Hirono, Gabbard sworn in today
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, stands for a ceremonial photo with Speaker of the House John Boehner, R-Ohio, left, in the Rayburn Room of the Capitol after the new 113th Congress convened on Thursday, Jan. 3, 2013, in Washington. The official oath of office for all members of the House was administered earlier in the House chamber. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, stands for a ceremonial photo with Speaker of the House John Boehner, R-Ohio, left, in the Rayburn Room of the Capitol after the new 113th Congress convened on Thursday, Jan. 3, 2013, in Washington. The official oath of office for all members of the House was administered earlier in the House chamber. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Hawaii’s first woman senator was sworn in with the new Congress today.
Mazie Hirono, who served three terms in the U.S. House after first winning election in 2006, is succeeding Daniel Akaka, who retired from the Senate after 22 years.
Hirono joins Sen. Brian Schatz, who was sworn in last week to succeed the late Sen. Daniel Inouye, who died Dec. 17.
The newest member of the state’s congressional delegation is Tulsi Gabbard, a Democrat who was sworn in to the House. Gabbard is a former Honolulu City Council member and Iraq war veteran. At 31, she will be one of the youngest members of Congress.
