Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday continued a historic tradition by signing her ceremonial desk drawer at the White House, following a longstanding practice that began nearly 100 years ago.
She also addressed a gathering of past and present staff members in her official office at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, expressing gratitude for their service.
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“I’m so proud of our team,” she said.
“We have each taken on a life and a calling that is about doing work in the service of others, and doing it in a way that is fueled- yes with ambition, yes with a sense of almost stubbornness about not hearing no and knowing we can make a difference,” Harris said.
While thanking the staff, Harris assured that she’ll will continue working but didn’t offer any specific details. ” I will tell you that everyone here has so much to be proud of and our work is not done and as you all know me because we have spent long hours long days and months and years together it is not my nature to go quietly into the night so don’t worry about that,” she said during the speech given during the desk signing.
Then moving on to the actual signing, she explained the historical tradition of the signing and said, “I stand in a long tradition as the 49th Vice President of the United States- in a long tradition of vice presidents- who have signed this desk and I do so with great honor and with the knowledge that our work here has mattered, it has meaning, it has impacted people we may never meet. People who may never know our name but who are ever forever grateful for the work that you each and we all together have done. So I thank you all and with that I’m going to pull out this Sharpie.”
With Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff capturing the moment, Harris inscribed her name in the desk drawer using a Sharpie, continuing a custom that originated in the 1940s and has been maintained consistently since the Ford administration. She mentioned having met all her predecessors who had signed the desk, apart from Presidents Eisenhower and Truman.
As the event continued, gathered staff chanted “MVP! MVP!” for Harris, who unsuccessfully contested against President-elect Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential race. She is set to be succeeded by JD Vance on January 20.
