{mosads}Reps. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Phil Roe (R-Tenn.), Ron Barber (D-Ariz.), Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) and Erik Paulsen (R-Minn.) also tweeted from the event.
Boehner, with help from a Colorado high-school student, lit the tree. It will continue to be lit nightly until 11 p.m. through Dec. 26.
Boehner made Ryan Shuster, a senior who won a state-wide contest to be part of the ceremony, button his suit jacket before he flipped the switch, warning, “Ryan, pictures last forever.”
Former Sen. Ben “Nighthorse” Campbell drove the Christmas Tree from the small town of Meeker, Colo., to Washington, D.C., on a on a 105-foot semi truck, and arrived last week after a 23-day trip.
The tree is known as “the people’s tree,” in part to differentiate between it and the National Christmas Tree that sits in front of the White House. The tree stops in various towns and cities on its cross-country trip in order to greet “the people” personally.