The 89 female Democrat members ushered in a new day in Washington as they gathered for a group picture, but the aftermath was all too common

The first day of school was followed by yet another class photo on Capitol Hill.

But one that was a little different from the traditional.

After a series of procedural votes, the 89 female Democratic members of Congress gathered for a group picture in front of the Capitol on Friday. The setting was no different than any other picture of its size. There was jostling as people had to be arranged by height, late arrivers had to be squeezed and photographers kept on yelling “down front” as the 89 women, including 36 newly elected members of Congress, laughed and joked among themselves.

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There was no oratory at the scene, it was just a photo op, although the House of Representatives speaker, Nancy Pelosi, received a round of applause from her colleagues when she took her place in the front. Pelosi, who became the first female speaker in 2007, was re-elected yesterday after Democrats regained control of the House in the midterm elections.

The newly elected Democratic class featured a number of firsts, including the first Native American women and the first Muslim American women elected to federal office. The history wentunremarked upon by members of the public save by one girl who pointed out as members left: “She’s the first Palestinian American member of Congress” or “She’s the first Native American member of Congress”.

After the photos ended, Deb Haaland, one of the first two Native American women elected to Congress, walked back through the crowd holding a pink wool glove that a colleague had left on the stage while Cheri Bustos, the incoming chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, tried to herd her fellow Illinois Democrats together for a group picture.

The aftermath of the photo also featured the first Democratic woman fleeing from reporters after one of the first controversies of the new Congress. Rashida Tlaib, the newly elected congresswoman from Michigan, refused to answer questions on comments she made about Donald Trump on Thursday, saying to “impeach the motherfucker”. The comments have met near universal condemnation from both sides of the aisle.

However, Tlaib refused to talk to reporters about the comments after boasting on Twitter earlier on Friday: “I will always speak to truth to power.” Instead, a staffer trying to shield her from questioning occasionally shouted out the age-old dodge of elected officials on Capitol Hill: “Call our office.”

It was a new day in Washington in so many ways, but not all.