Kamala Harris destroyed two centuries of history on Wednesday, when the United States’ first female vice president was named.
The former California senator, who previously served as a violent state attorney general, took an oath of office outside the United States Capitol while her radiant husband, attorney Doug Emhoff, watched.
Emhoff will also play a role in breaking rules, becoming the nation’s first “second gentleman” and the first Jew married to a president or vice president.
Harris is the daughter of a Jamaican father and Indian mother, as well as a first-generation American. His inauguration as Vice President of Joe Biden was historic for several reasons.
The 56-year-old former prosecutor is not only the first woman to serve as vice president, but also the first black woman and the first in South Asia.
Harris shared an exciting moment on stage with former President Barack Obama, who could be heard saying “very proud of you” before taking the oath, and she proudly slammed Biden after being elected to the second highest position on the ground.
She was escorted to the podium by Capitol police officer Eugene Goodman, the heroic policeman who alone dragged a crowd of Capitol demonstrators from the Senate floor during the January 6 uprising that left five people dead.
Harris’ place in history was reflected in her oath when she took the oath on a Bible that belonged to civil rights icon Thurgood Marshall, the first black Supreme Court judge.
Her Inauguration Day outfit, a purple dress and a matching coat by black designers Christopher John Rogers and Sergio Hudson, complemented by her now characteristic pearl necklace, also sent a statement about her identity as a woman of color.
Although the vice president does not make an opening speech, Harris promised to legislate “for the people – always” in his first tweet as vice president.
His inauguration as the 49th vice president of the United States culminates a long and tortuous path to the White House.
Harris announced his offer for the White House in January 2019, but withdrew the plug in December, citing shrinking funds, and immediately supported Biden’s run-down campaign with several other Democratic candidates.
Biden and Harris had an emotional shock during the first Democratic debate in June 2019, when she accused him of blocking racial integration efforts in the 1970s.
The comments hurt Biden’s camp, especially due to the bond that Harris forged with the Biden family when she worked alongside former Vice President Beau Biden’s son when he served as Delaware’s attorney general and she as attorney- general of California.
The two finally repaired their split, and the role of vice president was considered her to lose.
At 78, Biden on Wednesday became the oldest president to take the oath of office – raising concerns about his resistance and leading Harris to the position of waiting president.