Lucy McBath Joins Diverse Congressional Freshman Class

WASHINGTON, DC — Lucy McBath was sworn in as metro Atlanta's 6th district congressional representative on Thursday, joining the most diverse class of Congressional freshmen in history. McBath, a Democrat, defeated incumbent Karen Handel last fall in a close upset, less than a year after the Republican defeated Jon Ossoff in what became the nation's most expensive congressional election in history.

McBath's district includes portions of the cities of Atlanta, Brookhaven, Sandy Springs, Dunwoody, Mountain Park, Milton and Alpharetta, and parts of both Fulton and DeKalb County.

Democrats also returned Nancy Pelosi to the House speaker's post Thursday as the 116th Congress took office. President Donald Trump congratulated Pelosi during a rare appearance in the White House briefing room.

The president, who has tangled with Pelosi and is sure to do so again, called her election by House colleagues "a tremendous, tremendous achievement."

Pelosi, elected speaker 220-192, took the gavel saying U.S. voters "demanded a new dawn" in the November election and are looking to "the beauty of our Constitution" to provide checks and balances on power. She invited scores of lawmakers' kids to join her on the dais as she was sworn in, calling the House to order "on behalf of all of America's children." She faced 15 dissenting votes from fellow Democrats.

The new Congress is like none other. There are more women than ever before, and a new generation of Muslims, Latinos, Native Americans and African-Americans in the House is creating what academics call a reflective democracy, more aligned with the population of the United States.

The Republican side in the House is still made up mostly of white men, and in the Senate Republicans bolstered their ranks in the majority.

SEE ALSO: Democrats Return Nancy Pelosi To House Speaker Post

AND: House Democrats Top Priority: 'End The Reckless Trump Shutdown'

In a nod to the moment, Pelosi, the first female speaker, was broadly pledging to make Congress work for all Americans — addressing kitchen table issues at a time of deep economic churn — even as her party is ready to challenge Trump with investigations and subpoena powers that threaten the White House agenda. It's the first new Congress to convene amid a partial government shutdown, now in its 13th day over Trump's demands for money for a wall along the U.S-Mexico border.

Vice President Mike Pence swore in newly-elected senators, but Senate Republicans under Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had no plans to consider the House bills to fund the government unless Trump agrees to sign them into law. That ensures the shutdown will continue, clouding the first days of the new session.

McConnell said that Republicans have shown the Senate is "fertile soil for big, bipartisan accomplishments," but that the question is whether House Democrats will engage in "good governance or political performance art."

Associated Press writers Lisa Mascaro, Matthew Daly, Alan Fram, Kevin Freking, Mary Clare Jalonick and Laurie Kellman contributed to this report.

Image Lucy McBath