Vice President Kamala Harris has declined to invite incoming Vice President JD Vance and his wife, Usha, for the traditional tour of the VP residence.
The Vice President’s official residence is a cottage on the grounds of the U.S. Naval Observatory in Washington, DC.
After Donald Trump lost the 2020 election to Joe Biden, Melania Trump caught heat for not inviting incoming first lady Jill Biden on a tour of the presidential residence at the White House in 2021.
But Melania’s decision was understandable considering that Trump supporters believed the election was stolen.
In an interview with “Fox and Friends” that aired on Monday, Melania complained that the Obamas didn’t give her enough information to move into the White House residence in 2016. But now she knows the layout of the house, and she knows where the furniture is going.
In November, JD and his wife Usha reached out to Kamala Harris’ staff seeking details including what they would need to childproof the residence. JD and Usha share 3 children, Ewan, Vivek and Mirabel, who are all under the age of eight.
According to CBS News, their questions were initially ignored by Harris’ staff. But they have since communicated with Navy aides who oversee the residence.
Before Christmas, Navy officials reached out to the Vances to discuss the layout of the residence, logistics of the move-in, and to help answer any questions the Vances had, a person familiar with the call told CBS News.
Usha Vance spoke with Harris’ husband, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff for about 40 minutes last week, sources told CBS.
But Harris has not reached out to the incoming VP JD Vance to offer him a tour of the residence – as is customary during the peaceful transition of power.
People close to Harris say she was never afforded an invite from former VP Mike Pence to visit the VP residence before she was sworn in in 2021.
It isn’t clear where Harris and Emhoff will go when they leave the Naval Observatory residence. Their 3,500 sq. ft. home in the affluent Brentwood suburb of Los Angeles is under an evacuation order due to the wildfires.
