By Sentinel Staff
Alaska’s Rep. Don Young, as Dean of the U.S. House of Representatives, played a role in the ceremonial start of the 116th Congress today, administering the oath of office to the new Speaker of the House, Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California.
Since 1820 it has been customary for the Dean of the House – its longest serving member – to administer the oath of office to the incoming speaker at the start of a new Congress, Young’s office said in a news release today.
Young assumed the title on Dec. 5, 2017, when he became its longest serving member.
In today’s ceremony Young, a Republican, administered the oath as he stood in the well of the House facing the elevated speaker’s podium where Pelosi, a Democrat, stood with the Republican nominee for speaker, Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California. As the new speaker, Pelosi administered the oath to the more than 400 other members, including Young.
Young’s office said he is the first Republican to hold the title of Dean of the House since 1933.
Nancy Pelosi of California, surrounded by her grandchildren and other children raises her right hand as Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, the longest-serving member of the House, administers the oath to Pelosi to become the Speaker of the House at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 3, 2019. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
