While food is generally not allowed in the US Senate chamber, George Murphy, a California senator, started a unique tradition in the 1960s. Murphy began to fill one of the drawers in his desk with candy and sneak pieces of candy from the desk throughout the day. Each time a colleague would catch him with his candy, he would share in order to get them to keep quiet. Word spread of this unique situation, and people responded favorably to the idea of having a secret hiding place for sweet treats in one of the senator’s desks. Despite Murphy’s defeat in the 1970 elections, senators continued on with his innovation and continued to stock the desk drawer with candy. The tradition has lived on through the years, with senators including Paul Fannin from Arizona, Steve Symms from Idaho, and Rick Santorum from Pennsylvania having taken on the role of keeper of the candy.
Steve Symms brought new life to the tradition when he strayed from the hard candy that had always filled the desk, and began to include chocolates from Idaho in the rotation. The practice of keeping a candy drawer was revealed by Slade Gorton, a senator who had been assigned to the candy desk, in 1985. Though the candy desk has switched locations based on the senator chosen for the role, it has remained in the same spot since 1981, due to its proximity to the eastern entryway. Pat Toomey, a senator from Pennsylvania, is the current occupant of the candy desk. Like Santorum, he often fills the drawer with products from Pennsylvania-based candy companies, like Hershey’s and Just Born.