Scott Brown officially became the 41st Republican member of the Senate after being sworn in by Vice President Joe Biden Feb. 4, a week earlier than expected.
"I want to get to work," said the junior senator shortly after taking the oath of office. "There are a lot of votes pending that I would like to participate in."
Brown, who has vowed to vote against the healthcare bill and "send it back to the drawing board," said last week that he plans to take part in the debate over the best strategy for job creation.
"The last stimulus bill did not create one new job," he said. "In Massachusetts, it hasn’t created one new job, and across the country as well."
Brown added that small businesses are the lifeblood of the economy, and that tax cuts across the board are necessary to stimulate economic growth.
Meanwhile, Massachusetts Secretary of State William Galvin demanded that Brown "respect the rights of the [Democratic] majority," referring to the former state senator’s sudden push to be seated before a vote on one of President Obama’s nominees for the National Labor Relations Board, according to the Boston Herald.
Brown was initially expected to be seated on Feb. 11, but pushed to be sworn in sooner after several commentators complained that he was "dilly-dallying" and taking "a three-week victory lap."
