Day One of New Congress
It's all downhill from here, especially in a divided Congress. But it is still a special and commemorative day
My favorite day of a new Congress, customarily launched on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in January in odd-numbered years, is the first one.
It is a festive and ceremonial day, occasionally with some drama. We’re likely to see some drama today, at least on the House side. Will Kevin McCarthy acquire a majority of those voting and present to be elected Speaker of the House? Will it take more than one ballot for the first time since 1923? If so, how many? I’ve written about the “Knucklehead Caucus” of five or so GOP Members who have no plan B or strategy other than to be the tiny tail that wags the dog. And then there’s newly-elected fabulist Rep. George Santos (R-NY). It’s possible to see an effort by Democrats to have him sworn in “provisionally,” but we’ll see. His election certification is not being challenged thus far.
But regardless, there is excitement for dozens of newly elected House and Senate members taking their oaths of office and beginning their historic journies. Getting here is not easy. It’s not designed to be. Each brings their agendas but also carries with them the hopes and dreams of voters back home. Expectations are high. Less than 12,500 people have been elected to the US House since our founding; today, 2,001 Senators have been chosen to serve by state legislatures or by direct election since the 17th Amendment’s ratification. A 2,002nd will soon be appointed by new Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen (R) to replace Ben Sasse (R), who is resigning to assume the presidency of the University of Florida. Many expect it to be outgoing Gov. Pete Ricketts (R).
The past few weeks since the November 8th elections have been a whirlwind for the winners. The congratulatory calls from congressional leaders and future colleagues, maybe even a President or Vice President. So many new friends! The invitations to several freshman orientations, especially to House members, flood inboxes and mailboxes immediately. One at Harvard. The Congressional Management Institute hosts another, including one for staff. Some for conservatives, some for liberals. Offers to host fundraisers to help pay off debt or get the 2024 election off to a good start also arrive from eager lobbyists and financial supporters. The lobbying to win a coveted committee assignment begins immediately, often with congratulatory calls from new colleagues and leaders.
And then there are the resumes. Hundreds of resumes. How to organize the staff? What are the rules during the transition? Where will my new office be? Where did this mail come from, and how will I answer all these invitations? Will my phone ever stop ringing?
I have fond memories of working for two newly-elected House members and being primarily responsible for the orientation of 15 new US Senators, about half from the House, elected in 1996. As the chief of staff to newly-elected Rep. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) following the 1986 election, our objective was to be ready, fully staffed, on day one, both in the district and in Washington. And we were. We wanted to get off to a good start and did not want to fall behind with unanswered phones, mail, and constituent requests.
A favorite “transition” memory came from the Senate in 1996. There was concern among many incumbents and staff over the number of new Senators coming from the US House. There was fear that many might bring their “bad habits” with them, not recognizing the inherent differences between the House and the “cooling saucer of democracy,” the Senate. Senate Leaders Trent Lott (R-MS) and Daschle (D-SD) agreed to ask Senator Robert C. Byrd, former Majority Leader, to deliver a lecture behind closed doors in the Senate chambers, with none other than newly-elected Senators, the Leaders, and two officials in charge of the transition - including me.
We tried to get Byrd to allow us to record his remarks, but he refused. Still, a truncated written copy of his 45-minute tour de force can now be found on the Senate’s website. Here’s the gist:
This is a very large class of new Senators. There are fifteen of you. It has been sixteen years since the Senate welcomed a larger group of new members. Since 1980, the average size class of new members has been approximately ten. Your backgrounds vary. Some of you may have served in the Executive Branch. Some may have been staffers here on the Hill. Some of you have never held federal office before. Over half of you have had some service in the House of Representatives.
Let us clearly understand one thing. The Constitution’s Framers never intended for the Senate to function like the House of Representatives. That fact is immediately apparent when one considers the length of a Senate term and the staggered nature of Senate terms. The Senate was intended to be a continuing body. By subjecting only one-third of the Senate’s membership to reelection every two years, the Constitution’s framers ensured that two-thirds of the membership would always carry over from one Congress to the next to give the Senate an enduring stability.
The Senate and, therefore, Senators were intended to take the long view and to be able to resist, if need be, the passions of the often intemperate House. Few, if any, upper chambers in the history of the western world have possessed the Senate’s absolute right to unlimited debate and to amend or block legislation passed by a lower House.
Moving into new offices is easier for House members than for Senators. Offices are chosen by seniority. New House members participate in a lottery that includes blindly picking a number, in the shape of a metal tab, out of a wooden, velvet-lined box. Kyl asked me to draw the number. Gulp! That was a lot of pressure. A low number meant being among the first to choose among a few dozen or so available offices. A high number meant taking whatever was left in some undesirable location, often with staff separated by an annex. I did not want to disappoint him, and I was lucky - I drew number 3, and we quickly chose 313 Cannon House Office Building. Cannon is the oldest but perhaps most stately of the three House office buildings and is undergoing an extensive, multi-year renovation.
