HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s three statewide row officers were sworn in to four-year terms on Tuesday, joining Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro in Harrisburg and marking the first time that all three offices were filled at the same time by elected Republicans.

Treasurer Stacy Garrity and Auditor General Tim DeFoor embarked on their second four-year terms, while Attorney General Dave Sunday was sworn in to his first four-year term as the state’s top law enforcement officer.

They took their oaths in separate, back-to-back ceremonies in the ornate Forum Auditorium, across the street from the Capitol. Shapiro spoke, as did former governors Mark Schweiker and Tom Corbett.

The trio is taking office amid divided government in Harrisburg and the start of President Donald Trump’s second term.

In his remarks, Corbett — also a former attorney general — told Sunday to have a thick skin for criticism: “You have to put the tortoise shell on and go forward.” He told Sunday to understand that the office will bring challenges that are as much about policy as they are about the law.

“I guarantee you could wake up tomorrow and somebody’s going to come to you with a problem that none of us have ever heard about and expect you to have an answer,” Corbett said.

He also warned Sunday about the political pitfalls of the times.

“You assume this office in a very unusual period of time in our history, a very unsettled period of time, I think, when it comes to politics,” Corbett said. “I would urge you to take the politics, as much as you possibly can, out of this.”

The meat and potatoes of the job of Pennsylvania’s attorney general is prosecuting fraudsters, drug traffickers, gun traffickers, public corruption and environmental crimes, while defending state agencies against lawsuits.

State attorneys general also are becoming big players in forging national policy by increasingly challenging federal laws and regulations in court, usually in bands of Republican-led states or Democratic-led states.

Already on Tuesday, attorneys general from 22 states sued to block Trump’s move to end a century-old immigration practice known as birthright citizenship guaranteeing that U.S.-born children are citizens regardless of their parents’ status. Pennsylvania was not among the states that sued.

Pennsylvania’s row offices are often viewed as a springboard to running for higher office, and the row officers each have built-in watchdog duties that could affect how Shapiro governs, and all three offices can use their statewide platform to amplify an opposition message.

The three officers will be in office at a time when there is considerable friction between Shapiro and the Republican-controlled state Senate over state spending.

The state is projected to have a $10.5 billion surplus at the end of the fiscal year on June 30, but Garrity and other Republicans are warning that the pace of state spending could deplete that in a few years.

Garrity, meanwhile, is considered a potential GOP challenger to Shapiro as he gears up to seek a second four-year term in the 2026 election.

For his part, Shapiro made the shortlist of running mates for Vice President Kamala Harris in her White House bid last year, and he is widely viewed as a leading contender for the Democratic Party’s nomination for president in 2028.

Sunday, a Navy veteran, was York County’s district attorney for the past seven years. Before Sunday, the last Republican to win an election for attorney general in Pennsylvania was Corbett in 2008.

Four of the last five elected attorneys general went on to run for governor. Corbett won his race for governor in 2010 and Shapiro won in 2022. Both of them won two campaigns for attorney general and served six years in the office.