The incoming House of Representatives class of lawmakers took to social media Thursday to share their first-day giddiness as they hit Capitol Hill for freshman orientation.
Things looked a little different this year. Many of the members-elect and their staff members wore masks as they arrived, per the requirements implemented as COVID-19 makes record-setting surges around the country. But pandemic or not, the congressional newbies couldn’t contain their excitement as they arrived in Washington, unloaded their bags, and readied themselves to get to work in the jobs they worked so hard to win.
Among the excitable arrivals was Democratic Rep.-elect Cori Bush, a Black Lives Matter activist and former nurse who became Missouri’s first elected Black congresswoman last week. She chatted online with members of the previous freshmen class about the struggles of being “a regular person going to Congress,” and asked for affordable wardrobe advice. She later showed off her thrift-shop haul and hinted there were more to come.
Maybe that’s what was in all these bags?
Rep.-elect Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) told The Washington Post she teared up when her flight touched down in Washington.
“I don’t get emotional very often, but 42 years to see where I’ve come — I’ve come so far,” she said. “I’m just this girl from Goose Creek, South Carolina, and I had a dream. I set some goals in life and I achieved them. . . . That’s what this has been a culmination of. It’s very humbling.”
Her mask was made by her sister, she said.
Here’s how other freshmen celebrated their first days.
New York Reps.-elect Mondaire Jones and Ritchie Torres, two Democrats who are the first two openly gay Black men elected to Congress:
Rep.-elect Nikema Williams (D-Ga.):
Rep.-elect Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.):
Rep.-elect Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.):
Rep.-elect Kai Kahele (D-Hawaii):
