Posts from The Twitter Blog on topicpolitics

It’s been a historic week on Twitter, as two former U.S. Presidents let their presence be known on Twitter. Bill Clinton joined the ranks of President Barack Obama, all 100 U.S. Senators and 95 percent of the House of Representatives, while the dedication of George W. Bush’s new Bush Center brought us closer to all 5 living presidents via Twitter.Read more…

In a modern-day “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” moment, Senator Rand Paul (@SenRandPaul), R-Kentucky, stood on the Senate floor for almost 13 hours yesterday. He was using the filibuster to debate the Obama Administration’s drone policy prior to a vote on the White House’s nomination for CIA director.

The day began around 11:47am EST:Read more…

Each year the President’s State of the Union speech, and the opposition response that follows it, ignites a national conversation about a host of issues. Tonight’s #SOTU address and response drew more than 1.36 million Tweets.Read more…

The beginning of a new term in Washington marks changes in many of the government’s highest offices. Yesterday was noteworthy at the US Department of State, as outgoing Secretary of State Hillary Clinton held her last Town Hall, and Senator John Kerry was confirmed as the new Secretary. Of course, both occasions played out on Twitter.Read more…

Tweets from yesterday’s Presidential Inauguration offer a glimpse into the pageantry that swept D.C. Whether they were dignitaries seated onstage or citizens lining the streets, plenty of people shared pictures that captured the spirit of the day.Read more…

Yesterday the 113th Congress was sworn in at the US Capitol. Many of the newly-elected members took to Twitter to share their pride, gratitude (and a dash of awe) to be officially taking office. If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to be sworn in to public office, these Tweets from some of the newest members offer a glimpse into the first day on the job at the Capitol.

Rep. Eric Swalwell started his morning with a run past the U.S. Capitol, where he would later be sworn in:Read more…

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:Read more…

One hundred million votes and 31 million Tweets later, Election Day 2012 has come to a close. As the results of the election were called by news organizations, the conversation about the election on Twitter surged, hitting a peak of 327,452 Tweets per minute (TPM). Before President Obama took the stage to address the nation, he shared a special update on Twitter. As thousands of supporters cheered in Chicago, more than 455,000 (and counting) retweeted his celebratory message:Read more…

Today is the final day to make your voice heard by voting on national, state, and local ballots. To help you get out to vote, our @gov team compiled a list of Twitter accounts for each state’s Secretary of State (the office that oversees elections) as well as other relevant accounts offering voter information.Read more…