Hakeem Jeffries (Photo: Facebook)

Months into his first term, his short time in Washington D.C. has Congressman Hakeem Jeffries convinced the Tea Party is out of control.

"Every day I'm in Washington D.C., I'm focused on two things: battling the Tea Party and standing up for President Obama," Mr. Jeffries, a Democrat, said last night at a Brooklyn fundraiser for his successor, Assemblyman Walter Mosley. "The Tea Party folks, they're off the chain. From my perspective, the right thing to do for the country is to make sure we invest in our economy and we stand up for programs like Social Security and Medicare and Medicaid--and stand up for the most vulnerable people among us."

Mr. Jeffries added that he would take the fight to the whole "crew" of Republican leadership, drawing wild applause from his supporters at the Crown Heights restaurant.

"As opposed to what the other side wants to do, which is to basically balance the budget on the backs of children and seniors, working families and the middle class," he said. "And despite what John Boehner says, despite Paul Ryan, despite that whole crew, we're not going to let it happen."

Since replacing the retired Edolphus Towns, Mr. Jeffries has been appointed to the Budget Committee and Judiciary Committee. Republican Congressman Paul Ryan, one of the GOP's rising stars, chairs the Budget Committee and has aggressively pushed for spending cuts as a way to trigger economic growth.

Mr. Jeffries, needless to say, is no fan of that approach.

Pauly Shore and Michael Steele (Photos: Getty)

A woman who answered the phone at Ben's told us they weren't sure why the odd couple came to the restaurant together. They apparently ordered one of the restaurant's signature "Bill Cosby’s Original Chili Half-Smoke" with fries and a burger with fries.

"Looks like Michael Steele had the burger," the woman said.

The Ben's menu describes the chili half smoke as a "1/4 lb. half pork and beef smoked sausage on a warm steamed bun...with mustard, onions and our spicy homemade chili sauce." According to the Ben's website, it has been a "favorite of Mr. Cosby’s since the early 60’s."

Mr. Shore is perhaps best known for playing the character "Stoney Brown" alongside Brendan Fraser in the 1992 caveman comedy "Encino Man." He is also known for coining several memorable catchphrases including "owwww!" and "Bud-dy." Mr. Steele is perhaps best known for his catchphrase, "Urban-Suburban Hip-Hop Settings."

A reporter braved sudden gusts of wind as Marine One arrived at the White House. (Photo: Jennifer Bendery)

Reporting from the White House press pool doesn't generally come with the dangers of covering breaking news or foreign affairs, but a group of journalists in the presidential press posse found themselves facing fluke gusts of hurricane-force winds as Marine One landed on the South Lawn of the White House this morning.

"It was a quiet, gentle rain falling on the group of us on the South Lawn--until Marine One arrived," Huffington Post reporter Jennifer Bendery told The Politicker. "People initially just huddled closer together as the wind picked up, but then, as the chopper touched down, the breeze turned into gales and everyone was just blown apart. Most people's umbrellas were instantly flipped inside out and some appeared
broken."

The harrowing ordeal elicited several different reactions from the assembled journalists.

"One reporter was laughing maniacally while getting drenched (ok that was me), mostly amazed by the boldness of Bloomberg reporter Kate Andersen, who remained firm in her position by the helicopter as the wind whipped up her hair, her umbrella and her overcoat," said Ms. Bendery. "At one point, she was reduced to being just a jacket sandwiched between one battered umbrella blowing in the air and another smashed umbrella underneath her heels."

Apparently, despite the drenching and the destroyed umbrellas, the break in the daily drudgery was welcomed by many of the reporters.

"Several reporters joked afterward (but were serious too) that this wet mess would be the best part of the day," Ms. Bendery said. "One even commented, 'This is the most fun I've had here in three years.'"

Mayor Bloomberg (Photo: Getty)

At a press conference today, Mayor Michael Bloomberg fielded questions from reporters about his recent private White House lunch with President Barack Obama. Mayor Bloomberg wouldn't divulge much about the meal or whether he's planning to endorse anyone in this year's presidential race, but he dismissed speculation he could take a Cabinet position once he leaves City Hall. Initially, Mayor Bloomberg attempted to dodge the question by handling it the same way as his infamous smooch with Lady Gaga.

"Would the answer that, 'What did I talk to Lady Gaga? I never kiss and tell' work?" Mayor Bloomberg asked, adding, "I did not kiss President Obama."

