Friends,

Winning a congressional election sets off a whirlwind that quickly envelops you and your family.

Lots of people suddenly swoop in and fill your schedule, and they start by getting you up to D.C. pretty quick.

January 3rd is our official swear-in date, but being ready to serve constituents at that very moment requires a lot of prep work.

That means lots of conversations about getting on the right committees and which members are leading the charge in different policy areas and what kind of software we need to handle the volume of email we’ll receive each day.

Then there’s the surreal stuff, the moments that felt like I was in a wax museum that had come to life.

I’ve followed national politics for years, but most of the people I’m meeting now are ones I’ve only known as two-dimensional characters in our national political drama. Snippets on TV, quotes in the paper, tweets and ads.

To suddenly be shaking hands with them — as they welcomed me to the building we’ll work in together — was pretty strange. But, to their credit, they were all exceptionally kind.

Speaker Pelosi announcing she will not seek a leadership position in the next Congress.

I’ve also never been offered so much coffee in my life. Every meeting began with someone asking if I’d like some. The whole place seems to run on it. I got lots of practice politely declining as I try to stick to one cup per day. (That said, my donut consumption has spiked.)

One of the real joys has been meeting other new members. It’s a young freshman class. Lots of young families, lots of stories about bringing kids on the campaign trail. For those of you who have told me you’re interested in seeing a new generation of leadership, you’re about to.

The freshman class of the 118th Congress.

Regular politics has also begun, but not in the way you might expect. Internal politics is where the energy is right now, especially with the top three House Democratic leaders — Speaker Pelosi, Majority Leader Hoyer, and Majority Whip Clyburn — recently announcing that they’re not seeking those leadership positions. I’m getting lots of calls from members congratulating me on our win, graciously offering to be of assistance during the transition, and — “hey just one more thing” — asking for my support for a position. It’s been an interesting way to meet some of my colleagues.

One of the best parts was that Marisa was able to be there with me. Ever since my first campaign we’ve always approached this challenge as a team, so to be able to spend my first week in D.C. with her by my side just felt right.

***

I know we just went through an election in which you were bombarded with fundraising emails.

My approach is different.

I want to give you something we don’t see often: a real-time, first-person account of serving in Congress.

I think sharing that perspective is part of my job, but I also just think you’ll find it interesting. I won’t send anything I wouldn’t be interested in reading myself.

If someone forwarded this to you, this is what you can expect from me. I hope you’ll sign up here to come along. And by all means, feel free to forward this to anyone you’d like.

More soon,
Jeff