#OnlyOnTwitter: Taking office
During this election cycle, candidates used Twitter to take voters all along the campaign journey. Now, the winners have headed to Washington to prepare for the new term. Tweets from the new and re-elected members offer a glimpse of what the Capitol will look when the 113th Congress convenes.
Senators-elect Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, Chris Murphy of Connecticut, Ted Cruz of Texas and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts shared pictures as they visited their new digs:
So excited! Ready to get to work for North Dakota. Received my temp office in Washington today…amazing! #NDSENtwitter.com/Heidi4ND/statu…
— Heidi Heitkamp (@Heidi4ND) November 14, 2012
Sitting down with Senator @joelieberman today. yfrog.com/oeabcncj
— Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) November 13, 2012
Couldn’t have happened w/o your support—thank you again! Ready to get to work & get America back on track. twitter.com/tedcruz/status…
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) November 13, 2012
I had a great week in DC learning the ropes in the Senate. Thanks again for all you’ve done to send me there! twitter.com/elizabethforma…
— Elizabeth Warren (@elizabethforma) November 16, 2012
News also broke out about who will fill leadership positions in the upcoming session:
Congratulations to @cathymcmorris on her election as the next Chair of the House Republican Conference!
— Eric Cantor (@GOPLeader) November 14, 2012
It’s my pleasure to congratulate @repmarciafudge. She will be an outstanding Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus.
— James E. Clyburn (@Clyburn) November 14, 2012
Congrats to @usreprhinojosa as new CHC Chair @RepBenRayLuján -1st Vice @replindasanchez -2nd Vice & Rep-elect Luján Grisham as Whip!
— Hispanic Caucus (@HispanicCaucus) November 15, 2012
Grateful to my GOP freshman classmates for electing me as their Representative on the House Republican Leadership team.
— Ann Wagner (@Ann4Congress) November 15, 2012
Veteran Congressional leaders also celebrated the historically diverse influx of new electees, with record numbers of women and minorities.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi reflected on this diversity:
Democrats are a picture of America. Our new majority of women + minorities represents the strength of our nation. twitter.com/NancyPelosi/st…
— Nancy Pelosi (@NancyPelosi) November 13, 2012
Senator Barbara Mikulski, the longest-serving female in Congress, hosted a lunch for current and incoming women Senators:
Today, Senate women joined me in welcoming newly elected women with my traditional bipartisan Power Workshop. twitter.com/SenatorBarb/st…
— Barbara Mikulski (@SenatorBarb) November 15, 2012
The record number of women Senators also presented a bit of logistical problem, as we learned from two Senators who tweeted about an impromptu meeting with their new colleagues:
Too funny. First power meeting with E Warren and D Fischer? In the Senators Only Women’s bathroom. Gonna need a bigger bathroom.
— Claire McCaskill (@clairecmc) November 14, 2012
New senators here. W/ 20 women we had our first-ever in U.S. history traffic jam in women senators’ restroom. #somerecordsmustbebroken
— Amy Klobuchar (@amyklobuchar) November 14, 2012
Posted by Bridget Coyne (@bcoyne)
Government, News, & Social Innovation Team