As the House of Representatives of the 116th Congress milled about the chamber waiting to elect Rep. Nancy Pelosi as House Speaker, the energy from new members on the C-SPAN livestream was palpable.
Remember those people we kept telling you about? All the people—mostly women of color—with the good ideas who won their elections? They’re in Congress now, and they were picked up by the cameras.
There’s professional conservative troll-owner and now official New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, pictured above taking a selfie with California Rep. Barbara Lee.
Pictured below, meanwhile, are Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar and Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib, two of the first Muslim women ever elected to Congress, sharing a sweet moment.
And right below them, taking a selfie too, are New Mexico Rep. Deb Haaland and Kansas Rep. Sharice Davids, the two first-ever Native American women elected to Congress.
Down on the floor is Massachusetts Rep. Ayanna Pressley, the state’s first black woman elected to Congress, running into and exchanging words with Davids.
And right behind Pressley is gun violence activist and Georgia Rep. Lucy McBath, leaning into Davids for an embrace.
Congrats to these new, hopefully good members of Congress! Now, for the love of all that is worth fighting for, please don’t mess this up.