WASHINGTON (CNN) — After serving only two years in the House, former
Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand was sworn in as the junior senator from New York
Tuesday afternoon, filling the seat formerly held by Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton.

Gillibrand was sworn in by Vice President Joe Biden, formally concluding
a seemingly chaotic selection process that drew criticism from across the
political spectrum.

It also put a definitive end to weeks of speculation that the seat might
go to Caroline Kennedy, who cited personal reasons for publicly withdrawing her
name from contention last week.

Citing Clinton as her role model, Gillibrand, 42, has said she aspires to
follow in the former first lady’s footsteps.

While Gillibrand now represents one of the most progressive states in the
country, the former antitrust lawyer and Clinton administration official is not
a dyed-in-the-wool liberal, though during her brief career in public office she
has garnered solid union support and a nearly perfect score from the American
Civil Liberties Union.

Among other things, Gillibrand has been a staunch opponent of stronger
gun control and has tilted in a more conservative direction on fiscal issues. A
member of the Blue Dog Coalition, a group of fiscally conservative
congressional Democrats, Gillibrand supported an extension of the Bush
Administration tax cuts.