Joe Biden is all set to take over as the 46th President of the United States of America in just a few hours from now. The US capital has been enveloped in a thick security blanket for the grand inauguration ceremony scheduled for January 20.
Biden’s running mate for the high decibel US elections, Kamala Harris is scheduled to take over as the new Vice President of the United States.
Joe Biden
Former Vice President in the Obama administration, Joe Biden is now the man in the hit seat.
Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr. was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, the first of four children of Catherine Eugenia Finnegan Biden and Joseph Robinette Biden, Sr. In 1953, the Biden family moved to Claymont, Delaware. President-elect Biden graduated from the University of Delaware and Syracuse Law School and served on the New Castle County Council.
He served as Vice President from 2009 to 2017. From 1973 to 2009, Biden served in the U.S. Senate and was on two key committees as both ranking member and chairman: the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Service is a fitting way to start to heal, unite, and rebuild this country we love.
I hope you’ll join us in honoring the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by participating in the National Day of Service: https://t.co/H4pDdtXc3V pic.twitter.com/ecHlPK7PAO
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) January 17, 2021
He has publicly supported same-sex marriage and has even teamed up with Lady Gaga in 2017 to support the “It’s on Us” campaign against sexual assault. A Presidential Medal of Freedom awardee, Biden is trumped Donald Trump in the race for White House in a high pitched battle.
Biden has undertaken three presidential runs during his nearly 50 years in public life. Apart from the main issues that he strongly speaks on, it is his stand on climate change which has garnered a number of eye balls, calling it one of the four crises facing the country today. Coronavirus had also been an integral part of his election campaign.
Kamala Harris
The first Black and Indian-American woman to represent California in the United States Senate, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris grew up believing in the promise of America and fighting to make sure that promise is fulfilled for all Americans.
Harris’ Jamaican-born father immigrated to the US to study economics and her mother immigrated from India. Harris’ mother told her while she growing up, “Don’t sit around and complain about things, do something,” which is what drives Harris every single day. Harris was brought up by her mother post their divorce.
#Inauguration2021 on Wednesday may look a little different from years past but it’s important we all take a moment to celebrate this historic moment. pic.twitter.com/WZGnkadiwo
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) January 19, 2021
Apart from attending school in Canada, she attended college in the US, spending four years at Howard University, one of US’ preeminent historically black colleges and universities. She went on to earn her law degree at the University of California.
She soon became a district attorney, the top prosecutor, for San Francisco in 2003, before being elected as the first woman and the first black person to serve as California’s attorney general. In 2014, Senator Harris married lawyer Doug Emhoff. He is now a constant at her campaigns.
From first launching her candidacy for the President, to stepping back and letting Joe Biden take over, her enthusiasm for the elections has never failed her. In that capacity, she put up a strong defence against Republican Mike Pence in October 2020’s vice-presidential debate as the candidates exchanged fierce remarks on a range of topics.
During her time as a U.S. Senator, Harris has introduced and co-sponsored legislation to help the middle class, increase the minimum wage to $15, reform cash bail, and defend the legal rights of refugees and immigrants.
Harris has served on the Senate Judiciary Committee, where she has fought to protect Americans’ civil rights, restore independence and integrity to the Justice Department, and scrutinized nominations coming before the Committee.
On the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Harris has dealt with the nation’s most sensitive national security and international threats. She also has served on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee where she has overseen the federal government’s response to natural disasters and emergencies, including the Trump administration’s response to COVID-19.