Washington in 5 Minutes

SENATE

Ensign stays to hinder Reid

Sen. John Ensign said Monday that heeding calls for his resignation would make it harder for Republicans to unseat Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid next year.

Mr. Ensign admitted in June to having an affair with a former member of his campaign staff. The two-term GOP senator from Nevada has made it clear he intends to serve out his term, which extends through 2012. But during a Monday morning radio show in Las Vegas, Mr. Ensign added Mr. Reid’s name to his list of reasons for staying on.

The senator said that leaving office meant Nevada voters would have a second Senate race to deal with in 2010, taking some of the attention off Mr. Reid, who is struggling in the polls. Mr. Ensign also said that a second race would split GOP resources in Nevada, which would end up hurting “the conservative cause.”

Mr. Ensign said he has talked with some GOP candidates who want him to help with their campaigns, though he did not mention the candidates by name. He was clearly mindful that Democrats are prepared to criticize any of the GOP candidates who may appear with him on the campaign circuit.

“I want to be helpful without being hurtful,” he told KXNT radio during an hourlong appearance.

POLICY

District to host AIDS conference

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton announced Monday that the International AIDS Society will host its 2012 conference in Washington, as the Obama administration lifts a decades-old ban on HIV-positive visitors.

“I’m pleased to announce that, with the repeal of the ban, the International AIDS Society will hold the 2012 international AIDS conference in Washington, D.C.,” Mrs. Clinton said on the eve of World AIDS day.

“This conference will draw together 30,000 researchers, scientists, policymakers, health care providers, activists and others from around the world,” Mrs. Clinton said at the White House.

In July, the South African city of Capetown hosted the 2009 conference. Vienna, Austria, is due to host the conference in 2010 and Rome in 2011.

President Obama announced at the end of October that his administration would overturn a policy that had been in place since 1987.

The ban on foreign nationals with HIV/AIDS visiting the United States will effectively be lifted early next year.

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