WASHINGTON – Sen.-elect Peggy Flanagan’s introduction to her new job has been a bit of a whirlwind.
“We’ve had about 14-hour days of new member orientation and that’s kind of a lot,” she said.
Flanagan, along with Minnesota’s newly elected federal lawmakers, has spent much of the week on Capitol Hill becoming schooled in House and Senate rules and procedures.
They are also seeking the best possible office spaces and committee assignments, beginning to hire staff, joining caucuses and renting places to live. In the case of the House and Senate Republicans, they also elected their new leaders.
What’s made this freshman orientation different from many others is the sheer number of newly elected lawmakers – more than 100 – and the preponderance of Democratic ones.
For now, Flanagan is working out of a temporary office in the Hart Senate Office Building, where she’ll be joined by a newly hired chief of staff and district director.
Flanagan’s new chief of staff is Jeff Lomonaco, who worked for former Sen. Al Franken and Sen. Tina Smith. Dominic McQuerry, a senior aide in her lieutenant governor’s office, was brought on as her state director.
Their first days are a bit of a scrum as legislators flying high from election victories are suddenly thrown into a competition for committee assignments.
With Smith’s retirement and the election of Sen. Amy Klobuchar as the state’s next governor, Minnesota has lost all representation on the Senate Agriculture Committee.
So Flanagan is making a bid for it, as well as the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, the Banking Committee and the Indian Affairs Committee.
She’s likely to win some of those assignments, but not all of them. With so many freshmen in the Senate (three Republicans and at least nine Democrats), the competition is fierce.
Flanagan pointed out that big farm states like Kansas and Iowa have elected new senators, too. So have South Carolina and Ohio.
On the House side, the retirement of Rep. Angie Craig, D-2nd District, and the possible defeat of Rep. Brad Finstad, R-1st District, who is trailing Democratic rival Jake Johnson by 323 votes, would leave the state with no representation on the House Agriculture Committee.
And like in the Senate, there’s been a flurry of new House members from rural America.
Rep. Matt Little, a Democrat who will represent Minnesota’s 2nd District, plans to ask for a seat on the House Agriculture Committee. But Little, an attorney, also has eyes on the House Judiciary Committee, the House Natural Resources Committee and the House Oversight and Government Affairs Committee.
“My main focus is on oversight,” Little said.
The oversight committee will be the main investigative panel when Democrats in the next Congress hold expected hearings on President Donald Trump and members of his family and cabinet.
Little, the former mayor of Lakeville, said his time on Capitol Hill this week has taught him the expected things – rules and regulations of Congress, how to hire staff and set up congressional offices.
But he’s also learned other, unofficial “things you can’t Google,” like the culture of the U.S. House and the relationships between its members.
One cultural difference concerns promptness, Little said.
“In Minnesota, we were always told that if you want to be on time, you should show up 15 minutes early,” he said.
In Washington D.C., however, he noted that it’s a tradition to show up late for an event, and that scheduled meetings in Congress always start late.
In a video posted on Facebook last week, Little criticized what he described as a celebrity culture on Capitol Hill, urging people to call him “Matt,” instead of “congressman.” He clarified to MinnPost that first-name usage should be reserved for non-official events.
Little plans to rent a place to live in Washington, D.C., while his family stays in Lakeville. Like many other freshmen, he’s experiencing rent price sticker shock.
Besides sitting through orientation classes, Little has attended dinners and receptions hosted by Democratic leaders, including the presumed next House Speaker, Hakeem Jeffries.
He also attended his first “whip’s meeting” – a regular informational meeting to keep lawmakers informed about pending legislation – including how the whip wants members to vote – and party strategy.
“That was cool,” Little said.
Still, he noted a sobering drawback of his new role as a member of Congress.
He received a death threat during his campaign, he said, that was handled by local police. Since his victory on Nov. 3 over Republican state Sen. Eric Pratt, he said the number of threats against him have risen sharply.
Hostility and threats towards lawmakers have been on the rise for years. Members of Congress have received increases in the money they can spend for security.
Little has joined the Progressive Caucus in the U.S. House, which is now co-chaired by Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-5th District.
But fellow Democrat Jake Johnson, whose victory has not yet been certified over Rep. Brad Finstad, joined the centrist Blue Dog Coalition.
In Congress, candidates in uncalled races are routinely invited to attend new member orientation, along with confirmed winners.
And Finstad was allowed to take part this week in the election of new Republican House leaders for the next Congress, along with GOP colleagues whose election to that Congress is official.
In that election, Rep. Tom Emmer, R-6th District, was elected minority whip alongside Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, as minority leader.
Senate Republicans also held their elections this week, reelecting Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., as their leader.
Next week, Democrats will hold their leadership elections. In the runup, Flanagan has placed herself in the midst of a revolt.
Along with other progressive Democratic freshmen, including Sen.-elect Abdul El-Sayed of Michigan, Sen.-elect Juliana Stratton of Illinois and Sen.-elect Troy Jackson of Maine, Flanagan said she won’t vote to keep Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y, as the Senate’s Democratic leader.
“I am ready for a new leader,” Flanagan said.
The rebellious senators are joined by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, a progressive independent who caucuses with Democrats, and moderate Democrat Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, who said she is also not ready to commit to Schumer.
Other defections may come, especially if someone actually mounts a challenge to Schumer.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., said he just might do that and is actively making calls to Democratic colleagues about the possibility.
Picking a new Senate Democratic leader should be anything but a “coronation,” particularly following an election where voters signaled they want change, Van Hollen told reporters this week.
“I like him a lot. He’s come to Minnesota,” Flanagan said of Van Hollen, who stumped for her in the state. “He’s been a supporter.’
However, any challenger to Schumer would need at least 29 votes of the Democratic members of the next Senate to win. Broadly, Senate Democrats still expect Schumer to be reelected, even in the face of a challenge from Van Hollen or anyone else.
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