Advertisement

No one is having more fun right now than these new House Democrats

But they also mean business: "We did not come to play."

Frank Dale Twitter
Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley, Rashida Tlaib, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in Washington, D.C. on November 12, 2018. (ocasio2018/Instagram)
Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley, Rashida Tlaib, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in Washington, D.C. on November 12, 2018. (ocasio2018/Instagram)

The House of Representatives is going to look a lot different come January — not just due to a Democratic majority, but also a record-breaking number of women, people of color, and LGBTQ members set to join Congress after last week’s midterm elections.

That sea change is depicted on the cover of the New Yorker, which Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) recently shared on Instagram with the caption “Knock knock.”

Ocasio-Cortez and some of her new Democratic House colleagues are in Washington, D.C. this week for orientation. And it’s very possible that nobody in this country is having more fun right now than Reps.-elect Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), and Ocasio-Cortez.

Advertisement

The 29-year-old Democratic socialist, who will officially become the youngest-ever congresswoman after stunning longtime Rep. Joe Crowley (D-NY) in June’s Democratic primary, has been documenting much of orientation on social media.

The group kicked things off by motivating more young women to run for political office.

Twitter exploded when images of the newly-elected Democrats, or “the real JUSTICE SQUAD,” hit social media.

The newest members of Congress have also been busy getting to know some of their co-workers. Judging by social media, the most popular has been Civil Rights icon Rep. John Lewis (D-GA), who joined Reps.-elect Sharice Davids (D-KS), Antonio Delgado (D-NY), and Omar for pictures.

The first Native American women ever elected to Congress also posed together, as Davids tweeted an image with Rep.-elect Deb Haaland (D-NM).

Omar and Tlaib, the first Muslim women ever elected to Congress, were pictured on the House floor with Reps.-elect Lucy McBath (D-GA), Joe Neguse (D-CO), and Davids.

Rep.-elect Abigail Spanberger (D-VA), who became the first Democrat to win her district in 50 years, also tweeted an image from the House floor with Reps.-elect Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA), Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ), and Elissa Slotkin (D-MI).

The latest additions to Virginia’s congressional delegation, Reps.-elect Elaine Luria (D), Jennifer Wexton (D), and Spanberger, also posed together at orientation.

New York’s newest members of Congress made time to meet, as Delgado tweeted an image with Reps.-elect Anthony Brindisi (D) and Max Rose (D).

Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL) welcomed his new Democratic colleagues in Illinois’ congressional delegation, Reps.-elect Sean Casten, Jesús García, and Lauren Underwood.

Twenty-nine-year-old Rep.-elect Abby Finkenauer (D-IA), who narrowly missed out on the title of youngest-ever congresswoman, tweeted about walking onto the House floor for the first time.

Thirty-one-year-old Rep.-elect Katie Hill (D-CA), who will be among the first openly bisexual members of Congress, shared an image of her official lanyard.

Tlaib, the first Palestinian-American woman ever elected to Congress, got to know some her new colleagues in Michigan’s Democratic congressional delegation.

The 42-year-old congresswoman-elect also documented her new office.

As did Ocasio-Cortez, who compared Congress to Harry Potter’s Hogwarts.

Pressley, the 44-year-old Boston city council member who will be the first Black congresswoman from Massachusetts, documented her trip to D.C.

Seeing the diverse new Congress prepare to take its place in history is already providing inspiration.

But don’t think this is a sight-seeing tour, as Omar made clear on Twitter.

The group took part in the Progressive Caucus’ multilingual press conference, with Ocasio-Cortez tweeting that “Representation matters.”

When Pressley, who upset longtime Rep. Mike Capuano (D-MA) in September’s Democratic primary, was asked about representing a majority-white district, Omar noted the hypocrisy of the question.

The 36-year-old Somali refugee is hitting the halls of Congress running, using her improbable story to spread hope and awareness of the plight of refugees.

Omar also corrected a tweet by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), who had claimed the country’s system for asylum was “broken,” noting, “People who are so ignorant of our laws are creating laws, no wonder we are in such a mess.”

Underwood, the 32-year-old congresswoman-elect from Illinois, made it clear that health care would be the focus of the new Congress.

Pressley used her platform to support Stacey Abrams (D) in the ongoing vote count and legal fight against vote suppressor and Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp (R), in that state’s gubernatorial race.

The Massachusetts congresswoman-elect also called for more gun control.

Hill reacted to last week’s Borderline Bar shooting, in which multiple constituents from her district were killed, by calling for more gun control.

Tlaib wore a pin supporting the movement that describes itself as battling “hate & bigotry against all, including Arab & Muslim Americans & refugees.”

On Tuesday, she joined Ocasio-Cortez in addressing the Sunrise Movement, a group of young people that advocates for fighting climate change.

Then Ocasio-Cortez joined protesters in the office of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to call for bold action against climate change.

A few hours later, the congresswoman-elect from the Bronx thanked Pelosi after she expressed her support for reinstating a House committee on climate change.

Then Ocasio-Cortez shifted her focus to New York’s $1.7 billion deal with Amazon.

Zephyr Teachout, who lost to Letitia James in the race to become New York’s attorney general, praised Ocasio-Cortez Tuesday and said “this is what Democrats can and should do.”

Though the incoming members will face new pressures once Congress is in session, their stories, accessibility, and age make them rising Democratic stars that will likely be worth watching for years to come.

This article was updated to include a tweet from Rep. Rush.