U.S. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler and Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell were among those who attended Wednesday’s inauguration of President Joe Biden.
All three women, one Republican and two Democrats, offered up comments later Wednesday reflecting on the experience.
“It was an honor to watch @POTUS and @VP be sworn in today,” said Murray, using the new Twitter handles for Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
“The last four years have been incredibly hard,” Murray added. “I hope you all appreciate what you’ve done to raise your voices and each other’s, because as today shows, it could not matter more.”
Cantwell hailed the historic significance of the inauguration, happening as it did in the midst of a pandemic and security threats and breaking ground for women in politics.
“Just over 100 years ago, women finally gained the right to vote — now, we’ve sworn in our first woman vice president,” Cantwell said in a statement distributed by email and posted on Twitter.
“I was glad to hear President Biden talk about unity and moving forward as a united country,” Cantwell added. “I look forward to working with President Biden and Vice President Harris to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, strengthen our economy and make progress for the people of Washington.”
Battle Ground Republican Herrera Beutler said in a Facebook post that while she expects to often disagree with the president on policy issues, “this is not the day to highlight those disagreements.”
“Today, I pray for the success of our nation and its people, and that public servants in the White House and in Congress act in accordance with the Constitution to secure the life, liberty and pursuit of happiness identified in our Declaration of Independence,” Herrera Beutler wrote.
“I plan to work with the new president the same way I did the previous two — if he has a proposal that will benefit Southwest Washington, I’ll be a strong advocate for it, but I won’t hesitate to stand up and oppose those policies that do not align with our region’s best interests.”
