According to many Democratic and Republican sources, Vice President Kamala Harris has not extended an invitation for a formal sit-down or tour of the residence of the Vice President.
After the election, JD Vance’s wife, Usha, apparently attempted to reach out to the Vice President and her husband about the residence’s logistics. However, early attempts seemed to have been ignored. Usha eventually spoke with Kamala’s husband, Doug, about arrangements to accommodate Usha’s and JD Vance’s three children.
People close to Harris say she was never afforded an opportunity to visit the home before she was sworn in in 2021. However, she took office during the COVID outbreak, just after the Capitol riot — and Donald Trump had refused to admit he had been defeated in the election.
Advisers to then-Vice President Mike Pence dispute that an invitation was never offered. They say he quietly gave Harris and Emhoff a chance to visit in the waning days of the Trump administration. The invitation came discreetly because Trump resisted accommodating the incoming administration.
However, then-Vice President Biden and his wife Jill hosted the Pences at the Northwest Washington residence not long after the election.
“We’re just very grateful for the hospitality today of the vice president and second lady,” Pence said at the time.
People close to Harris defended her decision not to invite Vance to visit, a tradition that was broken during the Trump-Pence administration.
Former First Lady Michelle Obama has also parted with tradition in opting out of Trump’s inauguration altogether.
