WASHINGTON, D.C. - A new era began Friday as President Donald Trump was sworn into office and there to witness it first hand were some familiar Bay County faces.

"It feels great to be in Washington at this time. The mood up here is very positive. You really can feel it in the hallways," said Representative Neal Dunn.

"It was a historic event and we were really proud to be there," said Tommy Ford, Bay County Sheriff.

Sheriff Ford, Rep. Dunn and a few other Bay County Republicans were able to experience the inauguration and Trump's first speech as president in person.

"I thought it was a great speech, really the crowd loved a lot of what he had to say and there were some things that were said that we hadn't heard in a while," said Sheriff Ford.

He also said the support for law enforcement was especially uplifting.

"I really feel like over the past, you know, the past three or four years that it's really been a negative attitude towards law enforcement so it's nice to hear the support from the Commander in Chief," said Sheriff Ford. "He did talk about inclusiveness about our country and he talked about patriotism and it really brought the crowd to cheers."

Representative Dunn talked about his excitement to be working with Trump in Washington.

"We have the same top priorities that the district has had all along. We want to repeal and replace Obamacare, but we also want to rebuild the economy and that's something that we can start doing immediately," said Dunn.

Dunn says he's also optimistic about Trump's plans to strengthen the military, and he's ready to get started.

"It's all about really moving the ball down the field. No more gridlock, no more hard feelings, let's just move the ball down, let's make America great again. We mean that. Let's do it," said Rep, Dunn.