Eddie Bernice Johnson And The Mystery Of The White Robes

Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.) got the memo. So, apparently, did Reps. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas), Corrine Brown (D-Fla.), Gwen Moore (D-Wis.), Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), Julia Carson (D-Ind.), Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-Ohio) and Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.). All were wearing snowy white on Wednesday at the request of Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas). But no one knew why. It was the mystery of white robes.

Carson's office was stumped as to why the boss wore white, so was Tubbs Jones' office. Lee's office was similarly out-of-the-know. Christensen's representative guessed that it might have something to do with National HIV Testing Day, which occurred on Wednesday, but didn't know for sure. A staffer for the Congressional Black Caucus, of which all the women are members, called it an "excellent question," but had no answer. Del. Donna Christensen (D-V.I.) was also wearing white, though merely "by coincidence," her spokeswoman said. Most offices knew only that Johnson had organized the sartorial synchrony.

Staffers at Johnson's office could offer no insight, noting that the boss had not answered an email about it. The Crypt even tried to nab Johnson (right) off the House floor Thursday, but no luck.

And it wasn't just the staffers who were clueless. Clarke, caught outside the Longworth building stealing a smoke, said she too had no idea why Johnson had made the request via a memo to other lawmakers earlier in the week.

"There was no detailed description of the mission," Clarke said. "I just follow instructions. I'm just a freshman."

She said the women had received many compliments on their matching outfits. "It looked really nice. We should do it more frequently."