Sen. Kay Hagan is settling into Washington.

The Greensboro Democrat held a coffee klatsch for constituents in her new office in the Dirksen Senate Office Building this morning.

As a freshman senator, Hagan has one of the less-desirable office spaces, but it's leagues better than the quote-unquote temporary basement room her staff was stuck in while the Minnesota Senate race dragged on. 

The temporary office also delayed Hagan's hiring, since there wasn't enough room for the legislative assistants and constituent services staffers. She's now about 65 to 70 percent staffed, with about 52 employees in D.C. and North Carolina.

For now, the office is sparsely decorated, with just a few scenic photos of the beach and the Triad and several flat-screen TVs. As a reminder of favorite campaign haunts, four of the TVs are named for Greensboro restaurants: Grey's, The Burro, Natty's and M'Couls.

Hagan's new space, Suite 521, used to be part of three different offices: Sens. Kristen Gillibrand, Roland Burris and Wayne Allard. If you crane your neck out of one of Hagan's personal windows, you can just see the Capitol dome.

"I think I might need some curved mirrors in here," Hagan joked. 

U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan is inviting you over for coffee.

The Greensboro Democrat will open her Washington office on Wednesday for the first of a promised series of "Carolina Coffees" — an informal way for state residents to talk with her directly.

Hagan says she'll hold the coffee klatschs from 9 to 10 a.m. every Wednesday when the Senate is in session.

"These informal meetings are important to me, as I keep my ear to the ground concerning things that are happening in North Carolina," she said in a statement.

Her office is located in Suite 521 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building. Visitors should plan for extra time to go through building security.

U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan has a little more leg room.

The Greensboro Democrat announced today that she has moved into a permanent office in the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

Because of the protracted battle over Minnesota's seat, the usual Senate procedures for moving offices had been on hold for months. That left Hagan stranded in a windowless basement office.

"The new Senators and I got to know each other very well down in the basement, but I am sure I speak for all of us when I say how exciting it is to finally move into permanent quarters," Hagan said in a statement.

The basement office also held Hagan back, since she did not have the room to hire issue experts and other staffers who could bring her up to speed on the ways of Washington. 

Hagan's new office, Suite 521, was formelry used by Sens. Al Gore Sr., Fred Thompson and most recently Wayne Allard.

She also announced she would open a new state headquarters in Greensboro. Hagan already has an office in Raleigh.

A spokeswoman for the Senate gym says women can swim there.

At a recent pro-choice women's luncheon, newly elected U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan said that she recently learned that the Senate gym's pool is "only for the men."

But Eva Malecki, communications officer for the Architect of the Capitol, said there are no rules prohibiting female senators from using any of the facilities in the Senate gym.

"The Senate gym is a co-ed facility for senators," she told Dome. "There are no rules prohibiting women senators from using the pool."

Malecki said the only restriction is that only senators may use the gym. A separate gym in the Dirksen Senate Office Building is open to permanent Senate staffers — of any gender — for $20 a month.

She would not give further information about the senators' gym.

"It's not information that is generally talked about because it is a member-only facility," she said.

Update: Malecki said that Hagan was given bad information by a gym employee.

"Apparently, Senator Hagan was given some misinformation by one of the gym attendants," she said. "The practice of the gym is that the pool is only used by the male senators, but that's not the policy."

U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan's office in Washington is up and running — albeit in a temporary space.

She also has a temporary website up, though that will eventually be filled out with the usual Senate details of press releases, contact information and Haga'’s positions on various issues, Barb Barrett reports.

Hagan is opening a Raleigh office and has said she plans to open other constituent offices around the state as well.

For now, here's how to get ahold of the state's newest senator in Washington:

B40A Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
202-224-6342
E-mail: Senator_Hagan@hagan.senate.gov

The only website available has only contact information. Go to the Senate contact site and scroll down to Hagan's name.

The endless Minnesota Senate recount is affecting Sen.-elect Kay Hagan too.

As Sen. Norm Coleman and Sen.-maybe-elect Al Franken dispute the validity of ballots, they're not just holding up the Senate seat, they're holding up the offices too.

Because Senate offices are distributed by seniority, they cannot be distributed until it's determined whether Minnesota will be represented by a first- or second-term senator.

That's put Hagan on hold too.

Spokeswoman Colleen Flanagan said the senator-elect will move into expanded temporary office space in the basement of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

"They've expanded it to give us a little more room — not a whole lot," she said.