A record number of women and racial minorities were elected to the 113th Congress, which was sworn in Thursday. Among them was the first Buddhist to join the Senate, as well as the first Hindu and the first openly bisexual woman in the House.
House Democrats also became the first caucus in the history of either chamber not to have a majority of white men. The Democratic diversity was on display Thursday during the vote for House speaker. Pelosi beamed as dozens of women and minorities called out her name as their choice over Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio), who was narrowly elected by the Republican majority. Twice, her name was read aloud in Spanish.The contrast between the two parties has been stark in recent weeks.
When Republicans first circulated a list of their committee chairmen for the 113th Congress, showing that every committee would be headed by a white man, Democratic Leadership quickly followed up with a flier with photos of the ranking Democrats on the panels. Half of top Democrats on committees are minorities or women.
Article from Washington Post
