Boxer Sworn In, Lands Spot on Steering Panel

Sen. Barbara Boxer was officially sworn into office Tuesday, making California the first state in the nation’s history to fill both of its U.S. Senate seats with women.

After taking the oath of office from Vice President Dan Quayle, Boxer turned and hugged Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), who had escorted her to the podium on the Senate floor. The jampacked gallery responded with prolonged applause.

“I want to say to the pundits and pollsters who said Californians wouldn’t have the guts to make history: We have the guts,” Boxer told a cheering throng of supporters after the ceremony.

Boxer was among the group of women House members who made headlines in the fall of 1991 when they marched to the Senate to protest the handling of the Clarence Thomas-Anita Hill hearings by an all-male Judiciary Committee. At the time, the women were not permitted to join Senate leaders who were meeting behind closed doors.

“I have to say today in my opinion the doors of the U.S. Senate have been opened up to the people,” Boxer said. “This is a new day.”

The presence of four new women senators--bringing the total to six--was brightly illustrated during the swearing-in ceremony on the Senate floor. The four first-year senators--Boxer dressed in teal, Feinstein and Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) in purple and Sen. Carol Moseley Braun (D-Ill.) in orange--stood out in a sea of gray suits.

Moments before her swearing-in, Boxer was informed by Majority Leader George J. Mitchell (D-Maine) that she had been selected to the Democratic Steering Committee, the panel that nominates senators for key committee assignments. The only woman and new senator named to the influential committee, Boxer said she was honored by the appointment even though she did not seek it.

Boxer was picked by Mitchell because of her decade-long tenure in the House, said a senior congressional aide. “She is well versed in a variety of issues, and (Mitchell) wanted to draw on her experience as a member of Congress,” said the aide, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The House on Tuesday swore in 110 freshman lawmakers, the largest group of newcomers to the lower chamber in 44 years. Among them were 17 Californians. Within hours, Democratic and Republican House members engaged in a raucous, partisan debate over new rules that would expand the limited voting rights of five delegates from the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and three U.S. territories.

“There are many problems to be solved in the deficit and the economy,” said freshman Rep. Steve Horn (R-Long Beach). “We need to deal with those. The tragedy is this debate is poisoning the waters for what could be one of the most productive congresses in this century. . . . This is not the way to start this session.”

The Senate’s first order of business Tuesday was to swear in 13 new senators. Boxer sat in the middle of the chamber at the desk of her predecessor, Alan Cranston. On hand to witness the ceremony were Boxer’s husband, Stewart, their children, Doug, 27, and Nicole, 25, and political soul mates Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) and Rep. George Miller (D-Martinez).

Boxer said she began her “momentous” day with an early morning breakfast with her husband, a televised appearance on CNN and a morning meeting with Senate Democrats. Following the noon swearing-in, Boxer spent the afternoon celebrating with political supporters.

Boxer was scheduled to appear with Feinstein and other women senators at an evening event sponsored by the Women’s Council of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. But she participated in her first Steering Committee meeting to begin doling out committee assignments.

“Barbara Boxer is locked behind closed doors wheeling and dealing to get her sisters the committee assignments they need,” Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.) told the group.

Boxer said she intended to push for choice committee assignments for all 13 first-year senators. Feinstein is seeking a spot on the powerful Appropriations Committee, and both Feinstein and Boxer have said they are willing to serve on the all-male Judiciary panel.

Feinstein was sworn in the week after she was elected in November to fill the remaining two years of the seat vacated by Gov. Pete Wilson.

“This is the first time in our nation’s history that one state’s senator, a woman, has the privilege of announcing another senator, a woman,” Feinstein said before introducing Boxer at a California reception.

Boxer, who defeated Republican Bruce Herschensohn, acknowledged that she benefited in the final weeks of the campaign from the support provided by Feinstein, who enjoyed a lopsided victory over Republican John Seymour.

“I wouldn’t have won this election without Dianne,” Boxer said. “She was by my side when I needed her by my side.”

Boxer announced that she plans to attend town hall meetings in five California cities in February to hear the concerns of her constituents.

Times staff writer James Bornemeier contributed to this report.