Over the course of several hours Tuesday morning, newly elected House members were in and out of a hotel a few blocks south of the Capitol, getting their first taste of the press corps as they prepared for a 10-day crash course on all. things Congress.

“It’s important to know where the bathrooms are in the building, obviously,” said California Democrat Sam T. Liccardo, the former mayor of San Jose. Building a strong team and finding common ground with the likely Republican majority also topped the list, Liccardo said.

He was one of several dozen people who attended orientation for new members, a series of programs hosted by the House Administration Committee to help acclimate future lawmakers.

Orientation includes trainings, information sessions and guest speakers. The inductees will pose for a class photo and later next week will enter a lottery to see exactly where they will serve in the 119th Congress.

“I’m hoping to get a good office, but I honestly don’t know what the best office is,” said Suhas Subramanyam, the Democratic representative-elect of Virginia’s 10th district.

Orientation is also an opportunity for elected members to form alliances on the Hill. Subramanyam spoke to reporters on his way to a separate orientation backed by the New Democrat Coalition, the influential center-left caucus that counts 22 new members in its freshman class.

And it’s an opportunity to set priorities and create committee wish lists—no matter how farfetched.

“I’m trying to get on the Appropriations Committee. I was told as a freshman that it is not possible,” said Subramanyam. “But, you know, you miss all the shots you don’t make, right?”

There’s an app for that

New this year for orientation is an app, automatically downloaded to House-issued phones, given to each freshman, according to a spokesman for the House Administration Committee.

Comes equipped with maps (to help find bathrooms as well as orientation appointments) of the House office buildings and the Capitol Visitor Center, details on requesting space for media interviews, and shuttle times.

“The committee is delighted that this application finally brings NMO into the 21st century,” the spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

The committee is also bringing back a nonpartisan hospitality suite — a first in many conventions, according to the spokesman — to the hotel, where members of both parties can mingle each night.

Also, for the first time, elected members will be able to sign important documents using electronic forms and will be asked to choose how they want constituent cases handled in the event of an unforeseen departure from Congress. Legislators are not required to share case papers with their successors, resulting in some files being lost in the mix.

Invite everywhere

Senators-elect also arrive on the Hill this week, though not without some controversy in the run-up.

Republicans, who regained control of that chamber, criticized Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., for initially refusing to invite Republican Dave McCormick to the Senate orientation. With McCormick narrowly leading incumbent Bob Casey in Pennsylvania, The Associated Press called the race in favor of the Republican on Thursday, though other outlets opted out.

Over the weekend, a Schumer spokesman said in a statement: “With more than 100,000 ballots left to be counted in Pennsylvania, the race is not decided. As usual, we will invite the winner after the votes are counted.” By Tuesday, however, both McCormick and Democrat Ruben Gallego, who defeated Kari Lake in a close race in Arizona, were invited to the Senate schedule.

There was no such controversy from the House. House Speaker Bryan Steil took to social media Sunday to make a distinction.

“Unlike the Senate, the House invites candidates of both parties to DC when a race is not officially called before orientation begins,” Steil said in a statement posted on the committee’s X account. “With CA and other states still in the running, we expect a number of candidates to participate by the time their race is called.”

According to a list of new members of the House Administration, 11 Republicans and nine Democrats in situations like these were invited to orientation for new members.

More than a dozen races had not been called as of Tuesday, according to the Associated Press, even as Republicans projected confidence that they would maintain a majority in the House.

Gil Cisneros, the Democratic representative elected from California’s 31st district, was in the position the last time he was elected to Congress in 2018. He skipped much of the orientation to new members because his race had not yet been called.

“I was a little superstitious and missed the first week, which I think was more of the meat of the orientation,” Cisneros said Tuesday. “But I’m excited to be here this time and relearn what I need to learn.”