Character

Simmel

critical confrontational partisan guarded

Congressman Simmel serves as a Democratic House member who prioritizes party-line discipline during White House negotiations. In the Roosevelt Room, he confronts Josh Lyman alongside Congressman Segal, challenging collaboration with vulnerable Republican Tom Landis on Chesapeake Bay cleanup. Simmel warns that bolstering Landis's re-election endangers Democratic seats, embodying caucus pushback against bipartisanship that risks midterm losses. His interventions underscore tensions between legislative compromise and electoral strategy amid unfolding crises.

5 appearances

Simmel's Journey

A timeline through the narrative

5 moments

S4E19 · Angel Maintenance

Runway Light, Political Pressure

Suspicious and slightly indignant; focused on partisan strategy rather than logistical inconvenience.

Challenges Josh directly about helping a vulnerable Republican, framing the Bay bill as a potential electoral gift and pressing the political stakes during the interruption.

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S4E19 · Angel Maintenance

Bipartisan Victory Meets Backlash — Landing Alert Interrupts the Fight

Frustrated and accusatory; believes party discipline should trump policy therapy.

Joins Segal in confronting Josh, explicitly accuses him of handing a vulnerable Republican a victory and frames the action as political malpractice given the electoral context.

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S4E19 · Angel Maintenance

Kuhndu Friendly‑Fire: Human Cost Collides with Political Damage Control

Guarded and accusatory — emphasizing electoral calculus over immediate logistics.

Simmel challenges Josh over helping Landis, voicing fears that handing a Republican a victory undermines Democratic goals; his objections provide the political pressure backdrop that the Kuhndu deaths rupture.

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S4E19 · Angel Maintenance

Staged Cover for a Covert Air Force One Landing

Frustrated and skeptical about compromises; not present but politically active in the background.

Simmel is referenced in conversation as one of the Hill Democrats Josh spoke with; his earlier resistance forms part of the political background against which Leo requests a legislative concession.

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S4E19 · Angel Maintenance

Leo Demands Levy — and a Cover Story

Angry/frustrated (reported): annoyed at perceived concessions to Republicans and worried about party consequences.

Simmel is referenced by Josh and Leo as a disgruntled Hill Democrat who has already been in talks about Chesapeake, his opposition framing the urgency of concessions.

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Affiliation

Hill Democrats