Tom Harkin

A life in Congress comes with power, prestige and perks that can be hard to leave behind. For some lawmakers who view their job as their identity, the prospect is unthinkable.

Former Senator Tom Harkin describes a humane and moral imperative.

Former Senator Tom Harkin offers advice to former colleagues who can’t seem to let go: Give life outside the Capitol a try before it’s too late.

Mr. Harkin, a former senator from Iowa, was one of the more high-profile witnesses to take the stand in the corruption trial, though he did not offer many revelations.

Bill Clinton returned to the campaign trail in Iowa, where he shied away from questions about Donald J. Trump but embraced topics like renewable energy and confronting allergies.

The Jefferson-Jackson Dinner, a fund-raiser, drew the candidates’ supporters to the streets of Des Moines and featured a performance by Katy Perry at a pre-dinner rally.

Former Senator Tom Harkin, a fixture in Iowa Democratic politics for over four decades, discouraged Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. from entering the presidential race, suggesting that Hillary Rodham Clinton, if elected, could name him to a top diplomatic post instead.

She has tried to overcome the perception that she is unapproachable, but Mrs. Clinton cannot entirely shed the layers of staff and security that come with being so well known.

In his endorsement, former Senator Tom Harkin notes his Iowa roots and the opportunity that has come his way, and praises the rest of the Democratic field, but says Hillary Rodham Clinton can singularly deliver for Iowans.

Hillary Rodham Clinton has no hard feelings toward Mayor Bill de Blasio for declining to endorse her presidential bid — at least according to Tom Harkin, the former senator from Iowa.