Melissa Marsala

President Bartlet refuses to let Speaker of the House Haffley hold him hostage on the budget and allows the government to be shut down.

A Supreme Court Justice dies, forcing the administration's hand on picking a desirable replacement who can be confirmed by a hostile Congress.

Press leaks lead to the revelation that former VP John Hoynes is about to release a tell-all book about the administration.

In inexplicably finishing the speech early Toby is left with nothing to do. However, the State of the Union speech needs testing, so Toby flies out to meet Joey Lucas to perform mall tests.

A Republican Congresswoman targets Ellie in an attempt to discredit the President; C.J. urges Abby to appear on Sesame Street; Josh works to keep a judicial nominee from withdrawing.

Jane suspects that FBI Agent Susan Darcy has ulterior motives when she asks for his help with a homicide investigation. Meanwhile, the CBI team handles the murder of a young woman who was killed after meeting someone in an online chat room.