As Vice President Kamala Harris is thrown further into the national spotlight following President Joe Biden’s decision to step away from seeking reelection, the first female president would also bring the first first gentleman.
Harris has been married to Doug Emhoff since 2014, and if she is elected to the presidency, not only would Harris make history as the first woman to be president, but Emhoff would too, as there would not be a first lady in the White House but a first gentleman.
There is also no designated term for the husband to the president, but former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton used the term “first gentleman” during her 2016 run, and it seems to have stuck, as Emhoff is continuously referred to as the second gentleman. First gentleman had been used previously in history to refer to male spouses of state governors.
There is also no official role for the spouse of the president, but first ladies in the past have typically taken up nonpartisan causes to promote.
Harris and Emhoff reportedly met on a blind date in 2013 when Harris was working as attorney general of California. One year later, the pair were married at a Santa Barbara courthouse.
In terms of identity, Emhoff would also make history as the first Jewish person to take up residence in the White House. While living in the vice presidential house, Emhoff has made his religion known, hanging a mezuzah on the door frame in 2021 when the couple moved in and hosting Jewish holidays at their home including Passover Seder, Rosh Hashanah gatherings, and Hanukkah celebrations.
“I did not expect my Jewish faith to be such a big deal in this role,” Emhoff said in a May 2022 White House event that marked the final day of the Jewish American Heritage Month. “But as I have gone forward in it, you really realize how much this representation matters to people.”
He has been vocal about rising antisemitism in the United States and helped the White House roll out its first national plan to counter antisemitism and Jewish hate. When former President Donald Trump said Jews who vote for Democrats “hate Israel” and hate “their religion,” Emhoff slammed the former president’s rhetoric.
“This is a disgusting, toxic, antisemitic thing to say by anyone, let alone a former president of the United States,” Emhoff said on a campaign stop.
In his three and a half years as second gentleman, Emhoff has also traveled to 37 states and 14 countries.
Emhoff has two children, Cole and Ella, from his previous marriage. Harris has said before that the family did not prefer the term “stepmom” and chose to refer to Harris as “Momala.” Harris does not have any children of her own and was not married before meeting Emhoff.
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“As a child of divorce, I knew how hard it could be when your parents start to date other people. And I was determined not to insert myself in their lives until Doug and I had established we were in this for the long haul,” Harris wrote in 2019 on the topic of entering her stepchildren’s lives.
“Cole and Ella could not have been more welcoming. They are brilliant, talented, funny kids who have grown to be remarkable adults. I was already hooked on Doug, but I believe it was Cole and Ella who reeled me in,” Harris continued.