Heard on the Hill

Tim Burchett tweets at fellow Tennessee grad, invites him to lunch

‘Joe, call Denise in our office’

Tennessee Republican Rep. Tim Burchett’s Twitter feed is full of personal messages like the one Monday that invited a soon-to-be graduate of his alma mater to lunch. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call file photo)
Tennessee Republican Rep. Tim Burchett’s Twitter feed is full of personal messages like the one Monday that invited a soon-to-be graduate of his alma mater to lunch. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call file photo)
By Kathryn Lyons
Posted April 29, 2019 at 4:50pm

Joe Rivera is earning more than a kinesiology degree from the University of Tennessee this spring. The soon-to-be honors graduate also just scored lunch on Rep. Tim Burchett, who shares his alma mater.

The 25-year old tweeted this morning about the “major comeback” that occurred after failing out of nursing school in 2017. He was retweeted shortly after by the Tennessee congressman and invited to lunch at Knoxville’s Vol Market — “a locally owned deli and check cashing business known for their famous Stormin’ Norman’s Iced Tea,” according to Facebook.

Rivera said in an email that he briefly met Burchett seven years ago at his high school, but he doubts the congressman remembers given the amount time that has passed. “This tweet this morning caught me off guard,” he added.

Burchett’s invite-by-tweet doesn’t come as a surprise if you peruse the rest of his interactions on the social media platform. The representative’s personal account favors playful banter over the political kind. Not to mention his selfie game is pretty strong and gives Al Roker a run for his money.

Burchett seems to encourage followers and constituents alike, offering many a thank you, congratulations and a direct line to “Denise” in his office who, by the looks of it, fields many calls for the congressman.

Poor Denise.

As for the recently scheduled lunch break, Burchett and Rivera have plans to grab some grub in late May. Burchett has a similar school-related story, so Rivera looks forward to hearing about that and talking to him about “what he’s doing in Washington DC, local food, and Tennessee athletics.”

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