Luke Bronin arrived in Washington, D.C., on Sunday, one of more than 100 newly elected members who will join Congress next year. They toured the House chamber, heard from leaders of both parties and attended receptions.

But Monday was all business — the start of a 10-day crash-course orientation in procedure, and unwritten rules, for new legislators.

Even with a long day ahead, Bronin flashed a smile as he descended the staircase to a windowless area of the U.S. Capitol to meet reporters and new colleagues in a legislative body that has been paralyzed much of the time by partisan gridlock.

The orientation is a lengthy exercise in getting up to speed with the inner workings of Congress, learning how to staff and run an office, and navigating a large complex resembling a labyrinth that trips up even the most veteran congresspeople and staffers.

But as they entered the building on Monday morning for a long day of programming and trainings, there was a first-day-of-school energy, particularly for Democrats who scored massive wins last week that will power them back into the House and Senate majority next year.

That excitement was palpable as Bronin and other members-elect spoke to throngs of cameras and reporters and shook hands with their new colleagues as they packed into a large auditorium for the day.

Bronin will be the only new member of Connecticut’s all-Democratic delegation, which will enter Congress next year as part of the majority and with sizable influence and seniority for a small contingent. He and others will get sworn into the 120th Congress on Jan. 3.

The former mayor of Hartford handily won Connecticut’s 1st Congressional District, which has been represented by U.S. Rep. John Larson since 1999. The harder feat was during the primary, when he was one of three Democratic challengers trying to unseat the incumbent. Bronin defeated Larson in the August primary in what he described as a “political earthquake.”

Now that he’s in Washington for the next week and a half, Bronin is most excited for meeting his cohorts, including many who share the same titles as him: mayor and military veteran.

“The most important thing so far has been meeting the members of this freshman class. It’s an extraordinary group of people — veterans, firefighters, mayors, small business owners, healthcare workers, and all people who feel a real sense of urgency and mission,” Bronin said as he stepped out from seminars and trainings at the Capitol.

“It’s been fun talking to so many people who nobody expected to win. And in many cases, they didn’t expect to win,” he continued. “But they felt it was important to stand up and contest a seat, often in deep-red territory. And the number of people who are in that position is a reflection of just how strong a statement this election was.”

Bronin has never held federal office, but he’s not a total stranger to Washington. He served in the U.S. Department of the Treasury during President Barack Obama’s first term in a role that helped establish the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

He’ll be part of one of the largest freshman classes. Democrats are preparing to navigate an ideologically diverse majority with different factions trying to steer the agenda for the next two years. That’s on top of a delicate balance the party will need to strike between pushing back on the Trump administration and passing legislation that is likely to face a veto.

“To me, I just try to bring the same mindset that I did to the job of mayor, which is, you start with what the problem is and then you try to build a coalition of people who are interested in fixing it,” Bronin said. “And you don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good, but you be bold about what you’re aiming to fix and do.”

Bronin will be meeting dozens of new people and colleagues over the course of the next 10 days. But some of them will be familiar faces — like Connecticut’s delegation.

While Hartford’s mayor, Bronin worked with every member of Congress who currently represents Connecticut. He said he plans to see his future colleagues while he’s in town through next week. That includes meetings to build relationships with fellow freshman members, including those who are mayors and veterans, on the sidelines of the orientation.

When asked if he’ll meet or speak with Larson while he’s in town, Bronin said he wasn’t sure, but, “I hope so.” Bronin said his office has reached out to the congressman’s and the two are working together on the transition.

Bronin is making some moves while giving himself the chance to figure things out in the coming months.

He still has time to sort out his committee assignments. The tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee may be on his radar in the long term, Bronin said, but he’s also previously expressed interest in committees with jurisdiction over issues like healthcare, housing and electricity and more general oversight authority.

Members representing Connecticut’s 1st Congressional District have had a seat on the House Ways and Means Committee since the early 1980s, including Larson and his predecessor, Democrat Barbara Kennelly. Larson currently serves as the Democratic ranking member on the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Social Security.

Bronin won’t get seated on committees until next year, when the new session begins. In the meantime, he’s joining the New Democrats Coalition, which has a membership of about half of the House Democratic caucus. Three members of Connecticut’s House delegation — U.S. Reps. Joe Courtney, Jim Himes and Jahana Hayes — are already part of the group.

The group describes itself as a center-left coalition of Democrats who want to “work across the aisle and across the Capitol to advance innovative, inclusive, and forward-looking policies.” Its membership could swell to more than 140 members next year, according to Politico.

The New Democrat Coalition falls somewhere in the middle of the moderate Blue Dog Coalition and the Congressional Progressive Caucus on the left. Bronin left the door open to other possible memberships but said he doesn’t feel confined to a specific group or policy platform.

“I am, at heart, a policy wonk, and I enjoy the policy conversations in the New Dems Coalition,” Bronin said. “But I don’t feel bound to any particular platform or ideology other than what I expressed in my own campaign, which is I think we have to be serious about stopping corruption and making some fundamental reforms to make this kind of corruption impossible in the future.”

As they prepare for the majority, Connecticut Democrats have argued they can’t squander the opportunity afforded by their midterm wins.

“If we want last night’s election to be remembered as more than a historic backlash to a corrupt president, then we need to get to work, solving problems that the American people desperately want us to see us solve,” Bronin said in press conference in Hartford last Wednesday.

For Bronin, that means accountability as it relates to corruption and self-enrichment related to the administration while pursuing legislation to ban members of Congress from trading stocks, along with “serious” efforts on campaign finance reform.

Even with big majorities next year, Democrats will still need to contend with a president who can wield a veto pen. And they’ll need to negotiate with Republicans who will still have some leverage on must-pass legislation like government funding.

But Bronin argues that will show where Republicans are as Democrats look to build momentum into 2028.

“If the man in the White House vetoes those things,” Bronin said last week, “then it will be more evidence that he doesn’t give a damn about what the American people want.”

As Rep. Hakeem Jeffries — who hopes to become the first Black speaker of the House next year — starts to outline House Democrats’ agenda, Bronin said the party will need to focus on both oversight of the Trump administration and the pursuit of legislative efforts to address cost-of-living issues that were paramount for voters this year.

Bronin said he’ll support Jeffries for speaker, though the New York Democrat faces some pushback within the incoming caucus. During the primary campaign, Jeffries came to the Hartford-based district to support Larson when he faced three opponents, including Bronin.

“I think we need to do both,” Bronin said on Monday. “I think the oversight work is critical to the anti-corruption work, and that is substantive policy effort.”