting with convicted pedophiles, members of Congress turned the greatest legislative body in the world into a pre-Thanksgiving feast of family dysfunction.Before we dig into the details, I offer a caveat: There are 535 members of Congress between the House and the Senate. A vast majority toil mightily in the service of their constituents and nation. Their workday is never-ending. A couple years ago, I broke bread with a freshman member of Congress who said in his eight months in Washington he had never left Capitol Hill. A veteran, high-ranking congressman came into a meeting so exhausted it took praying over him to resuscitate him. We were told another congressman had exactly seven minutes to hang out with us, and sure enough he was in and out with the efficiency of a cat burglar. Over and over, we saw reminders that members of Congress are people, regardless of party.But golly! Where do we start? How about with the Democrats? Del. Stacey Plaskett: Texting Buddy of Jeffrey Epstein We learned that Del. Stacey Plaskett, delegate from the Virgin Islands, was texting back and forth with convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein during a 2019 anti-Trump hearing. Epstein was coaching her on what to ask President Donald Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, complimenting her for a “good job,” even discussing her habit of chewing on her cheek. Plaskett tried to pass off the revelation as merely accepting a call from a “constituent.” Sure … and Bonnie and Clyde were just out for Sunday drives. As The Daily Signal’s Oliva Pero reported, Plaskett and Epstein have a history going back to the Virgin Islands. She was general counsel for the government agency that gave Epstein’s companies hundreds of millions of dollars in tax breaks. She got the maximum donations from Epstein in her three campaigns before Epstein died. She went personally to his Manhattan home to hit him up for donations. I wonder how Plaskett liked the brush strokes on Epstein’s painting of Bill Clinton wearing Monica Lewinsky’s dress? Oh, and she was personally named in a lawsuit filed by six Epstein victims accusing Virgin Island government officials of helping facilitate Epstein’s activities. At least to Plaskett, money talks louder than Epstein’s victims. Rep. Jasmine Crockett: Confusing Jeffrey Epsteins Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, demonstrated again why she is more reality show dumpster fire than serious legislator. Crockett loudly shredded Environmental Protection Agency head Lee Zeldin for having taken donations from Epstein. One problem: Zeldin quickly pointed out that the donation came from an entirely different Jeffrey Epstein. Amazingly, when called out by CNN (of all outlets) for this, Crockett declared, “I never said it was that Jeffrey Epstein.” You have to applaud the shamelessness. It’s not just false accusations Crockett has to worry about. The Daily Signal’s Fred Lucas reports the Texas congresswoman is facing investigation for “inconsistent financial disclosure statements regarding investments.” Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick: Illegally Cashing in on COVID-19? Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, D-Fla., was charged last week with 15 federal counts of swiping $5 million in COVID-19 money and using it for her congressional campaign and personal benefit. Her family owns a health care company. According to the Justice Department, the Federal Emergency Management Agency overpaid the company millions in disaster relief funds through a COVID-19 vaccination staffing contract, and Cherfilus-McCormick and co-conspirators simply pocketed the cash. Not for long. Within two months, Cherfilus-McCormick had herself a $100,000 3-carat diamond ring and soon a seat in Congress. She denies any wrongdoing. If convicted, the congresswoman faces 53 years in prison. And to think she could have made her millions in politics the old-fashioned way: insider stock trading. Eh, Rep. Nancy Pelosi? The Capitol Hill Six: Calling for Mutiny A half-dozen Democrat House members and senators conspired to urge the military and intelligence community to defy orders from Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. We want to speak directly to members of the Military and the Intelligence Community.The American people need you to stand up for our laws and our Constitution.Don’t give up the ship. pic.twitter.com/N8lW0EpQ7r— Sen. Elissa Slotkin (@SenatorSlotkin) November 18, 2025 “Don’t Give Up the Ship?” Closer to “Take Over the Ship.” Oh, they say “illegal orders,” but as The Daily Signal’s Elizabeth Troutman Mitchell reported Monday, Sen. Elissa Slotkin admits she is “not aware” of a single illegal order given by the president. The Heritage Foundation’s Cully Stimson also detailed how one of the conspirators, Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., was asked four times by Fox News’ Martha MacCallum what illegal orders Trump has given, and he hemmed and hawed like a randy teenage boy being asked his intentions by his date’s father. Stimson, himself a 30-year judge advocate general, laid out not only the danger of this reckless call for the military to defy orders, but the absurdity. He’s right. Think about it: Six members of Congress, all military and intelligent vets, openly call for the military to rebel against its civilian command. But to Democrats, flag-waving grannies and a dude in a Viking costume constitutes an “insurrection.” Crazy Isn’t Always Partisan Yes, it was a crazy week for Democrats on Capitol Hill. But Republicans have nothing to boast about. They had their own week of hijinks and high drama. We’ll get to that in part two. We publish a variety of perspectives. Nothing written here is to be construed as representing the views of The Daily Signal. The post Congress’ Week of Crazy, Part One: A Legislative Body or a Dysfunctional Family Drama? appeared first on The Daily Signal.