Most departing House members are directed to vacate their offices a few weeks before officially leaving office, leaving only a desk in the Rayburn Building’s basement-level reception room. This allows new offices to be prepared and moved into by new members on Day One. Marauding staffers used to pilfer furniture left in the hallways by members on the move. At least, they used to. Hopefully, those days are gone.
Newly-elected Senators are assigned small, temporary, windowless “swing spaces” in the basements of the Dirksen and Russell Senate office buildings, waiting their turn to pick new offices, again based on seniority. Each Senator is assigned a “number” that also reflects that seniority. Prior service as a Vice President, President, US Senator, US House member, or Governor is credited. All else being equal, the population of the Senator’s state is the ultimate factor unless two new Senators from the same state are sworn in on the same day, as with Georgia’s new senators in 2021. In that case, alphabetical order decides. Jon Ossoff was number 99, ahead of Ralphael Warnock. The 100th Senator has not only the location of his or her desk chosen but also the only available remaining office. While they will have their desk available on swearing-in day, they might wait six months to move into their permanent offices.
Most would agree that there is no lousy office space in the Senate. At least they have an office. Senator-elect Katie Britt (R-AL) will be the Senate’s new most junior member, but I’m sure she’s not complaining. Missouri’s Eric Schmitt (R) will be the 2,000th Senator ever chosen.
Before the pandemic, many newly elected Members of Congress hosted receptions in their offices to welcome well-wishers (especially lobbyists). Some even organized busloads of supporters from the district to join in the festivities. I miss those days, with congressional hallways full of well-dressed people going from office to office to meet new staff and Members and catch up with old friends. Some, especially on the Senate side, would reserve committee rooms for significant events and to witness the swearing-in on monitors.
But there’s nothing like being on the floor of the House or Senate for the actual swearing-in. Each approaches their first day differently.
The House is reconstituting from scratch while the Senate is a continuing body, only a third of its seats up for election every two years. The Clerk of the House gavels a chamber full of members and many children, followed by a painfully slow taking of the role of all 447 members (including several non-voting delegates from territories such as Puerto Rico, Guam, and the District of Columbia) as children fidget in their seats or on parents’ laps.
Then comes the election of the Speaker. Nothing else can follow until that happens. I wrote recently of the contentious 34th Congress when Nathanial Banks was finally elected Speaker on the 133rd ballot after a rules change that allowed him to be elected with a plurality of votes - “first past the post.” By the time you read this, a deal will likely be struck that will allow McCarthy to be sworn in by the dean of the House - its longest-serving Member, US Rep. Hal Rogers, R-KY - and begin the process of organizing the new House GOP majority, including a new set of rules and the swearing in of new House officers (Clerk, Sergeant at Arms, Chief Administrative Officer, etc.). While the initial votes are taken by old-fashioned roll call, including that for Speaker, eventually, House members will have their new voting cards to vote electronically.
A “first past the post” rule might not work for Republicans in the new Congress. If every Democrat votes for their new leader, Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), he will wind up as the Speaker of the House with one or two votes more than McCarthy, thanks to the five or so members of the Knucklehead Caucus.
The Congressional Institute several years ago published a helpful guide to what happens in the House on the first day.
The Senate side is different. After the Vice President gavels the chamber into session and the chaplain offers the prayer, now followed by the pledge of allegiance, the official certifications of newly elected Senators are presented. Without any objections, the Vice President begins administering the Senate oath to newly elected or reelected Senators in groups of four. Each Senator is usually escorted down the center aisle by their home-state colleague, sometimes a predecessor, or another colleague. Some senators bring Bibles or Torahs with them. When Elizabeth Dole was sworn in as Senator from North Carolina in 2003, she was escorted by her husband, former Majority Leader Robert J. Dole (R-KS).
Following their swearing-in, each Senator will be invited by the Secretary of the Senate to sign the official oath book with a commemorative pen they get to keep. Once the Senators are sworn in, the Vice President eventually gives up the chair to the President pro tempore and moves to the Old Senate Chamber for individual swearing-in reenactments with family. It is very fun and festive.
One quick story. I attended the swearing-in of the new Senate in 2001, seated with staff in the back of the chamber (as a former Secretary of the Senate, I have lifetime floor privileges so long as I’m not a registered lobbyist). While outgoing Vice President Al Gore presided, President Bill Clinton was in the visitor’s gallery to watch his wife, Hillary, be sworn in as the new Senator from New York. Immediately after being sworn in, she beamed as she strolled by then-Senator Strom Thurmond’s (R-SC) desk on the front row. “I want to give you a hug,” Thurmond proclaimed, standing up from behind his desk. She stopped for a vigorous hug from the then-98-year-old Senator, in full view of a blushing and laughing president and press corps. I’ll leave it there. Thurmond would retire and pass away two years later at age 100.
So, enjoy the day, new arrivals to Congress and staff. Savor every moment.
It’s all downhill from here.
Recommended reading:
A New Member’s Guide to Traditions of the United States Senate (free on Google books), by Dr. Richard Baker
Historical Almanac of the United States Senate (free on Google Books), by US Sen. Robert J. Dole