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