Kamala Harris Makes History As She Is Sworn In As Vice President
Kamala D. Harris was sworn in as the 49th Vice President of the United States. She becomes the first woman to hold the position and the first woman of color to do so as well.
Joined by her husband Doug Emhoff, who will assume the title of Second Gentleman, the first person to do so, she was escorted to the U.S. Capitol steps by Eugene Goodman, the capitol policeman who became a hero during the Jan. 6 siege of the building.
Harris was sworn in by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the nation's first Latina Supreme Court justice, using two Bibles. One that belonged to Thurgood Marshall, the first African American to sit on the Supreme Court.
The other Bible is a family heirloom that belonged to Regina Shelton, who helped raise the VP, and her sister Maya Harris, according to Essence.
Harris, 56, also takes over the important role of president of the Senate, and with a 50-50 split between Democrats and Republican in the body, she can cast tie-breaking votes, which will likely be in favor of the Democrats.
Harris has ascended in her career from a longtime prosecutor in San Francisco to being California’s Senator and was chosen as Biden’s running mate in August.
