America's Birthday Cake: Behind the Scenes as Congress Collaborates
- Susannah Stevens
- Jul 3
- 3 min read
Updated: Jul 3
For three weeks now, I've been volunteering as the photographer for America's 250th Birthday Cake.". Celebrity cake artist Grace Pak (aka the Duchess of Cameron, as seen on “Is It Cake?” on Netflix) is creating a car-sized sculptural cake in partnership with America250. As a proud DC native, July 4th has always been a day I felt especially lucky to live here. I've been looking forward to our 250th birthday for a long time. Amid all the other disasters facing our country, I am irked that this big birthday has been tainted by partisan divisiveness. So, I jumped at the opportunity to help out with this joyfully creative birthday endeavor. I believe it's a valuable reminder of a kind of patriotism that everyone can agree on. I’ve been following Grace around Congress as she works with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to make decorations representing their states. Members from all 56 states and territories have participated! It has been a massive undertaking, and hugely fun. What's struck me most, photographing it, is the mix of humor and gravitas—these are people with enormous demands on their time, taking a few minutes between votes to lean over a worktable with a paintbrush. It's an unexpectedly human side of the Hill. Here are some favorite photos.
Memorable Personalities
Why not lead with one of our favorite neighbors of DC, MD Representative Jamie Raskin? Here he's applying edible bronze paint to a modeling chocolate crab, to represent Maryland.
VA Representative Jen Kiggans was delighted to have a cake artist come to visit...
...but perhaps not quite as delighted as Rep. Don Davis of NC! (the two had never met before)
Senator Chris Coons of Delaware had us all in stitches with his stream of jokes and stories. He delivered much of his running commentary in the persona of a French chef.
Commitment to Craft
Here Senator Hyde-Smith of MS is painting Grace's beautiful modeling chocolate catfish in edible bronze.
Rep. Tom Suozzi of NY took it upon himself to create a taxicab to go with the Empire State Building Grace brought.
Rep. Stephanie Bice of OK listens intently to Grace as they discuss the best way to write "Thunder Up!" on the OKC basketball plaque.
SD Rep Dusty Johnson is not messing around when painting his bison.
PA Rep Chrissy Houlahan wins the prize for commitment to her work. She pouted when the stem fell off her mushroom. She even began finger painting when the paintbrush wasn't doing the job to her liking.
Notable Offices
Senator Amy Klobuchar of MN's enourmous corner office won the prize for loveliest light, which I of course appreciated. The giant pastoral painting was lovely as well.
It's hard to beat the spacesuit in Senator Mark Kelly's office. Here Grace is explaining the size of the cake—ten feet long, four feet wide, and seven feet tall!
Fiona, Rep. Diana DeGette's faithful companion, was the sweetest and softest office feature.
The founding fathers are observing Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, a MAGA influencer, signing the commemorative A250 apron. One has to imagine what they would think.
Rep. Tom Suozzi of NY had MLK and the Pope gazing down on him as well.
The three runners up for most memorable office were:
Rep. Ryan Zinke of MT
Sen. Mazie Hirono of HI
Rep. Joe Wilson of SC
And the winner was the DC Mayor's Office!
This is the John A. Wilson Building, the seat of DC's government. The building was originally called the District Building and was completed in 1908, during Teddy Roosevelt's administration. The new addition is connected to the old building via a glass atrium. We didn't get to meet with Mayor Bowser, but her Senior Advisor, Lindsay Parker, helped make a DC flag.
Bipartisanship
Three pairs of reps held bipartisan decorating sessions:
Reps Bonnie Watson Coleman of NJ and Robert Aderholt of AL
Reps. Burgess Owens of UT and Emily Randall of WA.
Reps Jack Bergman of MI and Nikki Budzinski of IL, who sit on the Postal Caucus together. Stay tuned for the next installment of this story—the construction of this gigantic cake, and the reveal at the Library of Congress on July 4!
On a normal week, I'm usually photographing family milestones rather than members of Congress! But whether it's a family or an organization, the goal is the same: showing people who they really are. If you're an organization looking for that kind of storytelling, click here to see more of my work.
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