Key facts
- More than 100 new members of Congress arrived in Washington for orientation ahead of swearing in on January 3.
- Democrats flipped more than 40 House seats and gained at least six Senate seats, per the account.
- Representative-elect Dan Koh of Massachusetts told Roll Call the orientation was "like high school."
- Representative-elect Zack Mullock told CNN he had looked up a congressperson's salary two days earlier.
- The body puts the salary of most members of Congress at $174,000.
More than 100 new members of Congress came to Washington for new member orientation ahead of their swearing in on January 3, according to a first-person account published by the Guardian on November 12, 2026. The author, a Guardian writer returning from parental leave, described the arrivals as a first day of school for the incoming class.
Democrats entered the orientation after flipping more than 40 House seats and gaining at least six Senate seats in the midterms, the account said. The Alaska Senate race had not been called but appeared to favor Democrats, it said. The body described the freshman class as including doctors and scientists, military veterans, faith leaders, farmers, a smoke jumper and a Latin Grammy award-winning musician.
New members toured the Capitol, attended briefings and trainings, took group photos and competed for office space, the account said. Representative-elect Dan Koh of Massachusetts told Roll Call that it was "like high school," and incoming Democratic senator Troy Jackson of Maine shared boba tea with Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren on the Tuesday of orientation week, a day after arriving alongside James Talarico of Texas and Annie Andrews of South Carolina.
Representative-elect Zack Mullock, a Democratic mayor in a longtime Republican district in New Jersey, told CNN he had looked up a congressperson's salary two days earlier; the body put the figure at $174,000 for most members. Representative-elect Rebecca Bennett of New Jersey posted on X under the heading "First day of school," listing ending foreign wars and making child care affordable as her priorities.
The account said the new Democratic members intend to use subpoena power in the House to investigate the Trump administration and to push for a single-payer Medicare for All system. It also said many newly elected members campaigned on a federal paid leave policy, an effort the author tied to the absence of a federal paid family and medical leave mandate.