Vice President Mike Pence listens to a briefing about the upcoming inauguration of President-Elect Joe Biden and Vice-President-Elect Kamala Harris on January 14, 2021 at FEMA headquarters in Washington.
Alex Brandon | Reuters
Vice President Mike Pence called his soon-to-be-replaced Vice President-elect Kamala Harris to congratulate her and offer his support before she and President-elect Joe Biden are sworn in next Wednesday, a person familiar with the matter said.
The Thursday call between Pence and Harris was their first discussion since their public debate last fall during the vicious presidential campaign.
President Donald Trump, who has spent weeks furiously denying Biden his election loss while falsely claiming widespread fraud, has not called the new president.
Trump has acknowledged that the Biden administration will soon take command but has vowed never to allow the election and did not do so publicly.
Pence and Second Lady Karen Pence plan to attend Biden’s inauguration, which compared to previous ceremonies in the face of the coronavirus pandemic and deadly uprising by Trump’s supporters at the U.S. Capitol last week, which officials led to a massive increase in security encouraged, will be significantly reduced.
Trump has said he will not attend Biden’s inauguration. He is expected to leave the White House for his Florida home before Biden takes the oath of office, NBC News reported earlier Friday.
The New York Times first reported on the call, which it described as amiable and pleasant.
