speaker's gavel. >> now, recognizing our roles under the constitution, united in our love of our country, we now engage in a strong symbol of american democracy, the peaceful and respectful exchange of power. i now pass this gavel, which is larger than most gavels here, but the gavel of choice of mr. -- speaker boehner, i now pass this -- >> is it possible going forward to just pretend that moment didn't happen? can we all collectively agree to erase that memory from our memory banks? just delete it from the archives? speaker boehner was then sworn in by democratic congressman john dingle of michigan. in addition to holding the title dean of the house mr. dingle holds the distinction of being the third longest serving member of congress ever.