A peek inside the Senate's secret offices

WASHINGTON – Welcome to the real "undisclosed locations" of Washington. Behind these doors are coveted, secret offices tucked in the nooks and crannies of the U.S. Capitol building.

These "hideaways" are the hottest political real estate in Congress: unmarked offices where lawmakers can sneak away from nosy reporters, insistent aides and pleading lobbyists.

Every member of Congress has a regular office in one of the House or Senate buildings near the Capitol. But the hideaways are a second office ... often just steps away from the Senate floor. A few House members also have hideaways, but mostly they are reserved for members of the upper chamber.

Some are more luxurious than others. They are doled out according to seniority, with veteran lawmakers snagging plush space with sweeping views of the National Mall and newbies getting windowless basement digs.

"It's all done by secret handshake. All of a sudden you're told you've got a hideaway and here are the keys," says Jim Manley, a former top aide to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.

Manley said the offices are used for a little bit of everything: a respite from the day's political buzz, a quiet place to dig into a thick briefing book, or a spot to negotiate a tough agreement.

"Not only is deal-making done there, but also probably a cocktail or two, as well," Manley said.

Sens. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Rob Portman, R-Ohio, have hideaways in the bowels of the Capitol. Portman, who was elected in 2010, has a tiny office with just enough space for a couch, a desk and a couple of chairs.

"This was probably a large broom closet" at one time, Portman quipped. Still, he keeps some treasured items in the room, including a book about the Golden Lamb, the hotel and restaurant run by his family; as well as a photograph of him with his father in their prized Model-T Ford.

Brown, who won a second term in the Senate in 2012, has a slightly bigger hideaway, where he has covered the walls with political mementos, including a photo of him being sworn into the Senate by then-Vice President Dick Cheney and a framed note from a constituent that reads simply: "Thank you for saving my job."

Brown and Portman both agreed to let Gannett Ohio into their hideaways for a chat about what goes on in the true "back rooms" of Congress.

Contact Deirdre Shesgreen at dshesgreen@usatoday.com or @dshesgreen on Twitter