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The longest government shutdown in history finally ended on Wednesday night after nearly every member of the House of Representatives raced to Washington to cast their vote.

The threat of air travel delays — fueled in no small part by the fiscal standoff — as well as bad weather in parts of the country forced some lawmakers to find more unconventional routes to ensure they arrived on time.

First-term Rep. Addison McDowell, R-N.C., for example, found himself carpooling more than five hours alongside House Rules Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx, R-N.C. — a powerful GOP lawmaker more than 50 years his senior.

"It dawned on me that, for a while there, I was one of the most powerful people in America, because I had the Rules

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