Kamala Harris to move temporarily to Blair House
Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband, second gentleman Doug Emhoff, will temporarily move to Blair House, which is near the White House, before moving to the vice president's residence at the Naval Observatory, according to an aide for Harris.
Seven vice presidents have called Number One Observatory Circle their home while in office, beginning with Vice President Walter Mondale. The house located at the U.S. Naval Observatory is not open to the public and is just a few miles from the White House. CBS News was first to report that Harris and her husband would not immediately move into the vice president's residence due to "repairs to the residence that are more easily conducted with the home unoccupied."
According to an aide, some of the repairs include replacing liners in the chimneys and "other household maintenance." The requests didn't originate with either Harris or Emhoff, but rather, from the Navy.
While Harris and her husband own a condominium in Washington, D.C., the home does not meet the security protocols for a sitting vice president.
Blair House is located on Pennsylvania Avenue across the street from the White House. Built in 1824, the house is used to host official guests of the president, including foreign heads of states. Presidents-elect and their families have spent inauguration eve at Blair House, too, for the last 40 years. Most recently, President Joe Biden and some of his family stayed at Blair House the night before he was sworn in as president.
The vice president's office did not specify how long Harris and Emhoff would stay at their new temporary home.