Cory Booker To Be Sworn In As Senator Oct. 31
NEWARK, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Cory Booker will officially become a senator next week.
The outgoing mayor of Newark will be sworn in by Vice President Joe Biden on Oct. 31 at noon at the U.S. Capitol, the White House said. The job falls to Biden because the vice president also serves as president of the Senate.
Booker, a Democrat, was elected last week to complete the 15 months remaining on the term of former New Jersey Sen. Frank Lautenberg, who died in June at age 89.
Booker defeated Republican Steven Lonegan, a former mayor of Bogota, in a special election.
Booker will become the second African-American in the Senate. The other is Tim Scott of South Carolina, who was appointed to the seat in January.
Last week, Booker told WCBS 880 that he's built a career on being bipartisan and hopes he can do his part to prevent any future government shutdowns.
"All over New Jersey, all over American, (the shutdown) hurt," he said. "It hurt our economy. It hurt our stock market. There's no place that this didn't hurt everybody. There's no winners in this. It hurt everyone. So I'm going down there now to try to bring the spirit of bipartisanship."
You May Also Be Interested In These Stories
(TM and © Copyright 2013 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2013 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
