Rep. Gabrielle Giffords has left her Tucson hospital this afternoon. She's now headed to a rehab institute in Houston.

Freshman Republican Rep. Michael Grimm, who represents all of Staten Island and parts of Brooklyn, has hired a former NYPD detective to serve as a bodyguard for himself and his staff. Hey, other New York-area congressional staffers: Are you jealous?

After a typically insane floor debate, for which Rep. Anthony Weiner made drinking game suggestions, the House voted to repeal Democrats' health care reform law, 245-189. The "Repealing the Job-Killing Health Care Law Act" will now die in the Senate.

Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords is recovering quickly from her shooting, but is it quickly enough? Because "a little-known statutory provision in Arizona state law" — the scariest words imaginable — could force a special election for her seat within months.

The Republicans' bill to repeal the new health care law is literally called the "Repealing the Job-Killing Health Care Law Act." But Speaker John Boehner is hesitant to use "job-killing" after Tucson. He's considering other slightly less violent terms now.

Congressional security sent a memo to all House members today outlining a three-step response guide for encounters with gunmen: "run, hide, and if all else fails, attack," as Politico summarizes. Why does the fun response have to be last?

Where was Speaker John Boehner last night? He wasn't at the president's memorial service in Tucson. And breathless reports are claiming he wanted to hobnob at an RNC cocktail party instead. That monster! But maybe there's more to it.

A 32-year-old man from Palm Springs, Calif., has been charged with making death threats against Washington state Democratic Congressman Jim McDermott over the tax cuts deal passed last month.

We should thank delightful Rep. Louie Gohmert, in a way, for bringing this post-Tucson spree of hastily conceived legislative proposals to its natural conclusion: He's drafting a bill that allows members of Congress to carry guns on the House floor.

New York Rep. Peter King is considering introducing the latest piece of hasty gun legislation after Saturday's shooting spree: Making it illegal to carry a gun within 1,000 feet of government officials. Everyone else can fend for themselves.

Dr. Peter Rhee, the surgeon treating Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, says he's "100 percent" certain now that she'll survive and "very optimistic" that it won't be in any sort of vegetative state. Peter Rhee: Best surgeon ever, or just top ten?

It's been two days since Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and more than a dozen others were shot in Arizona by Jared Lee Loughner. Here's a round-up of some of the news that's come out on the first workday since the incident.

[Members of Congress, their staffs and others gather on the steps outside the House of Representatives during this morning's national moment of silence for the Tucson shooting spree victims. Photo via Getty.]

Here is what Washington D.C. will look like all the time once the Facebook generation gets there. A four-year-old photo has emerged showing Republican Congresswoman Mary Bono Mack in a sexy pose with a female campaign donor licking her breast.

Which of these congressional freshmen is your favorite in terms of looks, which as we all know is the only characteristic by which to judge a person? Your chance to weigh in is below.

There are so many new members of Congress this year — and some of them are even attractive, by Washington standards! We've studied them all and plucked only the "sexiest." And your Gawker editors have scored them, to boot.

Two Republican Congressmen, Pete Sessions of Texas and Mike Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, missed the House swearing-in ceremony today because they were at a party. But they decided to cast some votes anyway, even though that's against the Constitution.

Someone in the House gallery during today's Ritual Reading of the Constitution shouted "Except Obama!" and "Help us Jesus!" when they got to the presidential eligibility requirements. Michele Bachmann was briefly worried that the world could hear her thoughts.

On tonight's Daily Show, Jon Stewart opened with a segment about the 108th Congress. Specifically, Stewart lambasted curmudgeonly bigot John McCain for his increasingly angry, insane rhetoric. Then, Stewart fought with a puppet version of McCain. The entertaining bit, inside.

House Republicans have declared victory in the historic battle for Electronic Freedom! They've changed the rules to allow members to use electronic devices in the House chamber — as long as it doesn't "impair decorum," which it probably will.