(Headline USA) Vice President Mike Pence has called his soon-to-be successor Kamala Harris to offer his congratulations, according to two people familiar with the conversation.
It’s the first known contact between the elected members of the outgoing and incoming administrations.
President Donald Trump has not reached out to Democrat Joe Biden and has repeatedly questioned the legitimacy of a Biden win.
But Pence resisted pressure from Trump to object to the Democrat’s election win while presiding over Congress’s certification of the Electoral Vote count last week.
Pence will also attend Biden’s Jan. 20 inauguration, which Trump refuses to attend.
One of the people familiar with the Thursday afternoon conversation described it as a “good call,” with Pence congratulating his successor and offering assistance.
They spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the private conversation.
The call came less than a week before Biden and Harris are scheduled to take office, and just over a week after the storming of the Capitol by Trump supporters and Antifa agitators.
While Trump has remained mostly behind closed doors since his loss, Pence has fulfilled many of the ceremonial duties of the presidency, including greeting members of the National Guard now protecting the Capitol building Thursday evening.
Much of Washington is under heightened security after last week’s siege at the Capitol, with law enforcement officials warning of more potential for violence in advance of Biden’s inauguration.
While Biden said he welcomed Trump’s decision to avoid his inauguration, he also said he’d be “honored” to have Pence attend, and that it was important to maintain “historical precedent” with respect to a peaceful transfer of power as much as possible.
Adapted from reporting by Associated Press.
