Douglas Emhoff | |
---|---|
![]() Emhoff in 2017 | |
Second Gentleman of the United States | |
Assumed role January 20, 2021 | |
Vice President | Kamala Harris |
Preceded by | Karen Pence as Second Lady |
Personal details | |
Born | Douglas Craig Emhoff October 13, 1964 New York City, U.S. |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse(s) | |
Children | 2 |
Residence | Number One Observatory Circle |
Education | California State University, Northridge (BA) University of Southern California (JD) |
Website | Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff |
Douglas Craig Emhoff[1] (born October 13, 1964) is an American lawyer who is the current second gentleman of the United States.[2] He is married to Vice President Kamala Harris. As the first-ever husband of a U.S. vice president, Emhoff is the first second gentleman in American history. He is also the first Jewish spouse of a vice president.[3]
Emhoff began his career as an entertainment lawyer. He was managing director of Venable's West Coast offices and later became a partner at DLA Piper. He is also a distinguished visiting professor at Georgetown University Law Center.
Emhoff was born in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, the son of Jewish parents, Barbara and Michael Emhoff.[4] He has a brother Andy and a sister Jamie.[5] From 1969 to 1981, he grew up in Matawan and Old Bridge Township, New Jersey, and attended Cedar Ridge High School,[6] before moving with his family to California when he was 17 years old,[7][8][9][10] where he graduated from Agoura High School. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from California State University, Northridge and a Juris Doctor from the USC Gould School of Law in 1990.[11]
Emhoff is an entertainment litigator and began his career at Pillsbury Winthrop's litigation group. He moved to Belin Rawlings & Badal, a boutique firm, in the late 1990s. He opened his own firm with Ben Whitwell in 2000, which was acquired by Venable LLP in 2006. His clients included Walmart and Merck,[12] and he became managing director of Venable's West Coast offices.[13]
Emhoff joined DLA Piper as a partner in 2017, working at its Washington, D.C., and California offices.[14][15] Following the announcement that his wife would be Joe Biden's running mate in the 2020 United States presidential election, Emhoff took a leave of absence from the firm.[15] Following the Biden-Harris ticket's win, the campaign announced Emhoff would permanently leave DLA Piper prior to Inauguration Day to avoid conflict of interest concerns.[16]
Emhoff's wife Kamala Harris was a candidate in the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries before dropping out in December 2019.[8] In August 2020, Harris was announced as Joe Biden's running mate for the presidential election, making Emhoff the third man in U.S. history to be a spouse of the vice presidential candidate of a major party, following John Zaccaro (spouse of Geraldine Ferraro) and Todd Palin (spouse of Sarah Palin).[17] When Harris assumed office, Emhoff became the first second gentleman of the United States.[18] He is also the first Jewish spouse of a U.S. vice president.[19][20][21][15]
In his role as second gentleman, Emhoff plans to focus on equal access to justice and legal representation.[22]
In December of 2020, Georgetown University Law Center announced that Emhoff would join the school's faculty as a distinguished visitor and as a distinguished fellow of the school's Institute for Technology Law and Policy.[23]
Emhoff was married for 16 years to Kerstin Emhoff, née Mackin.[24] They have two children, Cole and Ella.[25][9] He married Kamala Harris on August 22, 2014, in Santa Barbara, California, with Kamala's sister Maya Harris officiating.[26] As of August 2019, Emhoff and Harris had an estimated net worth of $5.8 million.[27] The couple resides at Number One Observatory Circle, while maintaining homes in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C..[28]
Honorary titles | ||
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Preceded by Karen Pence as Second Lady |
Second Gentleman of the United States 2021–present |
Incumbent |
Presented content of the Wikipedia article was extracted in 2021-01-23 based on https://en.wikipedia.org/?curid=58425188