A Prius With Armor

As House minority leader, Nancy Pelosi can appoint people to high-level commissions and direct millions of federal dollars to her district. But the lawmaker from San Francisco can't pick her own car. For security reasons, congressional leaders are required to ride in vans or sport-utility vehicles driven by Capitol Hill police. Pelosi, worried about environmental impact, is no longer content to ride in a gas-guzzling black Chevy Suburban. "I want a hybrid," she told TIME last week. A few Governors and mayors have already switched to hybrid cars for their official use. But so far, Pelosi says, security officials have yet...

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