Suzanne arrives in Washington, to the dismay of the press and her fellow Congressman. Suzanne is late into the office because she's trying to find a way to get her brother's ceramic spoon-rests sold in the House Gift Shop, the proceeds to go to his school. When she arrives, she finds Malone, Natty and Sissy awaiting jobs working for the newest member of Congress; though Sissy thinks she's either ""stupid, a lesbian... or maybe she killed a man."" Suzanne expresses her initial disinterest in the job and says that the ladies can have jobs if they want them. Then the unprepared Suzanne appears on the political show Crossfire, where John Sununu and Michael Kinsley begin to drill her about her political affiliation, gays in the military, etc. Then they accuse Suzanne of ""trying to make a profit from a federally funded enterprise,"" by selling her brother's spoon-rests.

After her botched appearance on Crossfire, Suzanne is ridiculed by the press, who say that it's hard to tell if the ""flamboyant, zoftig Miss Sugarbaker"" is ""playing Miss Kitty or Miss Ellie from The Beverly Hillbillies."" They also accuse Suzanne of selling her brother's spoon-rests in the White House for a profit, which they refer to as ""Knick-KnackGate."" Natty attacks Suzanne because she publicly ""diminished all women as sexual commodities, slandered homosexuals, insulted blacks, and bragged about being rich. . ."" Suzanne turns in her resignation, but her decision is altered after a heartfelt talk with her daughter and brother who also want to return home. So she goes and speaks on the House Floor, and points out that even though she's different, that's what being an American is all about, resulting in several references to Jimmy Stewart's movie ""Mr. Smith Goes to Washington"". After over-using her time, as she's drug from the podium, she looks out into the crowd and sees Jimmy Stewart

Malone takes an interest in art -- particularly sketching male nudes. Sissy and Natty stress out after Suzanne makes a fool out of herself at a press hearing. After canceling a dinner engagement, President Clinton invites Suzanne to spend an evening in the White House, where she'll be sleeping in President Lincoln's Bedroom. After arriving, she becomes overly excited and begins jumping up and down on the bed, breaking the slats. She fakes sickness so that no one will find out the bed is broken, while Malone rushes a sketch on a huge piece of wood (""We'll call it Nude Man on Wood"") to replace the broken piece of the bed. After saying it was a gift for the President, they sneak the board in and repair the bed--only to have it broken again by Suzanne's (also) overly-excited guest, Jamie Farr, who came to the White House in drag to promote the sale of his new book.