PHOTO: At 11 am today, U.S. Senator Doug Jones (D - Birmingham) was sworn-in. (C - SPAN Coverage)
By Tyler Pruett, Managing Editor
WASHINGTON, D.C. — (Video at the Bottom) At 11 am today, Doug Jones (D - Birmingham) was sworn in as Alabama's newest U.S. Senator. The ceremony took place at the opening of The Second Session of the 115th Congress.
The December 12th Special Election vote was confirmed by the Alabama Secretary of State's Office on December 28th. Jones received 673,896 (49.9 percent) to Moore's 651,972 (48.3 percent) statewide.
Write-in votes totaled 22,852 (1.7 percent) in the election. (View the certified results here: http://sos.alabama.gov/sites/default/files/voter-pdfs/2017%20Official%20General%20Election%20Results%20with%20Write-In%20Appendix%20-%202017-12-28.pdf)
Jones was sworn-in by Vice President Mike Pence, and former Vice President Joe Biden escorted Jones to take the oath. As reported by WAAY 31, traditionally Alabama Senior Senator would escort the new senator, which in this case would be U.S. Senator Richard Shelby.
Senator Jones instead selected Biden to do the honor.
After the ceremony, Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell (R - KY) addressed lawmakers and welcomed Sen. Jones: "I'd like to extend a particular welcome to our two new senators who were just sworn in."
"First, Senator Doug Jones of Alabama, who will have big shoes to fill. His state has sent some very distinguished legislators to Washington, including Attorney General, Jeff Sessions. Senator Jones brings a background in law enforcement, having served as the federal prosecutor in the Northern District of Alabama and we welcome him," said McConnell.
McConnell also highlighted the importance of bi-partisanship in the upcoming issues lawmakers face this year: "I congratulate both of these new senators and look forward to working with them in the month ahead to make bipartisan progress and to find common ground on behalf of the American People."
"The senate will need to tackle several important issues this year. It's my sincere hope that we can do so, in a renewed spirit of comity, collegiality, and bipartisanship. I note that colleagues on both sides of the aisle share this hope, and it's urgent that we make it reality," he said.
"Congress must reach a spending agreement by January 19 to ensure uninterrupted funding of the federal government," said McConnell.
Watch video coverage from C-Span: //www.c-span.org/video/?438924-1/democratic-senators-doug-jones-tina-smith-sworn
