◼ Some Tea Party Freshmen Still Adjusting to D.C. Politics
USA TODAY interviewed Noem and other Tea Party-supported freshmen in Congress to gauge how they were transitioning from their 2010 campaigns, where they promised to change Washington, to actual governing in D.C.
Noem, one of two freshmen who act as liaisons between House leadership and the 93-member freshman class, echoes some of her colleagues who don't appear intimidated by working in the nation's capital.
"I'm not a freshman. I'm just new in Congress," said Rep. David McKinley, who served in the West Virginia House of Delegates and later as the GOP state party chairman before his election to Congress last year.