Of course the reporters in the room were not satisfied with Mayor Bloomberg's attempt not to "kiss and tell" about his lunch with the president and they forced him to elaborate.

"He was very interested in what's going on in New York City and what we need from the federal government to continue to grow and then we, you know, little bit of conversation about golf," Mayor Bloomberg said of his meal with the commander in chief. "It was a very pleasant lunch."

The New York Times reported President Obama used the meal as an opportunity to ask Mayor Bloomberg what he plans on doing in 2013 when his third term in City Hall ends. Mayor Bloomberg said he didn't get the sense the president was interested in having him take a role in the Obama administration when his mayoral career ends.

"We never talked about anything remotely in that direction nor should we," Mayor Bloomberg said.

Even if the president was interested in having Mayor Bloomberg join his administration, the mayor said he's not interested in a White House gig.

"No. There's no reason why I should be or anybody would care," Mayor Bloomberg said. "I'm going to work as hard as I can for the next six hundred and whatever number of days, it is 89 days or whatever and, you know, I'll do everything I can. If the president wanted my advice, I'm sure he wouldn't have to pick up the phone. We have lots of contacts with the White House all the time. It's a big city."

Mayor Bloomberg and President Obama aren't thought to have a particularly good relationship. In 2010, Mayor Bloomberg golfed with the president and, according to Rupert Murdoch, the mayor subsequently told him President Obama was the most "arrogant" man he'd ever met. Mayor Bloomberg's girlfriend, Diana Taylor, also criticized the president in an interview with the Observer last September.

"For somebody’s who’s going to come in and be the great unifier—you know, that hopey-changey stuff—it hasn’t worked very well. The country is more divided now than it’s ever been. And he doesn’t appreciate other people and what they do," Ms. Taylor said.

President Obama gave a rather muted endorsement to Mayor Bloomberg's rival in the 2009 mayoral election, Bill Thompson. Mayor Bloomberg didn't make an endorsement in the 2008 presidential race after giving George W. Bush his backing in 2004, a year when he aggressively lobbied for New York to host the Republican National Convention. Mayor Bloomberg's economic bonafides as a billionaire businessman and the bipartisan street cred he brings to the table as an independent politician mean his potential endorsement could be quite valuable for President Obama in this year's campaign. The Politicker asked him if he intends to back any of the candidates in the coming presidential election.

"I don't even know who the candidates are going to be," Mayor Bloomberg said. "Neither party has had a convention yet, so who knows on either side of the aisle? We'll see."

Mayor Bloomberg was equally unwilling to discuss where in the White House he dined with the president and what was served.

"The security forces would not want me to divulge that I'm sure, nor what was served," he said. "But the food was fine incidentally."

The mayor's press conference was held to discuss New York's selection as the world's most competitive city in a research report by the Economist Intelligence Unit.

Oscar Ramiro Ortega (Photo: U.S. Park Police)

Officers with the United States Park Police are on the hunt for a mentally ill man with a White House obsession who may have taken a shot at the presidential abode Friday. Police have obtained an arrest warrant for a man named Oscar Ramiro Ortega based on evidence found in a car at the scene of the incident, which occurred Friday when someone got out of the car in front of the White House and fired several shots. No one was hurt in the shooting, but on Tuesday, Secret Service agents found a bullet that was stopped by ballistic glass exterior window of the White House.

The Park Police issued a press release about their search for Mr. Ortega that described him as a 21-year-old "White Hispanic male" with brown eyes, black hair and a medium build and multiple tattoos.

"His right hand has a tattoo of three dots, he has a tattoo stating “Ortega” on his upper back, a tattoo on his right chest of rosary beads and hands clasped in prayer, a tattoo of folded hands on left chest, and the words “Israel” tattooed on left side of neck," the press release said.

According to ABC News, Mr. Ortega a mentally ill man from Idaho with "an extensive record, ranging from domestic violence to drug charges" and "a fixation on the White House." Park Police are asking anyone with information about Ortega to contact them at (202) 610-7500 or the Criminal Investigations Branch Tip Line at (202) 610-8737.

Governor Cuomo names his new drug czar.

Carl Paladino lives!

The hotly contested Erie County executive race is going down to the wire. 

Occupy Wall Street is planning a 240 mile march from New York to Washington, D.C.

A protester who hung himself from the Tappan Zee Bridge for three hours Monday is out on bail after being charged with multiple misdemeanors.

Herman Cain's various scandals are starting to wear on his lead in the polls.

White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley is stepping back from some of his day-to-day duties.