Lemieux Sworn In as Floridas New Us Senator
Vice President Joe Biden administered the oath of office on the Senate floor and then did a ceremonial swearing with LeMieuxs family in the old Senate chamber. Biden, who served in the chamber before taking his current office, quietly offered LeMieux advice.
“Be straight with people. Not everybody is,” the vice president said. “For all the cynicism about this place, this is history. It matters.”
LeMieux was picked by Crist to fill the seat Republican Mel Martinez left early. He is putting his life as a lawyer and political strategist on hold to join an exclusive group for a short time. He has said he will not seek the job when it comes on the ballot in November 2010.
LeMieux, who at 40 is the youngest member of the current Senate, spent Wednesday watching Martinezs farewell speech from the public gallery overlooking the floor where he now represents 18 million Floridians. After being sworn in, he held a press conference and expressed concerns about a bill that would allow oil drilling near Floridas coast. He also weighed in cautiously on President Barack Obamas health care overhaul, saying there are parts he likes and other parts that concern him.
“I really need to learn and listen more and Im going to spending the next week or two really trying to immerse myself in health care issues so that I can do whats best for the people of Florida,” LeMieux said.
LeMieux then went to the Senate floor and cast his first vote, opposing the appointment of Cass Sunstein as administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs.
While it was a historic day for LeMieux, he didnt arrive without criticism. He has been called a placeholder for Crist, who critics say picked a loyal friend over more qualified candidates. And the pick isnt sitting well with some of the most conservative Republicans, who see LeMieux as a moderate, like Crist.
“Theres always going to be skeptics and theres always going to be folks that are critical and thats our American democracy,” LeMieux said before the ceremony. “Well see how things go over the next 16 months and hopefully theyll be less critical when I leave.”
His law firm, Gunster, has also been more closely scrutinized, including the state contracts it has received since LeMieux left his job as Crists chief of staff and returned to the firm in January 2008.
Gunster billed the state Department of Transportation nearly $3 million in the fiscal year that ended in June, up nearly $2 million from the previous fiscal year. The fiscal year before LeMieux became chairman of the firm, it received no state payments, according to the state Department of Financial Services. The year before that, it earned more than $4.4 million in state business.
Two Senate candidates, Republican Marco Rubio and Democrat Rep. Kendrick Meek, have criticized LeMieuxs appointment because Gunster helped secure visas for foreign sheet metal workers for a South Florida construction project. The firm has said that only four of its 140 lawyers practice immigration law and LeMieux isnt one of them.
“I know that politics is a rough and tumble sport, but Im a big boy and I understand that and thats fine,” said LeMieux, who ran Crists 2006 campaign for governor. “Theyre allowed to take their shots.”
Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., said he looks forward to having a similar bipartisan relationship with LeMieux as he had with Martinez. He also dismissed the idea that LeMieux short stay in the Senate would diminish his effectiveness.
Earlier Thursday, the soon-to-be Sen. LeMieux met with his new staff and was briefed on issues like health care and oil drilling and prepped for a Friday visit to the Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
Afterward, he reflected on the job he was about to take on.
“Sen. (George) Voinovich from Ohio yesterday said to me, You know, youre only going to be here 16 months, but these might be the most important 16 months in modern times because were going to make these big decisions about which way the countrys going,” LeMieux said. “So I feel that weight and responsibility and I understand that Ive got a big job ahead of me.”