Vice Presidential Pool Reports of March 3, 2021

VP Extended Pool Report #1 / Background on VP Morning Event

Good morning,

I will be your pooler this afternoon for the swear-in ceremony of Gina Raimondo as Secretary of Commerce with VPOTUS. However, the VP Office asked me to share this background information regarding VPOTUS' visit this morning to a woman-owned small business in Alexandria, Virginia, to hear how they have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and discuss the importance of passing the American Rescue Plan. This event was scheduled for 11:50AM EST on the daily guidance.

On Background from Office of the Vice President Official:

With the Senate getting ready to vote on the American Rescue Plan, Vice President Harris is visiting Fibre Space – a woman-owned small business in Alexandria, Virginia. Fibre Space sells yarn, fibre, and other supplies (before COVID, it also offered classes on knitting, workshops, and hosted movie nights).

This will be the Vice President’s first, in-person visit to a small business since becoming Vice President.

She will meet with the owner of Fibre Space, Danielle Romanetti, along with three women who work for Fibre Space. During the visit, the Vice President will hear how Danielle and her employees have been impacted by COVID-19, including how they have incurred additional childcare costs and dealt with uncertainty about their economic futures. Danielle will also share how she had to quickly pivot Fibre Space’s business model to stay afloat. The Vice President will discuss the importance of passing the American Rescue Plan so we get the pandemic under control, get kids back in school, get relief to those who need it, and support women in the workforce. To date, about 2.5 million women have dropped out of the workforce since the start of the pandemic, which represents a national emergency.

Specific provisions in the American Rescue Plan that benefit women include:

· Supporting women-led small businesses:

• The ARP offers $15B for grants to small businesses. Women businessowners were hit hard by the pandemic.

Providing direct relief to those who need it most:

• The ARP sends $1,400 in checks to those who need it most. These checks would help women cover their bills, pay for child care, and pay their rent for their families.
• It will also get at least $3,000 to parents, for each of their children.
• The ARP extends unemployment benefits by $400 per week.

Supporting mothers with childcare assistance and safely reopening schools:

• The ARP invests $130B to help open K-12 schools safely by providing needed PPE, putting nurses in schools, and helping schools to implement social distancing.
• It invests $40B in child care

Additionally, yesterday, President Biden announced additional steps to get teachers vaccinated to expedite getting students back in school safely.

Vice President Harris has worked with President Biden to get the American Rescue Plan passed into law:

• Vice President Harris convened women leaders in Congress and women leaders of advocacy organizations for a virtual roundtable discussion on the critical importance of passing the American Rescue Plan – particularly for women.
• Working with the President, she has spoken with Republican and Democratic Mayors, Governors, House Members, and Senators, as well as business leaders and labor leaders.
• The Vice President has participated in events to promote the legislation with small business owners, including meeting with the Black Chambers of Commerce along with Secretary Yellen. Additionally, she met with Black Mayors at a meeting convened by the African American Mayors Association to learn about the local challenges they are facing.
• The Vice President wrote an Op-Ed in the Washington Post on how the exodus of women from the workforce is a national emergency, and why the American Rescue Plan is needed to address the challenge.

VP Supplemental Pool Report #1 / Gathering for Sec. Raimondo Swearing-in

Good afternoon,

It is a relatively warm afternoon at the White House (57ºF). Your pooler has been covid tested under the brand new regulations, according to which media members outside the pool have to pay for their very own covid tests -lucky me!-

Pool is gathered outside the West Wing to be escorted to the South Court Auditorium of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building (EEOB) for recently-confirmed Commerce Secretary Gina Raimond’s swearing-in ceremony with Vice President Kamala Harris. The event is scheduled for 6:00PM.

The following guests are attending the ceremony per VP Office:

Andy Moffit (husband) – virtual
Tommy (son) – virtual
Ceci (daughter) – virtual
Senator Jack Reed (D-RI)
Thomas Donilon (National Security Advisor from 2010 to 2013)

The Senate confirmed Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo yesterday as the next secretary of the U.S. Commerce Department with a 84-15 confirmation vote that was delayed by a procedural move in February by Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas.

Raimondo, the first woman to lead Rhode Island, is cutting short her second term as governor of the country's smallest state to join the Biden administration.

VP Supplemented Pool Report #2 / Waiting for Sec. Raimondo Swearing-in

Pool is waiting at the Vice President’s Ceremonial Office, in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, where Secretary Raimondo swearing-in ceremony is taking place.

VPOTUS Office is a grand room with a nautical motif. A large golden mirror sits on a fireplace in the center of the stage. Two American flags and two VP flags are on the right of the fireplace, and next to them there is a wooden armoir with mockups of the State, War, and Navy Department Building, as well as of the USS Indianapolis (CA-35); a photograph of Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels (1913); and other nautical objects. The wall paint of the room is an old baby blue and has several mosaics. The room is completed with an hexagon design wood flooring.

A photo of the stage can be downloaded here: https://we.tl/t-KAIsgjaJl1

VP Supplemented Pool Report #3 / Sec. Raimondo Swearing-in underway and over

The event began at 6:11PM EST and lasted about two minutes. It took place in the Vice President's Ceremonial Office, in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.

Second Gentleman Dough Emhoff,
Thomas Donilon (National Security Advisor from 2010 to 2013) and his brother Mike Donilon (Senior Advisor to President Joe Biden) entered the room first and stood on the left side if the stage. Vice President Kamala Harris entered a few seconds later, followed by Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), who was carrying a Bible, and Secretary Raimondo. They stood in front of the flags.

VPOTUS was wearing a grey suit, and Senator Reed and Secretary Raimondo, blue suits, but slightly different tones. Secretary Raimondo was the only one wearing a white face mask. The Vice President and Senator Reed's were black.

Before reading the outh, the Vice President asked "Where is the family?" and took a moment to make sure they were on the phone. A VP aid was holding a phone so that Secretay Raimondo's husband, Andy Moffit, and her children, Tommy and Ceci, could virtually attend the ceremony over FaceTime.

VP was on the right of the stage and Secreyary Raimondo stood across from her, on the left. Between them, Senator Reed held a Bible

The Vice President stumbled towards the end of the oath. After Raimondo swore the oath as Secretary of Commerce, the Vice President fervently said: "Congratulations, Madam Secretary!" They all posed for the photographers for a fee seconds and the Vice President concluded by saying "It's a good day!". Secretary Raimondo then said "It's a great day!" They all exited the room, then.

Pool was escorted out shortly after.

FYI this is the oath that Secretary Raimondo repeated after the VP: "I, Gina Raimondo, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same, that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion, that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office upon which I'm about to enter, so help me God."

VP Supplemented Pool Report #4 / Sec. Raimondo Swearing-in Photos and Video

I took a couple of photos and video of the swearing-in ceremony with my phone. You can download them from the following link:
https://we.tl/t-ESCqdzzVuE

Have a great evening, everyone!