Yesterday Kirsten Gillibrand was sworn in as New York's newest senator by Vice President Joe Biden. The youngest member of the legislative body, Gillibrand has already been appointed to the Committees on Agriculture; Environment and Public Works; and Foreign Relations; and the Special Committee on Aging. Gillibrand spent much of yesterday meeting and greeting her new colleagues and enjoying the ceremonies with family members who made the trip to Washington. The Times reports that Biden "greeted her nieces and nephews with high fives and 'hey, man' and 'hi, cuz.'"
Meanwhile back in her home state, politicians were not quite celebrating the coronation via satellite. After initially being put on the defensive more than once for her stance as a protector of gun rights, now local Democrats have honed in on her positions on immigration. As a congresswoman, Gillibrand has voted in favor of bills that increased financing for law enforcement against illegal immigrants and that protected businesses requiring their employees to speak English on the job. She also co-sponsored the Save Act, which proposed what some see as harsh methods to crack down on illegal immigration.
This prompted El Diario to call her "a disappointing choice" over the weekend and led to a coalition of Latino Democrats in Albany led by Assemblyman Peter Rivera to label her as "pandering to xenophobes." Rivera was scheduled to have a press conference yesterday announcing "total opposition" to the new senator's stances, but called it off as she attempted to reach out to him and plan a meeting to discuss the issues.
Gillibrand has already hired a Latino consultant to help deal with her immigration record. An immigration lawyer told the Times he expects her to "modify" her positions, perhaps similar to how Seantor Schumer suggested she will "evolve" on the gun rights issue.
