Republican Congresswoman Barbara Layton (Cherry Jones) starts a campaign against publicly funded
NIH projects into
sexually transmitted infections. The attack is based on a list of seemingly useless projects, but by association, her real target becomes the president's daughter Ellie, who is working on a study into the
human papillomavirus that researched conditions for sex workers in
Puerto Rico. The President is infuriated at having a family member dragged into political battles, and
Toby tries to discredit the attack by finding its source. At first the list seems to originate from a
far-right group called the "Traditional Values Alliance", but Toby's assistant Rina uncovers an updated list that shows it came from within the administration. Toby immediately suspects the
Vice President's office. When confronted, Will takes full responsibility, and assures that the list was compiled purely for internal use and not leaked on purpose. Will suspects that his boss might have leaked the material on purpose, however, and Russell in private agrees he has ties to the Republicans on health issues and notes that having some distance from the President isn't a bad thing for him. Will is left utterly disgusted with the Vice President. Meanwhile, President Bartlet tries to persuade Ellie to speak to the press to contain the incidence, but Ellie insists she is not as comfortable with the spotlight as the other members of the family. She later watches her mother make an airy appearance on
Sesame Street to defend her right to practice medicine even after voluntarily giving up her
license. This inspires her to follow her father's advice, and give a passionate public statement about the necessity of a politically independent scientific community. In parallel storylines,
Josh tries to end a deadlock on the appointment of a
Sixth Circuit judge. His old friend Eric Hayden (Gaston) has been waiting for a year for confirmation from the Republican-led Congress, and is offered the position of dean of
Georgetown's law school. But Josh suggests making a temporary
recess appointment that will at least put the issue on the agenda and Hayden agrees. When Josh goes to suggest this to
Leo he is told that the issue will have to wait, as one of the
Supreme Court justices has died. Having assumed the ailing
Chief Justice, Roy Ashland, was the fatality, Josh is surprised to learn that the dead Justice is 52-year-old Owen Brady, who suffered a
heart attack.
C. J., meanwhile, tries to reconcile with her boyfriend from college, Ben, whom she has been forced to ignore due to her workload. Based on Ben's reaction at the end of their very brief conversation, C. J. regrets her approach and fears that she may have caused things with Ben to end before they could even begin. Upon voicing this concern to Toby, he advises her to go to Ben and fix it. Ryan Pierce, the
intern working for Josh, uncharacteristically fails to show up for work. Josh has failed to notice until
Donna voices her concern as she tries, unsuccessfully, to contact Ryan. == Social and cultural references ==