‘Let the Record Reflect’: The Congressman Who Went Barefoot to Honor Bob Weir on the House Floor

U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman, whose California district includes Marin County, tells us about his appreciation for Weir and the Dead Wave That Flag ‘Let the Record Reflect’: The Congressman Who Went Barefoot to Honor Bob Weir on the House Floor U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman, whose California district includes Marin County, tells us about his appreciation for Weir and the Dead By Shirley Halperin Shirley Halperin Forever Grateful: John Mayer Remembers Bob Weir Chappell Roan Exits Wasserman Agency Following Epstein Fallout: ‘I Refuse to Passively Stand By’ Tracy Zamot, Veteran Publicist for Atlantic and Virgin Records, Dead at 56 View all posts by Shirley Halperin February 17, 2026 Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images; Kevin Mazur/Getty Images On Feb. 4, 2026, Bob Weir‘s spirit was present on the House of Representatives floor. Congressman Jared Huffman made sure of it. The California Democrat, whose districts include Sonoma, Mendocino, Humboldt, and the Grateful Dead’s home base of Marin County, took off his shoes and socks, then stepped up to the podium to mark the moment. “Mr. Speaker, let the record reflect I delivered these remarks barefoot in honor of Bobby Weir,” said the U.S. representative. “I think he would appreciate that.” A ranking member of the House Natural Resources Committee, Huffman has shared stages with members of the band in the past, tackling such issues as climate policy and environmental preservation. A guitar player himself, he’d communicated with Weir by text a few weeks before the rock legend’s Jan. 10 death. “He was just sounding off about the state of the world,” says Huffman of the exchange. “I told him what a weird trip it was to be in the arena in this moment, and Bob quipped back that he was glad that he was too old to be drafted.” Huffman went on to use the “special order” session to recognize one of his musical heroes. He spoke to Rolling Stone about his love of the Dead, and admiration for Weir. Tell us about your decision to honor Bob Weir during an official session of Congress.Well, I really struggled with how to do something unique, because Bob and the Grateful Dead are nothing if not totally unique. And at the same time, you’re constrained by rules of decorum and things like that. So Nancy Pelosi had loved to talk about how Bob would like to go barefoot, just as one of the idiosyncrasies of his free-spirited persona. And it just occurred to me that I should do that in my tribute. I was worried that they were going to stop me in the middle of it and pull me off the floor, and I was going to get hit with a fine or something. But I didn’t. What is the standard procedure for this type of recognition?The way we do these short speeches during the special order hours is: We line up in the front row of the House chamber. It’s first come, first served. And as it got closer and closer to my time to step up to the podium, I kind of tried to subtly slip off my shoes and socks without anyone noticing. And no one did. A couple of my colleagues looked over and wondered what the heck I was doing, but not the sergeant at arms. I didn’t really want a lot of people to know in advance. Editor’s picks The 250 Greatest Albums of the 21st Century So Far The 100 Best TV Episodes of All Time The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century Why did you feel it was important to recognize him in that way? You do that for really special people that have lived important lives. Those speeches are entered into the congressional record. It’s meant to be an enduring tribute that people years from now can look up. I can’t imagine anyone more worthy of that than Bob. When did your interest in the Dead start?It’s different probably than most people in that I got to know members of the Dead before I spent a lot of time listening to their music. I’ve represented Marin County in the state and federal legislature for 20 years. And Marin County is ground zero for the Grateful Dead. So my appreciation for the music came after that. Now I love listening to it and playing it on the guitar. I’ve had the incredible honor of even making a little music with two members of the Dead at political events. So that was a special treat for me. How long have you been playing guitar?Since I was a kid. But I really didn’t ever publicly perform until I became a politician and a couple of folks in bands coaxed me into playing with them at events. There’s a guy [named] Craig Anderson who leads a local band in Sonoma County that plays at a lot of my events. He’s been my musical sherpa in that he got me to, I guess, be confident enough to play with him and the band publicly, which I now do regularly. Craig brought me in contact with Mickey Hart, and of course I knew [Mickey’s wife] Caryl through her environmental work. So I had a chance to play a couple times with Mickey joining us onstage. And then I was able to play with Phil Lesh at an event in Marin County. We did “T