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Washington • Utah's Chris Stewart and the other 83 newly elected House members will head to the Capitol next week for a crash course on Congress, from ethics rules to how to know when to vote.
They'll also scope out office space and hunt for D.C. apartments as part of orientation week.
Stewart and the rest of the freshmen have little time to shift from campaigning to propping up a fully functioning congressional office. The new members, along with the incumbents, take the oath of office on Jan. 3.
Stewart, a Republican from Farmington, will be Utah's fourth member of the House, representing the expansive 2nd Congressional District that includes Salt Lake City and most of the western half of the state. Reps. Jim Matheson, Rob Bishop and Jason Chaffetz won re-election.
Since his Tuesday night victory, Stewart has been interviewing applicants for his top jobs and narrowing down his choices. He's hoping to hire his top advisers quickly.
"We really are very early in that process," he said Thursday. "But we think we've had a lot of really great people we've met back in D.C. and also in Utah."