
Former US President Bill Clinton, former Vice President Kamala Harris, and former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton attend the inauguration ceremonies in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda on January 20, 2025 in Washington, DC. Donald Trump takes office for his second term as the 47th President of the United States.
Originally appeared on E! Online
Kamala Harris is heading home.
Shortly after Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th president of the United States Jan. 20 — and Vice President JD Vance took his oath of office — the former vice president boarded a flight back bounded for her home state to visit firefighters battling wildfires raging across Southern California and help distribute food with nonprofit World Central Kitchen.
And much like her vice presidency, Harris' departure was a historic one. After all, it was the first time an all-female crew operated a C-32 for the U.S. Air Force, according to MSNBC.
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Harris was joined by her husband, former second gentleman Doug Emhoff, for the flight.
The 60-year-old — who ran against Trump in the 2024 presidential election — told her team that she wanted to meet with Californian first responders sooner, but a trip to the West Coast during her final days in office never materialized, per Politico.
"President Biden and I convened local, state, and federal officials for a briefing on our coordinated response to the wildfires across Southern California," Harris wrote on X, formerly Twitter, Jan. 10. "To my fellow Californians: We are with you. And we will be with you as communities recover and rebuild."
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She added at the time, "From our heroic first responders to the neighbors who are helping each other, Californians are stepping up and showing the best of the American spirit in a moment of crisis. Our Administration will continue to do everything we can to support state and local response efforts."
Harris passed off her vice presidential duties to Vance on Jan. 20. Per White House tradition, she and Emhoff met with the former senator and his wife Usha Vance for tea hours before the inauguration.
But unlike years prior, the swearing-in ceremony took place inside the Capitol Rotunda — marking it the first time the event happened indoors since in 1985, when Ronald Reagan took the oath of office. This year's ceremony was moved inside at Trump's behest due to "very cold weather."
“I don’t want to see people hurt, or injured, in any way," the POTUS wrote on Truth Social Jan. 17. "It is dangerous conditions for the tens of thousands of Law Enforcement, First Responders, Police K9s and even horses, and hundreds of thousands of supporters that will be outside for many hours on the 20th."
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