New Congress shares first-day excitement via tweets

New Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) tweeted a photo of her first steps into her new Senate office. Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) tweeted that not only is it his first day as a senator, his daughter got engaged at the Capitol the day before.

Honored to be sworn in as the 34th United States Senator for the great State of Texas.

— Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) (@tedcruz) January 3, 2013

Incredible day already! Walking into office for first time this morning surrounded by family, friends, & staff. #NDSEN twitter.com/Heidi4ND/statu…

— Heidi Heitkamp (@Heidi4ND) January 3, 2013

Hoosiers: In less than 1hr, I will be sworn in as your next US Senator. Follow me and let’s bring Hoosier values back to Washington. –Joe

— Sen. Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.) (@SenDonnelly) January 3, 2013

About to step onto the Senate floor to be sworn in as CT’s next Senator. I’m honored to be sent here and ready to get to work for our state

— Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) (@ChrisMurphyCT) January 3, 2013

Returning members were excited, too. Some, such as Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) and Bruce Braley (D-Iowa), shared a first look at their new gear for the 113th Congress, such as ID badges and congressional pins officially marking them as members.

My new Congressional pin for the #113thCongress! twitter.com/RosLehtinen/st…

— Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (@RosLehtinen) January 3, 2013

New Congressional pin and Pin number for the 113th Congress. I’m an upperclassman! (twitter.com/BruceBraley/st…

— Bruce Braley (@BruceBraley) January 3, 2013

Others welcomed back Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), who spent all of 2012 recovering from a stroke. Kirk was able to walk up the outside steps of the Capitol, with some help from Vice President Biden and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.).

Several of Kirk’s colleagues in the Senate, as well as members of the Illinois delegation, welcomed him back. Kirk also tweeted a thank-you “for all the support.”

Just finished Capitol step climb, It is the honor of my life to represent the people of #IL. Thx for all the support! twitter.com/SenatorKirk/st…

— Mark Kirk (@SenatorKirk) January 3, 2013

Another shot of Mark climbing the stairs. twitter.com/RepShimkus/sta…

— Rep. John Shimkus (R-Ill.) (@RepShimkus) January 3, 2013

I enjoyed seeing @senatorkirk return to the capitol today.He has been missed, and I am grateful for his miraculous recovery.

— Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) (@SenMikeLee) January 3, 2013

It was inspiring to see @senatorkirk return to the Capitol today!tinyurl.com/anzeaog (Photo)

— Rep. Aaron Schock (R-Ill.) (@repaaronschock) January 3, 2013

Welcome back to the Senate, @senatorkirk!

— Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) (@SenGillibrand) January 3, 2013

Thrilled to welcome @senatorkirk back to the Senate. twitter.com/SenatorDurbin/…

— Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) (@SenatorDurbin) January 3, 2013

Welcome back to Washington, @senatorkirk. Honored to join you for your return to the Capitol today.

— Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) (@RoyBlunt) January 3, 2013

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) was thinking of the new senator from South Carolina, former Rep. Tim Scott (R), who was selected by South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R) to fill former Sen. Jim DeMint’s (R-S.C.) seat.

Today I have resigned from the House. A sincere thank you to the 1st District,&I look forward to serving SC starting tomorrow in the Senate!

— Tim Scott (@SenatorTimScott) January 2, 2013

@senatortimscott is well-prepared for the tasks that lie ahead and will hit the ground running in the U.S. Senate.

— Lindsey Graham (@GrahamBlog) January 3, 2013

And many other members thanked their constituents and expressed hope for a more bipartisan Congress this session.

The 113th Congress has just convened.It’s an honor to continue to serve the people of the 12th District

— Rep. Kay Granger (R-Texas) (@RepKayGranger) January 3, 2013

I’m about to be sworn in as a member of the 113th Congress. It is a privilege to serve you and all Americans.

— Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) (@RepSpeier) January 3, 2013

Officially sworn in as a member of the 113th Congress moments ago. Hoping this Congress is a more bipartisan and productive one.

— Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.) (@RepKarenBass) January 3, 2013

New geometry on the vote board. Hopefully new geometry in the legislative negotiations.

— Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.) (@jahimes) January 3, 2013