Robert White’s new office is on the first floor of the Wilson Building. (Photo by Eliana Golding)

And so the rainbow of the D.C. Council shifts again: Orange is out, White is in.

Robert White was sworn in this morning to the At-large D.C. Council seat left vacant when Vincent Orange departed for the greener pastures of the D.C. Chamber of Commerce.

White won a surprising victory in the June primary, over the incumbent and David Garber. That was followed by the even more surprising announcement that Orange planned to start his new job at the helm of the business industry group in August, despite clear conflicts with his role as a councilmember and head of the business committee.

After vigorously defending the move—councilmembers are allowed to hold two jobs, though the Board of Ethics and Government Accountability planned to weigh in on this case—Orange resigned to the tune of Pharell William’s “Happy” last month, on the same day as his new job started.

That left the At-large seat open, with less than three months before a general election that White is all-but-assured to win. The D.C. Democratic State Committee voted last night to appoint the lawyer and fifth generation Washingtonian to the interim position—though it wasn’t entirely a smooth ride, with one activist infuriated that she wasn’t given a chance to run for the spot.

White was sworn in this morning, joined by his wife and infant daughter Madison at the dais, and warmly welcomed by his new colleagues and the mayor.

“These swearings-in are always a very, I want to say, choice occasion because they’re filled with a lot of hope and opportunity,” D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson said at a modified ceremony this morning. “A new member to the council, somebody who is going to bring new ideas, some fresh energy, and there’s a lot of hope and excitement around that.”

The Council’s fall legislative session begins next week, with high-profile bills on paid family leave and a workplace scheduling law pending.