Alex Padilla sworn in as U.S. senator, feeling the weight of ‘the moment’

When Alex Padilla took his seat in the U.S. Senate on Wednesday, Jan. 20, he was surrounded by “firsts.” California’s Latino U.S. senator was sworn in by Kamala Harris, the first woman vice president, whose former seat he was appointed to by Gov. Gavin Newsom. He was joined by the Rev. Raphael Warnock, Georgia’s first Black senator, and Jon Ossoff, Georgia’s first Jewish senator — and at age 33 the youngest since Joe Biden entered the Senate in 1972 at age 30. His mother’s Bible in hand and accompanied by fellow U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein and longtime friend and lawmaker from the San Fernando Valley, Rep. Tony Cardenas, D-Panorama City, right hand raised,...