WASHINGTON — As the Bay Area braced for a “bomb cyclone,” Rep.-elect Kevin Mullin, D-San Mateo, walked into a different kind of storm Tuesday: his first day as a member of Congress.
Like any new lawmaker, Mullin got lost in the basement of the U.S. Capitol building, its winding hallways and dim lighting delaying his path to being sworn in. There ended up being a much bigger impediment, though, as House Republicans were unable to coalesce around a candidate for speaker, delaying any further actions in the chamber.
That meant that in the meantime, there were officially no members of the House of Representatives, causing additional confusion for districts in transition.
“Clearly from a procedural standpoint, there’s a gap, which illustrates the problem here. But we are treating this as if we are representing the district,” Mullin told The Chronicle. “While I may not officially be representing the area, there are plenty of constituent needs that need to be met and we want to make sure that there’s not a gap. So we are acting as if this is imminent.”
Rep.-elect Kevin Mullin, D-San Mateo, checks his phone while his twins Liam, left, and Landon, 4, play in his office.
Melissa Lyttle, Special to The Chronicle / Special to The ChronicleMullin, who spent a decade in the California Assembly, acknowledged that what should have been perhaps the most routine and ceremonial day of his congressional career ended up being much more unusual.
It was the first time in 100 years that the vote to elect a speaker of the House required multiple ballots, and a rare occasion in which a party did not reach consensus on a candidate ahead of the floor vote.
Mullin and his wife, Jessica Stanfill Mullin, brought their 4-year-old twins to Washington to watch their father be sworn in, toys spilling over the brim of her bag. Stanfill Mullin had wrestled them into formal outfits, but didn’t get that coveted photo of the kids standing alongside Mullin as he was sworn in. Instead, an Associated Press photographer snapped a photo of the twins, one on each side of Mullin, nestled into large leather seats in the House chamber — sound asleep during a round of voting.
Jessica Stanfill Mullin, left, whispers to her husband, Rep.-elect Kevin Mullin, D-San Mateo, as they wait for the Capitol subway cars to take them to the House Chamber.
Melissa Lyttle, Special to The Chronicle / Special to The ChronicleThe family didn’t celebrate as planned with other family members and friends who’d traveled to Washington for the occasion, and on Wednesday, Mullin had to miss the White House tour he had been excited to take as more rounds of voting commenced without a winner.
“Candidly, look, it’s a little odd,” he said. “I am not an Assembly member. I’m a member-elect, not yet a Congress member…. It is a little interesting that I’m casting votes on this floor… but I don’t have an official standing yet.”
Rather than casting a single vote to elect a new speaker, Mullin spent Tuesday and Wednesday voting on repeat, with little clarity on an eventual outcome.
Even more experienced federal lawmakers told Mullin how surprised they were at the events of the first two days of the session.
The uncertainty is also causing administrative issues for Mullin and his staff. He’s unsure if any of them will get paid, and can’t get his official Facebook page name changed, among other issues.
“I want to make sure that our staff is getting paid because they are doing work right now. They are taking meetings and they are answering calls,” he said.
The 118th Congress is seated in the House Chamber to vote for a speaker of the House.
Melissa Lyttle, Special to The Chronicle / Special to The ChronicleJoking that he needed an “IV drip” of coffee, Mullin started what ended up being a marathon day Tuesday getting a packet that contained critical items for members of the House: a placard to allow his car to drive into the U.S. Capitol complex, his new congressional ID, an electronic card and a pin.
Mullin was initially confused by the card, not knowing that the House votes by a keycard-like system, in which lawmakers insert the card into a device on the House floor that electronically records their vote.
Mullin also didn’t know what the pin was for, until informed by The Chronicle that it is how lawmakers are identified to allow them onto the House floor. He struggled to fasten the pin to his jacket’s lapel after spraining a finger playing with his sons. A childhood friend who had flown out for the occasion helped put the pin in place.
His staff opened up their new bare-walled office and discovered they couldn’t even log into their emails. He waited in line with other House Democrats to speak with local television affiliates, unaware of the chaos that would later unfold.
Rep.-elect Kevin Mullin, D-San Mateo, sits with his children during a vote for House speaker on the opening day of the 118th Congress at the U.S. Capitol, on Jan. 3, 2023, in Washington.
Alex Brandon, STF / APThe only celebrating the Mullins did Tuesday wasn’t for Kevin, but for Jessica’s birthday — a late dinner at Old Ebbitt Grill.
Mullin started his second official day in Washington moving his belongings from an Airbnb to a hotel. The unexpected delay meant that his wife and sons would stay longer than initially planned, requiring a change in accommodations. Mullin and other freshman lawmakers have been texting about when their families might head home.
Mullin, like many new lawmakers, still needs to find a more permanent place to live in Washington. He’ll be flying back and forth most weeks of the year, an especially grueling schedule for West Coast lawmakers.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — On the second day of the 118th Congress, but before being officially sworn in as a member of Congress, member-elect Kevin Mullin (D-CA) has voted six times (for Jeffries) for Speaker of the House, learned the route from his office to the House Chamber, and posed for a lot of family photos (with his wife Jessica Stanfill Mullin and their twin boys Landon and Liam, 4. On a recess Wednesday evening, Mullin and his family stopped by House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) office during an open house for freshman members of the House on January 4, 2023.
Melissa Lyttle“This feels in some ways like a natural progression, but like any new job, it’s got all sorts of nuances. And the last couple of weeks with orientation, it’s been quite a lot coming at me. But there are some echoes to how Sacramento works… so it’s not completely foreign to me,” Mullin said.
Mullin still doesn’t know which committee assignments he will get, which often dictates what legislation a member can help shape and move.
Mullin said the biggest difference between Sacramento and Washington is the “enormity of the place… I’m used to an Assembly of 80 members and now we’re talking 435 members. I think the challenge will be sort of trying to find my place in this big institution and really focus on issues that I care about.”
Democrats eventually decided to hold their own ceremonial swearing-in for the freshman lawmakers who had family in town Wednesday afternoon, even though they hadn’t officially taken the oath of office.
A few hours later, Mullin was due back on the floor for more speaker votes.
Shira Stein is The San Francisco Chronicle’s Washington correspondent. Email: shira.stein@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @shiramstein
