During the 119th Congress’s swearing-in ceremony, a Republican senator’s husband refused to shake Vice President Kamala Harris’ hand as his wife was being confirmed into the upper chamber. Harris, who presides over the Senate by constitutional authority, was officially swearing in elected Congressional leaders when it came to GOP Sen. Deb Fischer’s (R-NE) turn.
As Fischer approached the vice president, Bible in hand, she beckoned her husband, Bruce Fischer, over to hold the word of God as Harris swore her in. Harris smiled at Bruce, preparing to greet him. When Sen. Fischer handed her husband the Bible, he maintained a healthy distance from the Vice President.
Deb then urged Bruce to move closer to Harris so they could begin the swearing-in process. Acknowledging the awkward tension as Fischer refused to look at her, Kamala quipped, “It’s ok, I won’t bite. I’m not gonna bite, don’t worry.” As Sen. Fischer raised her right hand, Harris began, Do you solemnly swear to support and defend the Constitution of the United States?” The Nebraska Republican responded, “I do,” before shaking hands with Harris.
The vice president then extended her hand to Bruce to congratulate him, to which he refused, nodding at her and simply stating, “Thank you.” Harris recoiled, taken aback by the senator’s husband, before making an uncomfortable facial gesture. The group then posed for a photo to commemorate Fischer’s swearing-in to the 119th Congress.
Several weeks after Kamala Harris’ loss in the presidential election, The American Tribune reported on the vice president breaking her silence in a live stream where she thanked her staff and supporters while encouraging them not to give up despite the defeat. “And let me just say to everyone on this call, I am so grateful for you, and I’m so thankful to you. I’m thankful for your love of our country and your willingness to put the work into it,” Harris said in part.
She continued, “I’m thankful for the faith that you put in me and Governor Walz and our team, and I am thankful because I know your character is such that you’re not going to get knocked down, and you’re in this fight, and you’re in it for all the right reasons, and I know that about you.”
“That work continues, the work must continue, of reminding ourselves that we have an ability to stay engaged in a way that will make a difference the work that you all did, it’s going to have lasting effect. Again, I’ll say, you know, the election didn’t turn out like we wanted it to, certainly not as we plan for it to, but understand that the work we put into it was about empowering people. That’s the spirit,” she said.
Watch the interaction between Bruce Fischer and Kamala Harris below:
Offering a message of hope to Democratic voters about the political “power” they supposedly have, Harris stated, “I just have to remind you, don’t you ever let anybody take your power from you.” Harris added, “You have the same power that you did before November 5th and you have the same purpose that you did and you have the same ability to engage and inspire. So don’t ever let anybody or circumstance take your power from you.”
Watch a clip from the livestream below:
Note: The featured image is a screenshot from the embedded video.
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