Mike Pence offers congratulations to Kamala Harris on call
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 President-elect Joe Biden and has
repeatedly questioned the legitimacy of Biden’s win.
But Pence has
become an unexpected defender of Biden’s. The vice president resisted pressure
from Trump to object to the Democrat’s election win while presiding over
Congress’ certification of the Electoral Vote count last week.
Pence will also
attend Biden’s Jan. 20 inauguration, which Trump is refusing 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.
