Team News Riveting
During the campaign trail when his wife was seeking votes as the Democratic nominee for the Vice President’s post, Doug Emhoff was the dutiful political spouse. Now, he plans on filling the same role in the White House.
The 56-year-old husband of Vice President-elect Kamala Harris is quitting his law practice by Inauguration Day to take on his duties as second gentleman. He will be flipping gender norms at a level the nation has never before seen.
“Mr. Harris,” a political observer says, referring to Emhoff, “is totally comfortable stepping back so his wife can show her brilliance, grace, grit and power because he wants her to succeed.”
What’s more, Emhoff, a successful private attorney from a corporate world where white men like him often take the lead, is stepping into a supporting role to the nation’s first Black and South Asian woman vice president.
Emhoff took a leave of absence from his law firm DLA Piper to support Harris on the campaign trail. Leaving his law practice before the inauguration avoids any conflicts of interest or the perception that DLA Piper would profit from its connection to the vice president.
Former second lady and future first lady Jill Biden has said she wants to keep teaching at a community college after her husband is sworn in as the 46th president, just as she did when her husband was vice president.
