Vice President Kamala Harris tried to cajole first gentleman Douglas Emhoff into stepping up his efficiency at an event at a local food pantry Monday as the couple marked MLK Day in Washington.
‘Come on – we have a lot of bags to bag!’ she quipped as her husband stumbled at the start of an assembly line, laughing.
The second couple soon got in sync, with Harris putting apples and oranges inside each bag destined for needy families around the region.
‘I’ll go quicker,’ Emhoff promised.
Each of them fist-bumped and greeted other volunteers at the event, with Harris making one aside about the media who followed her. ‘We brought a few of our friends,’ she explained. ‘But we are here to work,’ she promised.
Kamala Harris and her husband help bag produce with volunteer Brian Williams, 15, as she participates in a community service event at Martha’s Kitchen in Washington
Each put on gloves and helped assemble some of the 5,000 bags being distributed, with many destined for families east of D.C.’s Anacostia River.
They were wearing red aprons with the logo of the longtime area pantry, Martha’s Table.
Emhoff was on potato duty – sweet and white potatoes.
The pair volunteered for about 15 minutes at the event, held on the day when service groups undertake efforts across the country to mark King’s legacy.
Throughout the event each of them chatted with other volunteers.
Harris, right, with her husband fill bags with fruit and other items, at Martha’s Table, Monday. She goaded him to pick up the pace as an assembly line got started
The couple volunteered at Martha’s Table, which has served Washington, D.C. communities for decades
‘You know GPS, you have a cell phone? That’s satellite technology,’ Harris said while making small talk with Brian Williams, 15
Harris was asked if she had a message for Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema
Earlier on MLK day Harris called for passing voting rights legislation
Harris chatted with Brian Williams, 15, who mentioned an interest in science during small talk. Harris told him about satellites and space technology – she chairs the president’s National Space Council.
‘You know GPS, you have a cell phone? That’s satellite technology,’ Harris said.
They also talked about exercise, and she mentioned her own regimen.
At the end of the event, a reporter asked Harris if she had a message for Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin (W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.), whose opposition to changing the filibuster has stymied Democratic voting rights legislation.
Americans took part in events to honor Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.
‘I’m not going to absolve – nor should any of us absolve – any member of the United States Senate from taking on the responsibility to follow through on the oath that they all took to support and defend the Constitution of the United States,’ said Harris.
Earlier, she made the case for stalled voting rights legislation at the White House, where she spoke virtually to the Historic Ebenezer Baptist Church for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Beloved Community Commemorative Service.
‘Today, our freedom to vote is under assault. In Georgia and across our nation, anti-voter laws are being passed that could make it more difficult for as many as 55 million Americans to vote — 55 million Americans. That is one out of six people in our country,’ she said.
‘And the proponents of these laws are not only putting in place obstacles to the ballot box. They are also working to interfere with our elections to get the outcomes they want and to discredit those they do not. That is not how democracies work,’ Harris said.
In her White House remarks, Harris said: ‘We know the threat we face. We know that this assault on our freedom to vote will be felt by every American, in every community, in every political party.’
‘We know that if we stand idly by, our entire nation will pay the price for generations to come,’ she added.