The Washington PostDemocracy Dies in Darkness

Nancy Pelosi, Hillary Clinton celebrate the life of former congresswoman Ellen Tauscher

May 20, 2019 at 4:00 p.m. EDT
From left: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.); Katherine Tauscher, Ellen Tauscher's daughter; and Hillary Clinton at Cafe Milano. (Daniel Swartz)

Hey, isn’t that . . . a roomful of VIPs at Georgetown’s Cafe Milano following the memorial service for congresswoman turned diplomat Ellen Tauscher at Washington National Cathedral on Monday?

No somber faces — those remembering the late California Democrat with smiles and laughter (and hugs for Tauscher’s daughter, Katherine) included House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.), former homeland security secretary Janet Napolitano, and Rep. Donna Shalala (D-Fla.).

Milano owner Franco Nuschese, who counted Tauscher as a dear pal, closed his Georgetown watering hole for the day to serve up pasta, seafood and salads for the bittersweet gathering. The reminiscing over rosé was in keeping with the service earlier, at which Feinstein celebrated her colleague, one of the first women to hold a seat on the New York Stock Exchange before serving in Congress for more than a decade and then at the State Department. “Anybody that’s worked with her . . . or drank a little California wine with her knows the special person that she is,” she said.