No tour invitation before dedication of VP home for Vance family, sources say

On By Littum



CNN
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There will be no pre-dedication tour of the vice presidential residence for the incoming Vance family, two sources familiar with JD Vance’s plans told CNN, who noted that he has not received an invitation to the residence from its current resident, Vice President Kamala Harris.

Nice has been the new norm, even though Harris never went to the Naval Observatory before taking on the role in the wake of Donald Trump’s bid to overturn the 2020 election and the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

This time, it may be the not-so-unexpected result of a particularly brutal campaign, with Vance referring to Harris as “garbage” during a rally in November. She was also repeatedly attacked by Vance and Trump over her racial identity.

Harris and Vance have not spoken since the November 2024 presidential election, a Vance adviser told CNN, although Harris called President-elect Trump after the election to concede the race. CBS News first reported the missing invitation.

More than eight years ago in November 2016, then-Vice President Joe Biden met with then-Vice President Mike Pence at the Naval Observatory. CNN reported at the time that Pence and Biden met for about two hours — eating lunch and touring the residence.

Eight years before that, in 2008, then Vice President Dick Cheney welcomed Biden to the Vice President’s residence. Cheney’s office said then that the two spent almost an hour there.

However, there has been some back and forth between Vance and the Harris staff. A person familiar with the vice president’s schedule told CNN that the Vance family had a call with the Navy facilities that operate the Naval Observatory around Christmas to “discuss the housing layout, logistics and practicalities of moving in and to help answer any . questions that the Vances had as it related to the residence.”

The Vice President’s official residence is located on the grounds of the US Naval Observatory a few miles from the White House.

The same source added that second man Doug Emhoff and future second lady Usha Vance spoke for 45 minutes last week, but did not elaborate on the content of the call.

CNN’s Alejandra Jaramillo contributed to this report.