During the holidays, many constituents get U.S. Capitol Gift Shop trinkets from their members of Congress, but that’s not how representative Ralph Hall rolls. The nonagenarian — at 90, he’s the oldest rep to ever set foot in the chamber — mailed the people in Texas’s 4th District $33,000 worth of ham and chocolate in 2012 and 2013. According to FEC filings, the campaign dropped $19K at Godiva and another $14K on ham. And we aren’t talking Niman Ranch — it was HoneyBaked, where that buys you 1,000 pounds of bone-in pig. “That’s how Ralph Hall works,” an adviser explained, adding, “They’re Christmas gifts. They’re birthday gifts.” Or election season gifts sent to his tea-party challenger, who apparently received a seven-pound HoneyBaked specimen after he announced his candidacy. How sweet. [BuzzFeed]
