Alabama's Doug Jones sworn in as senator, narrowing the Republican majority

Deborah Barfield Berry | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption 2 Senate Democrats sworn in, narrow GOP majority The Republican majority in the Senate narrowed to 51-49 Wednesday as two new Democratic senators were sworn into office Wednesday.

WASHINGTON — Democrat Doug Jones, who pulled off a political upset in the South in December, was sworn in Wednesday as Alabama’s newest senator, narrowing the Republican majority in the U.S. Senate to 51-49.

Former Vice President Joe Biden, a longtime friend of Jones, accompanied the new lawmaker into the Senate chamber.

Biden campaigned for Jones in Alabama last year, and soon after Jones’ historic win, the Senator-elect sent out an email raising money for Biden's political action committee.

Jones defeated Republican Roy Moore in a special election last month — the first time in 25 years a Democrat won a Senate seat in the state. It was a contentious battle for the seat of former GOP Sen. Jeff Sessions, who left to become President Trump's attorney general.

Alabama officials certified the election results last week.

Moore, however, has yet to concede, and has been raising money to challenge the results. A judge struck down Moore’s request last week for a temporary restraining order to stop the certification of the results. Jones beat Moore by about 20,000 votes, out of about 1.3 million ballots cast.

Jones, meanwhile, has said it's time to move on.

“Alabama has spoken," Jones said on CNN’s State of the Union soon after he won the race. “It was a close election. There’s no question about that … But now it’s time to heal. Now it’s time to move on and go to the next thing.”

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In the brief ceremony Wednesday, Jones, who carried a family Bible, walked to the front of the Senate chamber with Biden to be sworn in and take the oath of office.

The new senator was then greeted by colleagues, including Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, one of only a handful of Republicans in the chamber.

"He's a good guy,'' Biden told Grassley.

Jones also chatted with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. McConnell had called for Moore to bow out of the race after allegations he had improper sexual contact with teenagers when he was in his 30s.

More than a dozen Democrats were in the chamber to welcome Jones. He was embraced by New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, who campaigned for him in Alabama during the final days leading up to the election.

In one of his first moves, Jones named his leadership team Tuesday – all of them Alabama natives.

Dana Gresham, a Birmingham native and former assistant secretary for governmental affairs at the Department of Transportation, will serve as his chief of staff. That announcement earned praise from some civil rights groups, as Gresham becomes the only African-American chief of staff in a Senate Democratic office.

“This is a big and historic hire," said Don Bell, director of the Black Talent Initiative at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies.

Jones faces some challenges in the Republican-controlled Senate. He is one of only two Democrats in Alabama’s congressional delegation. Rep. Terri Sewell, who campaigned with Jones across the state, is the other Democrat.

Sewell and former Attorney General Eric Holder sat in the Senate gallery to watch the swearing in.

“I’m excited about the opportunity to have a partner in Congress,'' Sewell said after the ceremony. ''I know that Doug and I will do well to help move Alabama forward.’’

Holder said he and Jones have worked together on several issues and he expects the new senator will be a “unique voice’’ on issues such as criminal justice reform, voting rights and national security.

“It will be challenging, but the issues really aren't partisan in nature,'' Holder said. "These are things America has got to deal with.’’

Jones comes from a red state and will have to not only appease Democrats who helped put him in office, but appeal to conservatives who supported Moore or didn’t vote for either of them.

Despite being criticized by Republicans, including Trump, Jones has promised to try to work across party lines on issues important to Alabama and the country.

“I think there’s opportunity at every turn. It doesn’t matter what the issue is. There’s always the opportunity to find common ground,’’ he said on Fox News Sunday last month.

But, he said, “it’s a two-way street.’’

Democrat Tina Smith was also sworn in to fill a vacant Senate seat Wednesday. Smith, who was Minnesota’s lieutenant governor, was appointed to fill the seat of Democratic Sen. Al Franken. Franken, who officially resigned Tuesday, had come under fire after more than half a dozen women alleged that he touched them improperly or made unwanted sexual advances.

Contributing: Melissa Brown of the Montgomery Advertiser