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The first two Native American congresswomen hugged on the House floor after they were sworn in to the most diverse Congress ever

Jan 4, 2019, 16:47 IST

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Deb Haaland and Sharice Davids hug after Nanci Pelosi congratulates the 166th congress on taking office.C-SPAN

  • The first ever Native American women elected to Congress hugged after they were sworn into office on Thursday.
  • Deb Haaland (New Mexico's first district) and Sharice Davids (Kansas' third district) embraced as the new House Speaker Nancy Pelosi congratulated the 116th Congress.
  • Haaland is a member of the Laguna Pueblo people, and Davids is from the Ho-Chunk (Winnebago) nation.
  • This Congress has 102 women, a record, and is also the most ethnically diverse in US history.
  • See photos of the 101 new House members sworn in at the ceremony here.

The first two Native American congresswomen ever elected hugged on the House floor on Thursday as they were sworn into the most diverse Congress ever. 

Deb Haaland (New Mexico's first district) and Sharice Davids (Kansas' third district) shared a tearful embrace, as new House Speaker Nancy Pelosi congratulated the 116th Congress for taking up office. 

Here's a video of the moment. After they hug, Haaland uses Davids' scarf to wipe away her tears. 

Haaland is a member of the Laguna people, and Davids is from the Ho-Chunk (Winnebago) nation.

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Davids is also a lesbian, making her the first ever LGBT member of Congress from the state of Kansas. After the ceremony she tweeted: "Not a bad first day on the job."

Sharice Davids and Deb Haaland.AP

Read more: The most diverse Congress in US history is sworn in as Democrats take the reins of power in the House

The makeup of Congress is really different this year. It's the most diverse in US history, with 102 women in the ranks, more than ever before.

There were other notable firsts, Rashida Tlaib (Michigan) and Ilhan Omar (Minnesota) were the first Muslim women to be sworn into Congress.

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TYT Investigates/YouTube; Reuters

Tlaib also became the first Palestinian-American elected to the House, and wore a traditional Palestinian thobe to the ceremony.

Despite new records for diversity amongst the Democrats, Business Insider previously reported that 90% of House Republicans will be white men.

Ten new senators and 101 new House members were sworn-in in total on Thursday.

The results from the Midterm elections held on November 7 saw the Democrats sweep into power, after eight years in the minority.

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New House speaker Nancy Pelosi - who led Thursday's ceremony - was reelected with 220 votes, becoming the first woman to hold the position twice.

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