WASHINGTON, D.C. — Greg Stanton was officially sworn in as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives today, and the former mayor quickly got to work by voting to fully reopen the federal government. 

“This unnecessary shutdown is hurting Arizona families and our economy, and it’s time to stop playing political games,” said Stanton.

The federal government has been partially shut down for 13 days, and has affected more than 800,000 public sector employees. 

KTAR reports that, “Arizonans are feeling the impact of the government shutdown more than the residents in most other states, according to a personal finance website analysis. Arizona landed at No. 10 in WalletHub’s ranking of how hard the 50 states and District of Columbia have been hit by the partial shutdown, which started nearly two weeks ago.” [Source]

Stanton also voted to approve new House Rules, which earned bipartisan support and aim to foster more bipartisan compromise. The rules also now allow for religious headwear to be worn in the House chamber, and ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender in the House chamber. 

Stanton, who served as Phoenix’s mayor for six years, represents Arizona’s ninth congressional district, which includes Tempe, as well as parts of Phoenix, Mesa, Scottsdale and Chandler.