WASHINGTON -- For the first time in nearly 150 years, an all-Republican delegation was sworn in Tuesday to represent Arkansas in the U.S. House and Senate.
U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton and U.S. Reps. French Hill and Bruce Westerman were sworn in to the 114th Congress along with returning members U.S. Sen. John Boozman and U.S. Reps. Steve Womack and Rick Crawford.
Arkansas' delegation joined Republicans' control of both the House and Senate for the first time in eight years. Republican leaders are expected to move forward with a more conservative agenda in the final two years of President Barack Obama's presidency, starting later this week with legislation to approve construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline, which a White House spokesman said Tuesday the president will not sign.
But first, members of the two chambers had to take the oath of office.
Before the Senate convened at noon, Cotton, a Republican from Dardanelle, stood on the Democrats' side of the Senate chamber and chatted with U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., and U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., who taught him at Harvard University.
The normally empty Senate visitors gallery was packed with family and friends of the new members, straining for a glimpse as senators went to the front of the chamber in groups of four to be sworn in. Watching Cotton were his parents, Avis and Len Cotton, his wife of less than a year, Anna Cotton, and his in-laws, as well as his uncle and Cotton's sister and her family.
When his name was called, Cotton walked with Boozman to the dais where Vice President Joe Biden read the oath of office. Cotton wore a gray suit and striped tie. He held a worn Bible in his left hand.
Afterward he signed the official oath book, which contains a written version of the oath signed by each senator, and sat two rows from the back of the chamber to leaf through the drawer of his new desk and remove his Senate lapel pin from a small box.
Afterward, Cotton said he didn't have to do much to prepare.
"All I had to say was 'I do' on the swearing in, just like I did last March for the wedding," Cotton said. "That was much more stressful."
Photography isn't allowed in the Senate chamber, so later in the day the vice president and the senators recreated the moment in the Old Supreme Court Chamber down the hall.
Biden laughed and sweet-talked family members during the hours-long photo opportunity, ruffling little boys' hair, kissing babies and even calling U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner's grandmother on the phone. He said the Colorado Republican's relative was unimpressed by the call.
On the Senate floor and in the re-enactment photo, Cotton held his family Bible, passed down from his father and grandfather since 1926. He used the same Bible when he was sworn in to the House in 2013.
"It's a great honor, a great privilege to be able to serve the people of Arkansas and serve our country," Cotton said. "I try not to take myself too seriously, take my colleagues too seriously, but I take our duties very seriously."
After Biden read the oath again, Cotton's family joined them for more photos. Biden congratulated Cotton's parents.
"Congratulations, mom," he said to Avis Cotton. "I hope he enjoys it as much as I did in the Senate."
She beamed and said later that she was proud.
"We're very thrilled and very proud and happy," Avis Cotton said.
On the House side, members are all sworn in at the same time by the House speaker.
Westerman, a Republican from Hot Springs who replaced Cotton in the 4th District, was joined on the House floor by his youngest son, Asa Westerman.
"This was definitely a team effort and my family was definitely a big part of that team," Westerman said.
His parents, Jeanette and Andy, watched the ceremony from his House office, and his wife Sharon and oldest son, Eli, were in the House Gallery. Westerman said his two middle children, Amy and Ethan, were headed back to Arkansas to play on their basketball teams and missed the ceremony.
Westerman said afterward he is ready to start working.
"This is what I worked so hard for during the campaign and why I ran, so we could come here and pass legislation that will get our country back on the right track and I'm chomping at the bit to do that," Westerman said.
Hill, a Republican from Little Rock who replaced U.S. Rep. Tim Griffin, was joined on the House floor by his daughter Liza and son Payne. His wife, Martha Hill, and father, Jay Hill, 89, watched from the gallery.
House members also posed for photos and recreated the oath with House Speaker John Boehner later in the day.
When posing for the photo, Hill held the family Bible, which dates from 1848 and came to Arkansas with his mother's family from Ireland.
"It was a surreal moment to be in the House chamber and to be sworn in to represent the 2nd Congressional District," Hill said. He said he was impressed by "the history of it, the importance of it for our peaceful transition of power in our democracy on a regular basis."
The hallways of the House and Senate office buildings were full of well-wishers Tuesday, especially outside the offices of new members. Many representatives and senators held receptions with food and drinks.
In Hill's office, visitors squeezed in. The Little Rock Republican leaned against a bookcase as he chatted with guests, and left the seat behind his desk to his father.
Boozman, a Republican from Rogers, visited the receptions of each new House member and his new Senate colleague Tuesday, talking with family members and posing for photos and videos.
"It's really exciting for me because I remember how excited I was, how excited my family was," Boozman said. "It's a neat experience seeing them, seeing all the new things they are going through and the excitement of the day."
With Tuesday's pomp and circumstance over, the real work begins today, he said.
"We just need to roll up our sleeves and do our best," Boozman said.
Crawford, a Republican from Jonesboro starting his third term, said in a statement he's ready to get started.
"My priorities for the 114th Congress include new responsibilities within the House Agriculture Committee and legislation to limit the Federal Government's out-of-control spending problem, and I'm eager to work toward proven, conservative solutions that advance our country, state, and district," he said.
Womack, a Republican from Rogers also starting his third term, said in a statement that the Republican majority has an unprecedented opportunity.
"I look forward to working with the Republican majorities in the House and now the Senate to not only find these solutions and fight to restore fiscal responsibility and government accountability in Washington, but also promote the conservative values we hold dear," he said.
A section on 01/07/2015