The Hill News

Freshman Rep. Mark Amodei (R-Nev.) approached the Twitterverse with caution Monday, firing off his first tweet nearly a week after GOP leadership welcomed him as the newest House Republican to join Twitter.

Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Republican New Media Caucus Co-Chairwoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) both sent tweets last week welcoming Amodei to Twitter, but Brian Baluta, Amodei’s communications director, said the congressman was waiting for a visit to his home district this week before he rolled out content on social media including Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

Amodei's long-awaited tweet came Monday afternoon following a meet-and-greet event in his district. He tweeted, "Great time at the Reno meet & greet with DC and Reno team. Now off to Elko for another mee! t & greet 5 pm City Hall."

{mosads}Amodei did use social media during his campaign for September’s special election to replace former Rep. Dean Heller (R-Nev.), who was appointed by Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval to the U.S. Senate.

Joining Twitter is practically a rite of passage for new members of Congress, as social media use has become an important tool for lawmakers. The New Media Caucus hosts training seminars for new members on best practices following election years.