Rep. Joe Heck takes oath, seat in Nevada delegation

By Karoun Demirjian

Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2011 | 3:35 p.m.

WASHINGTON - At precisely 2:17 p.m. today Washington time, new House Speaker John Boehner swore in the newest 94 members of Congress, meaning Joe Heck is now officially Southern Nevada's newest congressman.

It was an afternoon of ceremonial pomp and circumstance all over Capitol Hill, as the Senate and the House staged swearing-in events to induct the newly elected, make changeovers in party leadership and commence the new session.

Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi's words were heavy with the seriousness of the occasion as she handed Boehner an oversized Speaker's gavel: she spoke of being "trustees of America's best hopes and custodians of America's highest values"; Boehner too, was brought to public tears as he spoke of the "sacred trust" that goes along with inheriting it.

But past that, the atmosphere was almost party-like -- especially on the Republican side of the aisle, which burst into hooting and hollering cheers on several occasions throughout the proceedings. Legions of new members' cherubically dolled-up children created family traffic jams in the hallways, too, adding to the carnival-like atmosphere.

Heck brought his son, also named Joseph, onto the House floor, picking a pair of aisle seats four rows back -- on the right side of the chamber, of course -- to perch for the ceremony. Heck, who tends toward the focused and serious, nonetheless seemed to be lapping up the moment, smiling and waving at various galleries and joking with Joseph III, who got to participate more than most peoples' kids when Republican Todd Rokita, a freshman representative from Indiana, stopped to say hi to his dad -- and handed over his congressional card to Joseph III so he could cast Rokita's "present" vote in the chamber for the first official roll call.

For Nevada, it was also a day to feature the old political guard alongside the new. Across the chamber in the Senate, former Nevada Sen. Paul Laxalt made a surprise cameo at Harry Reid's re-appointment as Senate majority leader. Reid replaced Laxalt, 88, after a 12-year Senate career in 1987, and the Democratic majority leader and former Republican senator have remained close since, according to Reid's office.

Laxalt's presence was all the more striking though, given the absence of another Republican who would normally have been part of Reid re-inaugural entourage: John Ensign.

"Senator Ensign decided to remain in Nevada this week to meet with constituents instead of flying back to D.C. because there are no votes scheduled," said Ensign spokeswoman Jennifer Cooper. "Senator Reid was aware of this and called Senator Ensign to ask it it was OK for former Senator Laxalt to escort him to the swearing in."

The Senate does have a very light schedule for the month of January: it will spend the next few days debating changes to the filibuster rule, but then disband until after the State of the Union address.

Still, it's customary for leaders to be joined by their full state chamber delegations at the beginning of session: in the House, Boehner was accompanied by the full roster of representatives from Ohio, as well as the leaders of both party caucuses in the House.

Ensign and Reid have had an historically close relationship -- though it has been strained by an ethics scandal that has plauged Ensign since his affair with a staffer was disclosed almost two years ago.