Politics

New Congress_Live.jpg

**FILE** Rep. Steve Stockman (second from right), Texas Republican, participates in a mock swearing-in ceremony with Speaker of the House Rep. John Boehner, Ohio Republican, for the 113th Congress in Washington on Jan. 3, 2013. (Associated Press)

Obama_Live.jpg

President Obama speaks in the East Room of the White House in Washington on Jan. 14, 2013. (Associated Press)

Obama_Lea(1).jpg

President Obama gestures as he answers questions from members of the media during a news conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington on Monday, Jan. 14, 2013. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Obama_Lea.jpg

President Obama speaks about the debt limit in the East Room of the White House in Washington on Monday, Jan. 14, 2013. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Obit Swartz_Lea.jpg

** FILE ** Internet activist Aaron Swartz poses for a photo in Miami Beach, Fla., in 2009. He was found dead on Friday, Jan. 11, in his apartment in the Brooklyn borough of New York. On Saturday, Jan. 26, the hacker group Anonymous attacked a Justice Department website, claiming that an unjustified investigation by the federal government prompted him to commit suicide. (AP Photo/The New York Times, Michael Francis McElroy)

B1-gottlieb-AH.jpg

Illustration Second Amendment by Alexander Hunter for The Washington Times

20130113-231818-pic-895684706.jpg

Confirmation hearings await former Sen. Chuck Hagel, President Obama’s nominee to head the Defense Department. Hawks in both parties suggest Mr. Hagel would be soft in prosecuting the terrorism fight and question his commitment to Israel. (Associated Press)

20130113-231818-pic-373320072.jpg

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell (AP Photo/Eric Reichbaum) ** FILE **

20130113-231410-pic-924288286.jpg

Sen. Ted Cruz, 42, a freshman Republican from Texas and darling of the tea party, has a skyrocketing political profile that fuels speculation that he already is setting his sights higher — possibly including a run for president in 2016. (Associated Press)