Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on Monday resigned from the United States Senate. The move is made in preparation for her inauguration alongside President-elect Joe Biden, which is slated for Wednesday.
Harris sent a letter to California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), making her resignation from the upper chamber of Congress official.
"I hereby resign as Senator from the State of California, effective January 18th, 2021 at 12:00 p.m. EST," the resignation letter to Newsom stated. "As I assume my duties as Vice President of the United States, I would like to thank the people of California for the honor of serving them in the U.S. Senate over the past four years."
She also shared a farewell message that was posted to the Biden-Harris Transition Team's Twitter account.
"I just wanted to let you know how honored I've been to serve as a United States senator from the place of my birth, the great state of California," she said.
The now-former senator recalled her time as a sophomore at Howard University when she interned for then-Sen. Alan Cranston (D-CA).
"Who would have known so many years later I would actually run the office where I was once a student, watching the incredible work that a senator can do and especially a senator from California," Harris said.
She highlighted some of her so-called "victories" that took place during her time in office, which could give insight into how the Biden administration will approach these policies moving forward.
"It has been an honor to serve when we have done the work in the United States Congress of fighting for climate protection and fighting knowing that California has been a leader, and we can do what we've done in California as a nation," the vice president-elect explained. "It's been an honor to serve with so many extraordinary American leaders in the Senate doing bi-partisan work, whether it was work to end cash bail or the work to strengthen our national infrastructure around elections or the work that we did to say that lynching should be a federal crime."
"These are some of the things we have done over the course of my four years and you gave me the honor of being able to serve," Harris said.
Vice President-elect Harris bids farewell to her Senate seat today. But as she says, it’s not goodbye—it’s hello as Vice President of the United States. pic.twitter.com/mU8whoxsUe
— Biden-Harris Presidential Transition (@Transition46) January 18, 2021
Newsom previously announced that California Secretary of State Alex Padilla (D) will fill Harris' seat through the remainder of her term, which ends in 2022. Padilla is expected to be sworn into the Senate on Wednesday, the same day Biden and Harris are sworn into the White House.
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