112th Congress Scene
As a reporter, the first day of a new Congress is always a frustrating day, because there are so many stories that could be told, but there just isn't enough time.
Obviously, the big story was Republicans taking charge of the House, with John Boehner becoming Speaker.
But the hallways of the Capitol always tell a much different story that is more focused on achievement and family.
For many lawmakers - new and old - this is a day to celebrate with their families, like Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-GA), shown here in the Capitol Rotunda with two of his sons, their wives and five of Isakson's grandchildren.
All over the Capitol, there were baby carriages for the young kids and wheelchairs for the older parents and relatives, as some lawmakers brought a number of well-wishers with them.
On the House side, Speaker John Boehner spent several hours using an area off the floor known as the Rayburn Room to conduct what are called "mock" swearing-in ceremonies, so lawmakers and their families can have pictures taken with the Speaker.
For example, here is one new lawmaker, Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA), with her husband and both of their families.
A few minutes after I took this photo, I ran into Rep. Dan Webster (R-FL), who was trying to find his own family members for a similar stop with Speaker Boehner.
Earlier in the day, I had been over at Webster's office, as he met with well-wishers from the district.
The wacky part of these days when the offices have open-house receptions, is that just about anyone with an issue will come through the door.
While the people talking with the new Congressman in the above photo were from back in his district, while I was waiting to interview Webster, two guys with Turkish-American flag pins got his attention for a minute, and talked about getting him to visit Turkey now that he's a member of Congress.
He just smiled.
Finally, there was one somewhat amusing story about yesterday's first day of the House, as Rep. John Sullivan (R-OK) missed the mass swearing-in of members of the floor.
How did he do that? Well, Sullivan said he was downstairs in the member's dining room, having lunch with some constituents. He ran up and down the stairs and few times, but his timing was off.
So, later in the day, he was sworn in all by himself, by Speaker Boehner. You can see Boehner in the chair in this final photo and Sullivan on the right side of the well, standing with his right arm in the air, taking the oath.
A somewhat embarrassed Sullivan admitted to me afterwards that he got razzed by some of his colleagues. As a reporter, the first day of a new Congress is always a frustrating day, because there are so many stories that could be told, but there just isn't enough time. Obviously, the big story was Republicans taking charge of the House, with John Boehner becoming Speaker.But the hallways of ...
