WASHINGTON, D.C. — Ohio officially has two new members of Congress and they are getting thrown right into the ongoing debate about President Joe Biden’s economic agenda.

Democrat Shontel Brown and Republican Mike Carey were sworn in by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday afternoon, less than 48 hours after their special election wins in Ohio’s 11th and 15th Congressional districts.

“I take this responsibility seriously. I ran for Congress because I believe in the resilience of the community I love and call home,” Brown (D, OH-11) said in her first remarks on the House floor. 

Carey, a Republican who now represents OH-15, addressed the House right after Brown.

“The problems facing our nation today are great and consequential. Working families need this body to deliver solutions,” Carey said.

They enter a sharply divided Congress that for months has been negotiating Biden’s infrastructure and social spending agenda. 

Because Democrats have been unable to reach consensus on the two packages, Brown and Carey will now have the opportunity to vote on it themselves. Brown has indicated she will join her fellow Democrats in supporting both packages, while Carey, who campaigned as a conservative endorsed by former President Donald Trump, has said he will oppose them.

Moments after her swearing-in, Brown was ushered to Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol where she was formally inducted into the influential Congressional Black Caucus, which is currently chaired by fellow Ohio Democratic Rep. Joyce Beatty (D, OH-3).

Brown takes over the Cleveland-based congressional seat that former Rep. Marcia Fudge, a former CBC chair herself, held for the last 12 years. 

Fudge, who resigned from her seat earlier this year to become Biden’s Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, has long considered Brown a mentee and even had her mother record a television ad for Brown in her competitive primary against former Ohio State Sen. Nina Turner. 

Fudge attended Thursday’s swearing-in to congratulate Brown.

“I am over the moon,” Fudge told Spectrum News moments after the ceremony. “I think she is going to be a breath of fresh air that this body needs. She’s going to work hard, she’s smart, she’s going to represent us well and I’m really excited about her starting her tenure today.”

Carey assumes the office held by former Rep. Steve Stivers (R) for the last decade.

The central Ohio 15th District stretches from the Columbus suburbs all the way southeast to Athens County.

Though Stivers endorsed State Rep. Jeff LaRe in the primary, he quickly supported Carey in the general and attended his victory party Tuesday.

Because they are in opposing political parties, Carey and Brown joining Congress does not shift the balance of the U.S. House. 

Ohio’s current delegation now stands at 12 Republicans and four Democrats in the House, one Democrat and one Republican in the Senate.