Most inauguration coverage has focused mainly on President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, but the two politicians who were elected in Georgia’s Senate race were also sworn into office today (Jan. 20). Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff took their oaths in the afternoon, cementing their positions in the Senate, which is now controlled by Democrats.
As NPR reported, Harris administered the oath of office to both Warnock and Ossoff hours after she officially became the nation’s vice president. She also swore in California’s former Secretary of State Democrat Alex Padilla who is taking her Senate seat.
The Georgia senators’ swearing-ins come one day after the certification of their wins in the runoff elections, where they both made history. Ossoff is now the state’s first Jewish senator and the youngest current U.S. senator, while Warnock’s victory makes him Georgia’s first Black senator and first Black Democratic senator from the South.
“Change has come to Georgia,” Ossoff wrote early Wednesday (Jan. 20). “Change is coming to America.”
Warnock’s tweets expressed his goal to work for the good of Americans in Georgia.
“My dad always told me to, ‘get up, put your shoes on, get ready.’ I’m ready to put the Senate back to work for the American people,” he penned in a tweet. Another one read, “As I’m sworn in today, know that I will be a senator for all Georgians. Whether or not you voted for me, I’ll carry your hopes and concerns to Washington.”
During the presidential election, Biden secured the state of Georgia in a win that is also considered monumental. His achievement marked the first time since 1992 that the traditionally-red state turned blue. Many have attributed the Georgia wins to voting rights advocate Stacey Abrams, who worked relentlessly to register new voters and urge existing ones to go to the polls and cast their votes.