Andy Kim reveals surprise after opening Senate floor desk drawer

Sen. Andy Kim (D-N.J.) says his desk on the Senate floor contained a serendipitous surprise — it once belonged to one of his political heroes. 

The New Jersey Democrat — who was appointed to the Senate earlier this month and is the first Korean American elected to the upper chamber — shared in a social media post on Wednesday: “I learned Senate floor desks have drawers where every Senator who used that desk carves their name. I just pulled out my drawer.”

“One name jumped out. INOUYE,” Kim said.

Kim noted how the late Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) was a World War II Medal of Honor recipient before serving in the Senate for nearly 50 years. The 42-year-old lawmaker called Inouye, who was the first Japanese American elected to Congress, an American Pacific Islander “trailblazer.”

Inouye died in 2012 at 88.

“I cannot believe I get to sit at the desk of a hero of mine,” Kim said.