Monday, Nov. 15, 2010 | 1:15 p.m.
Rep.-elect Joe Heck scratched out a victory in a brutal campaign against incumbent Dina Titus.
WASHINGTON -- He’s not officially a member of Congress yet, but Joe Heck is getting started at the job this week in Washington.
The freshman class of House members was sequestered in a basement meeting room of the Capitol for much of today in orientation sessions on how to represent a district and run an office. Their more senior colleagues-to-be are pumping them full of information on everything from the rules of House procedure to ethical conduct (a timely topic, given that New York Rep. Charlie Rangel’s ethics trial started today).
“Some of the stuff is familiar, from when I was a senator before, but with a new twist,” Heck said.
Heck looked a little over-focused and overwhelmed emerging from a morning of sessions for his first lunch break — House orientation is a lot like the first week of college, he admitted — but there’s something just a bit more awe-inspiring about preparing for his current role.
“It didn’t set in until last night,” Heck said. “After Leader Boehner’s dinner, he took us to the House floor ... that’s when it hit me.”
Heck will spend the week going to orientation sessions with his 90-plus new classmates — the largest crop of freshmen to descend on D.C. in some time — and interviewing hopeful staffers for his new office. His wife, Lisa, will also be helping out: she’ll be scoping out workspaces in advance of Friday’s office lottery, Heck said.
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