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John Fetterman takes the oath as Pennsylvania’s 54th senator

Fetterman joins the Senate after winning a nationally watched campaign, giving Pennsylvania two senators elected as Democrats for the first time since the 1940s.

Vice President Kamala Harris (right) participates in a ceremonial swearing-in of Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman (left) with his wife Gisele Barreto Fetterman in the Old Senate Chamber on Capitol Hill in Washington on Tuesday.
Vice President Kamala Harris (right) participates in a ceremonial swearing-in of Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman (left) with his wife Gisele Barreto Fetterman in the Old Senate Chamber on Capitol Hill in Washington on Tuesday.Read moreAP

WASHINGTON — John Fetterman took the oath of office Tuesday to become the 54th U.S. senator in Pennsylvania history, giving the state two senators elected as Democrats for the first time since the 1940s.

Fetterman, 53, took his place in the chamber after winning a nationally watched campaign over Republican Mehmet Oz, in a race marked by his stroke days before Pennsylvania’s May primary, and his promise to be the “51st vote” to advance the Democratic agenda in Washington.

Fetterman’s victory, along with other Democratic successes in November’s elections, will give him a chance to fulfill that promise, at least in the Senate, though any major policy aims are likely to run into a wall in the form of a Republican-led House.

Fetterman, in a new gray suit and blue tie, took the oath, administered by Vice President Kamala Harris, on a small black family Bible with his wife, Gisele, and their three children looking on from the Senate gallery.

Also watching were Dennis and Lee Horton, Philadelphia brothers controversially convicted for participating in a 1993 robbery and murder, but who maintained their innocence and who were granted clemency at Fetterman’s urging. They joined his campaign for Senate.

Despite his large public profile, Fetterman made no formal public comments as he took office and did not meet with reporters.

In his first day on the Senate floor, Fetterman stuck closely to fellow Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. Bob Casey, and was greeted warmly by a wide range of lawmakers in both parties, laughing with Sen. John Kennedy (R., La.) and shaking hands with Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (I., Ariz.), Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.), and others.

» READ MORE: From the top of the political world to a basement office: How John Fetterman will fit in the U.S. Senate

Sen. Joe Manchin (D., W.Va.), whom Fetterman often contrasted himself with, clapped the incoming Pennsylvanian on his shoulder.

Casey escorted Fetterman to the Senate well for the oath, which Fetterman took alongside Sens. Chuck Grassley (R., Iowa), Maggie Hassan (D., N.H.), and John Hoeven (R., N.D.), as the chamber administered oaths in groups of four.

Fetterman arrives as a national figure already, widely known for his blunt style and his trademark look, including hoodies, gym shorts, forearm tattoos, and an often grimacing countenance. His rise to the Senate, though, began in an unlikely place, after he spent years as mayor of Braddock, a small city of about 2,000 just outside Pittsburgh.

He first ran for Senate in 2016, falling short in a three-way Democratic primary, but then won election as the state’s lieutenant governor in 2018. He scored a dominant primary victory in last year’s Senate race and beat Oz by nearly 5 percentage points, despite predicted political headwinds in a closely divided swing state.

Fetterman is replacing Republican Sen. Pat Toomey, who didn’t seek reelection.

» READ MORE: Pat Toomey didn’t change in his 12 years as a senator. The GOP did.

With Casey already in office, Democrats will now hold both of Pennsylvania’s Senate seats for the first time since 2010, when Sen. Arlen Specter, a longtime Republican, changed parties.