Rep. Kat Cammack, 36, is promising Congress will hand the female press corps another defeat at Wednesday’s charity softball showdown.
The Florida Republican fired off a warning on the eve of the annual Congressional Softball Game, a bipartisan fixture that pits women lawmakers against Washington’s “Bad News Babes” media squad. “The press will probably report it as ‘mostly peaceful,’ but make no mistake. … It’s going to be an ass-whooping. For charity, of course,” Cammack told The Post. “Very bipartisan of us,” she quipped.
Team Congress enters the contest buoyed by its 5-3 victory last year, though that win came with an asterisk: thunderstorms cut the game short, handing the lawmakers a weather-assisted crown. Wednesday’s forecast shows rain only in early morning hours, with clear skies expected for game time — no meteorological rescue for Congress this round.
The media side still holds the historical edge. Since the game’s 2009 launch, the Bad News Babes have collected 10 wins against five for Team Congress. Emily Goodin, The Post’s White House correspondent and captain of the press squad, dismissed last year’s loss as a fluke. “The press is looking forward to reclaiming its victory crown from the lawmakers after a sudden thunderstorm handed them an unexpected victory last year,” she said. “Beat cancer, beat Congress!”
Goodin, who has emerged as one of the game’s standout players, framed the event as rare common ground in a polarized capital. “The softball game is one of the few bipartisan activities left in the Washington,” she noted. “Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle team up to take on the press. And we all join in on the common cause of beating breast cancer.”
The contest mirrors the better-known Congressional Baseball Game, where Republican and Democratic coed teams face off annually for charity. But the all-women softball edition has carved out its own identity, raising approximately $5 million to date for the Young Survival Coalition, which supports breast-cancer survivors.
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, 70, the West Virginia Democrat who serves as a Team Congress captain, struck a similar note about the event’s dual purpose. “The Congressional Softball Game is an event I look forward to every year,” she told The Post. “As a team captain, it’s always a lot of fun to lead my team in some friendly competition with members of the press.”
Capito continued, “More importantly, this event gives us an opportunity to raise awareness about the importance of early detection and breast cancer prevention. I’m looking forward to tomorrow night’s game and am confident my colleagues from the Hill will be ready to bring home a win.”
The lawmakers could face a numbers challenge. House leadership scrapped the previously planned session this week, sending most representatives back to their districts to campaign for the midterms. The Senate remains in session, however, and many representatives on Team Congress are still expected to make the trip to defend their title.
The Congressional Softball Game began in 2009 as a women’s counterpart to the baseball tradition, creating a space for female lawmakers and journalists to compete while drawing attention to breast cancer causes. The rivalry has intensified over 15 editions, with the press corps dominating the early years before Congress began closing the gap.
Wednesday’s matchup is scheduled for evening in Washington.