As U.S. Rep. John Sarbanes’ staff packed up photos and books from the retiring lawmaker’s shelves, freshly elected Maryland congress members sat in orientation classes in the Washington, D.C., Capitol Complex, learning the basics of the job he has done for nearly 18 years.

Sarbanes, along with three other veteran Democratic members of Maryland’s federal delegation, will exit Congress in January as four younger public servants with a breadth of experiences all their own fill their seats.

The loss of experience is undeniable, Sarbanes said. There’s 80-plus years in federal service between himself, Sen. Ben Cardin and Reps. Dutch Ruppersberger and David Trone, not to mention time the former three spent in state and local offices.

But the institution stands to benefit from the new perspectives, ideas and energy the millennials and Gen Xers will bring, Sarbanes said, as they serve alongside the remaining practiced lawmakers.

“The key,” he said, “is to make sure that as you do those handoffs, you’re doing it in a way that’s most constructive and beneficial for the people that you serve.”

Maryland voters elected Democrats Angela Alsobrooks and Sarah Elfreth, April McClain Delaney and Johnny Olszewski Jr. to represent them in Washington come January. The newest members of Team Maryland bring vigor, but also race and gender diversity. Three are women, and Alsobrooks is the state’s first Black senator.

Each has their own resume of political experience. Alsobrooks served as Prince George’s County’s executive and elected state’s attorney. Olszewski ran Baltimore County as executive and has served in Maryland’s House of Delegates. Elfreth served as a Maryland senator representing Annapolis and worked as a lobbyist. McClain Delaney served in the Biden administration’s Commerce Department.

The baton passing comes at a fraught political moment for Democrats in Washington. The Republican Party controls all three branches of government and as Maryland leaders are tying up loose ends on major projects like the Francis Scott Key Bridge replacement and the relocation of the FBI headquarters to Greenbelt. Soon-to-be senior Sen. Chris Van Hollen said the team earned wins during the first Trump administration with bipartisan collaboration and aims to do so again.

The congressional delegation serves as a conduit to federal funds and advocates for relevant policy change in a state that several federal agencies and thousands of civilian federal employees call home.

No one from the incoming class is a stranger to lawmaking and navigating power, but these are not normal times. And there is still much to learn about how the sausage really gets made.

“The levers and the nuances to the policymaking process in reality ... is a different thing than reading about it or having experienced it in your respective public office,” said Breanna Gray, an assistant government and politics professor at the University of Maryland who specializesin congressional rules and policymaking.

Gray said it often takes time for newcomers to land key committee posts, and the Maryland lawmakers on the way out held many. Senior members, too, have a strategic advantage because they have built alliances and coalitions.

“I think the best way to really assess what it is that we’re losing is to look at some of these really high-profile senior positions on these committees, and realizing that we may not be able to replace those,” she said.

Cardin has served Maryland in Congress since 1987 (the year before Elfreth was born) and chairs the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Two of the four Maryland members sitting on the House Appropriations Committee, Ruppersberger and Trone, are leaving. Sarbanes currently serves on the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Seniority isn’t everything, but it does matter.

It’s not unheard of for freshman members to land choice committee assignments based on their district or their expertise, Gray pointed out. Ruppersberger in his first year served the district that included several intelligence installations and sat on the powerful House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence that oversees national security matters.

Still, congressional turnover is good, Gray said, and more closely matches the framers’ original intentions for a regenerative, rather than a stagnant, legislative body.

During the first several congresses, she said, “There was no such thing as a career politician.”

Learning the ropes, making new friends

Before they’re sworn in on Jan. 3, the rookies hit the books in a nearly two-week new member orientation on topics like how to vote, hire staff, procure badges and balance office budgets.

A few days into orientation, Olszewski and McClain Delaney said they’ve jumpstarted their relationship-building, meeting fellow freshmen from around that state and across the aisle. All three Maryland House freshmen ran for class leadership positions. Olszewski was elected to the steering committee, which decides committee assignments.

Alsobrooks, who has been in new member orientation, hasn’t granted interviews or spoken publicly since her victory speech on election night.

Olszewski conceded the loss of experienced leaders, but said he and his cohort aren’t starting from scratch, and he’ll weigh the advice of current members like Reps. Kweisi Mfume and Steny Hoyer to best represent the 2nd Congressional District.

“I’m going to be my own congressman,” Olszewski said. “But I do think there’s a lot of wisdom, and I’ve just learned in life there’s a lot of benefit of listening to the experiences of others.”

McClain Delaney said she’s no stranger to the halls of Congress, a familiarity that comes, in part, from when her husband, John K. Delaney, formerly represented the same Western Maryland district. She plans to build on the legacy established by her predecessors and incumbent members. After winning her seat by 6 percentage points over Republican Neil Parrott, she said she’s prepared for bipartisan collaboration, not just because of a Republican-led House, but because that’s the political breakdown of her district.

“I campaigned on a commonsense, common ground platform,” said Delaney, noting the adage could apply to her party and country moving forward.

Seasoned advice

Hoyer has been in Congress for nearly 44 years and has served as House Majority Leader. More than two-thirds of voters in the 5th Congressional District sent him back to represent them in the 119th Congress.

Hoyer said he’s looking forward to working with the familiar faces he’s watched come up in state and local politics. Respectfully called the “dean of the delegation” by Team Maryland, Hoyer campaigned on behalf of the newcomers and heaped praise on their work.

“They’re going to ask for advice, and I will give them the best advice I can,” he said.

Some of this describes how to take care of themselves in what he calls “a very jealous business.” He echoed a common phrase passed between Congress members — miss a vote. Be there to vote on issues that matter to constituents, he said, but it’s OK to occasionally skip less critical ones for family.

“Let’s say one of your kids graduates from college, you may have to miss a vote, because that’s a very important part of your child’s life,” he said.

Incumbent Rep. Glenn Ivey, elected in 2022 and no longer the team rookie, has avidly accepted Hoyer’s counsel, whom he called a “master of the game.”

Ivey, a Democrat, said, “There’s no better calling card, than ‘Hey, Steny told me to touch base with you.’”

Packing boxes, leaving lessons

Rifling through nearly two decades of office files and artifacts has brought back memories for the retiring Sarbanes, but had has no regrets about his decision to leave. He said he felt his contributions to Congress were meaningful. He’s taking with him the lessons learned and leaving some behind for the next crew, including pointers from his experience during the first Trump administration.

Don’t over-predict where presidential decisions could lead. Take a beat. Listen to your constituents, they are a source of perspective. Be confident.

“Because I think we have reasons to be confident,” he said. “The sort of civil society infrastructure that is quite a hallmark of American society has a, kind of, built-in resilience to it that can carry us through challenging times.”

The number one thing he said the incoming class can do is immediately set up a responsive constituent services shop. Be ready to help those who call needing access to federal services, such as veterans’ benefits and social security.

“If you send a clear message that your first priority is the people that sent you there,” he said, “it’s deeply appreciated by them, and it makes you a better legislator.”