Secret Santas Reach Across Senate Aisles

It seems that a little bit of Christmas cheer is all that’s necessary to defuse the partisan bickering on Capitol Hill. Almost 60 senators from both sides of the aisle have signed up to be Secret Santas, The Washington Post’s Reliable Source blog reports.

“We chose Secret Santas,” Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., told the Post.

Leaders of the move to inject some Christmas spirit with the Senate’s first-ever secret gift exchange are Sens. Mike Johanns, R-Neb., and Al Franken, D-Minn. The rules are much like those found in any office in the country, a $10 limit on the gifts that will be exchanged at a party in December, the Post reported.

So far, 37 Democrats and 21 Republicans have signed up. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, quipped, “Tell Bill O’Reilly.” He was referring to the TV talker’s War on Christmas theme, the Post reported.