Character

James Hoebuck

blunt transactional assertive insistent

Senator James Hoebuck negotiates his vote on a key bill by publicly challenging President Bartlet's rhetoric on national security at the ropeline and privately pressing Toby Ziegler for a meeting in his office within one hour. He offers a 'yea' vote but rejects an earlier half-hour slot, walking away to dictate terms. Blunt and demanding, Hoebuck turns handshakes into high-stakes bargains, prioritizing his timetable over administration urgency in legislative dealmaking.

11 appearances

Also known as: Jimmy Hoebuck

James Hoebuck's Journey

A timeline through the narrative

11 moments

S4E12 · Guns Not Butter

Tone Fight at the Ropeline — a Conditional Yea

Confidently demanding; mildly provocative — using public confrontation as leverage while signaling he holds bargaining power.

Senator James 'Jimmy' Hoebuck steps into the ropeline exchange bluntly, challenges the President's rhetoric on national security, and offers a conditional 'yea' while asserting control over timing and access.

View full event

S4E12 · Guns Not Butter

Conditional Yea at the Motorcade

Coolly insistent — appears in control, using firmness to convert goodwill into leverage; not visibly angry but unmoved by pressure.

Senator James 'Jimmy' Hoebuck interrupts the ropeline banter, challenges the President's rhetorical framing, explicitly offers his 'yea' vote, stipulates a one-hour meeting, then turns and walks away when pressed to …

View full event

S4E12 · Guns Not Butter

Counting Votes, Buying Prayers

Controlled and matter-of-fact; he treats the demand as routine commerce rather than an ethical provocation.

Senator James 'Jimmy' Hoebuck enters Toby's office bluntly, presents a single-condition bargain: $115,000 in NIH money for a broader study of intercessory prayer in return for his vote on the …

View full event

S4E12 · Guns Not Butter

Prayer for a Vote — Hoebuck's Price

Calmly transactional; confident he can extract resources by converting moral/scientific claims into a bargaining chip.

Senator Hoebuck delivers the bargaining position plainly and transactionally: he offers his pivotal vote in exchange for a $115,000 NIH-funded study, framing it as a straight swap and underscoring institutions …

View full event

S4E12 · Guns Not Butter

Hardin Seals Off; Hoebuck's $115K Price

Coldly opportunistic — using leverage to extract funding; indifferent to broader moral implications as reported by staff.

Mentioned by Toby and Josh as the senator making a grotesquely transactional demand: $115,000 for an NIH remote-prayer study in exchange for his vote; his tactics are framed as opportunistic …

View full event

S4E12 · Guns Not Butter

Hoebuck's $115K Ransom: Remote-Prayer Demand

Calculated and opportunistic (inferred) — treating appropriation as bargaining currency to extract resources or policy concessions.

Referenced as the senator who conditioned his Foreign Ops vote on a $115,000 NIH study; his demand functions as the event's catalyst and ethical fulcrum though he is not present.

View full event

S4E12 · Guns Not Butter

From Memo to Moral Pledge

Inferred opportunism — using leverage to extract local benefit.

Not physically present but central to the event as the senator who conditions his vote on $115,000 for an NIH study; his demands catalyze the staff's strategic scramble and moral …

View full event

S4E12 · Guns Not Butter

The Price of a Vote

Not observed directly; represented as calculated and transactional through staff briefing.

Not physically present; his demand is the catalytic fact of the scene—conditioning his vote on a $115,000 NIH study—driving moral and tactical debate among staff.

View full event

S4E12 · Guns Not Butter

Oval Confession and the Tactical Retreat

Off-screen opportunism; politically transactional and self-interested as portrayed by staff description.

Referenced repeatedly as the transactional senator—his demand for $115,000 for an NIH prayer study drives the moral/political trade-offs in the room, though he does not appear on-screen.

View full event

S4E12 · Guns Not Butter

Buying a Vote and a Fishhooks Pep Talk

Not present; inferred opportunistic posture.

Mentioned by Josh as the lawmaker who requested funding for a remote prayer study in exchange for his vote; not physically present but central to the ethical sting of Josh's …

View full event

S4E12 · Guns Not Butter

Buying the Vote, Fishhooks, and Ron the Goat

Not present physically; implied to be calculating and opportunistic.

Mentioned by Josh as the senator who requested $115,000 for a remote-prayer study in exchange for his yea vote; functions as the off-stage transactional actor who catalyzed Josh's moral compromise.

View full event

Affiliation

Roman Senate