Arizona’s newly elected Republican senator is now seated in the 113th Congress.
For many newly elected lawmakers it’s their first time serving in Washington. Not for Senator Flake. Even as he was flanked by his family on his first day in the Senate he was reminded that his House term just came to an end.
“I got notice on my Blackberry that the House was voting, and I’m not there! It was just really weird," he said.
The celebration is over and now the hard work begins. Flake has always been a vocal critic of government spending. In the Senate he’ll have even more power to make his voice heard. Flake says he plans to use it to push fiscal issues, but not to be a nuisance.
“I don’t consider myself a bomb thrower but certainly on fiscal issues, I’m conservative," he said.
Flake isn’t on a spending or budget committee, but as a senator he can now slow legislation down by merely objecting to it.
