The Congressman Who Had Sex on the Capitol Steps

In the annals of Congressional scandals, few are quite as brazenly memorable as what happened on the marble steps of the United States Capitol Building one night in 1980. Congressman John Jenrette of South Carolina and his wife Rita didn't just push the boundaries of propriety—they obliterated them entirely.

A Night to Remember (Or Forget)

The incident occurred during one of those marathon late-night Congressional sessions that keep lawmakers trapped in the Capitol well past midnight. During a break in the proceedings, John and Rita Jenrette slipped outside and, according to Rita's later accounts, consummated their passion right there on the Capitol steps.

Rita Jenrette revealed this eyebrow-raising detail during her infamous 1981 interview with Playboy magazine, where she appeared in a nude pictorial and spilled secrets about life as a Congressional spouse. The revelation became one of the most talked-about admissions in political history.

Already in Hot Water

The Capitol steps confession came at a particularly bad time for John Jenrette. He was already embroiled in the ABSCAM scandal—an FBI sting operation that caught several members of Congress accepting bribes from fake Arab sheiks. Jenrette was convicted in 1980 and sentenced to two years in prison.

Rita's tell-all interview dropped while her husband was fighting his conviction, adding a surreal layer of scandal to an already disgraced political career. The couple divorced shortly after.

Rita's Reinvention

Rather than fade into obscurity, Rita Jenrette leaned into her notoriety:

• Posed for Playboy and became a minor celebrity
• Wrote a memoir titled My Capitol Secrets
• Pursued an acting career in B-movies
• Eventually reinvented herself as a successful real estate broker in New York

She later expressed some regret about airing the Capitol steps story publicly, but by then it had become an indelible part of Washington folklore.

A Different Era

The Jenrette scandal feels almost quaint by today's standards of political controversy, yet it remains remarkable for its sheer audacity. The Capitol Building, symbol of American democracy, briefly became something rather different that night in 1980.

John Jenrette served his prison time and largely disappeared from public life. He passed away in 2019. Rita, now Rita Jenrette Thompson, has spoken occasionally about that wild period of her life, treating it as a chapter from another lifetime entirely.

The marble steps of the Capitol have witnessed inaugurations, protests, and historic moments of every kind. Thanks to the Jenrettes, they've also witnessed something considerably more intimate—a fact that tour guides probably leave out of the official history.