Doug Emhoff | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2022 | |
| Second Gentleman of the United States | |
| In role January 20, 2021 – January 20, 2025 | |
| Vice President | Kamala Harris |
| Preceded by | Karen Pence (as Second Lady) |
| Succeeded by | Usha Vance (as Second Lady) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Douglas Craig Emhoff (1964-10-13)October 13, 1964 (age 60) Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 2, includingElla |
| Education | California State University, Northridge (BA) University of Southern California (JD) |
| Signature |  |
Douglas Craig Emhoff (born October 13, 1964) is an Americanlawyer who served as thesecond gentleman of the United States from 2021 to 2025.[1] Married to the 49thvice president of the United States,Kamala Harris, who was the first woman in the role, and the Democratic Party's nominee for president in the2024 U.S. presidential election, Emhoff was the first second gentleman of the country. He was also the firstJewish spouse of a U.S. vice president.[1]
Emhoff began his career as anentertainment lawyer. He was managing director ofVenable's West Coast offices and later became a partner atDLA Piper. He is also adistinguished visiting professor atGeorgetown University Law Center.
Douglas Craig Emhoff[2] was born on October 13, 1964, in theBrooklyn borough of New York City, the son of Jewish parents, Michael and Barbara Emhoff (née Kanzer).[3] His ancestors moved to the United States fromGorlice, inAustrian Galicia, about 1899 due to persecution.[4][5] Emhoff has a brother, Andy, and a sister, Jamie.[6] From 1969 to 1981, he grew up inMatawan andOld Bridge Township, New Jersey, and attendedCedar Ridge High School.[7] His family were congregants of Temple Shalom, a Reform synagogue inAberdeen Township, and Emhoff had hisbar mitzvah there in 1977.[8] The next summer, in 1978, Emhoff attended Camp Cedar Lake inMilford, Pennsylvania, where he was voted "most athletic" of his division at age 13.[8] When he was 17, he moved with his family toSouthern California,[9] where he graduated fromAgoura High School inAgoura Hills. Emhoff earned a Bachelor of Arts degree incommunication studies fromCalifornia State University, Northridge, in 1987 and aJuris Doctor from theUSC Gould School of Law in 1990.[10]
Emhoff is a litigator focused on media, entertainment, andintellectual property.[11] He was admitted to theCalifornia State Bar in 1990[12] and began his career atPillsbury Winthrop's litigation group. He moved to Belin Rawlings & Badal, a boutique firm, in the late 1990s.
Emhoff opened his own firm with Ben Whitwell in 2000, which was acquired byVenable LLP in 2006. Emhoff became managing director of Venable'sWest Coast offices.[13] Among his clients wereWalmart,Merck,[14] and Dolarian Capital.[15] Emhoff was one of the lawyers representingTaco Bell's former advertising agency TBWA in achihuahua-centric case.[11]
Emhoff joinedDLA Piper as a partner in 2017, working at its Washington, D.C., and California offices.[16][17] He earned $1.2 million per year partner.[11] Following the announcement that his wife would beJoe Biden's running mate in the2020 United States presidential election, Emhoff took aleave of absence from the firm.[17] After the Biden–Harris ticket won, the campaign announced Emhoff would permanently leave DLA Piper beforeInauguration Day to avoidconflict of interest concerns.[18]
In December 2020,Georgetown University Law Center announced that Emhoff would join the school's faculty as a distinguished visitor and fellow of the school's Institute for Technology Law and Policy.[19]
In January 2025, after his wife left office, Emhoff joinedWillkie Farr & Gallagher as a partner, splitting his time between LA and New York.[20]
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In August 2020, Harris was announced as Biden's running mate in thepresidential election, making Emhoff the third man in U.S. history to be a spouse of the vice presidential candidate of a major party, afterJohn Zaccaro (husband ofGeraldine Ferraro) andTodd Palin (then-husband ofSarah Palin).[21]
Emhoff said he filmed the viral "We did it, Joe!" video on November 7, 2020, which captured a phone conversation between Biden and Harris after they learned they had won the election.[22]
When Harris assumed office, Emhoff became the firstsecond gentleman of the United States.[23] He is also the first Jewish spouse of a U.S. vice president.[10][24][25][17] Emhoff was popularly labeled a "wife guy", aslang term referring to a man whose fame is owed to his wife (or content posted about his wife), or one who is exceptionally supportive of his wife.[26][27] In 2020, Emhoff himself called himself a wife guy onTwitter.[28]
In his role as second gentleman, Emhoff planned, as of 2020, to focus on equal access to justice and legal representation.[29]
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In March 2021, while second gentleman, Emhoff began teaching a course called "Entertainment Law Disputes" at theGeorgetown University Law Center. He said he respected educators as he had "learned [that] teaching is really hard", saying he has "so much respect for the teachers out there doing this each and every day."[30]
Emhoff has led the U.S. delegations to several diplomatic events, including theopening ceremony of the2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo and the inaugurations of South Korean presidentYoon Suk-yeol and Philippine presidentBongbong Marcos.[31][32][33] In July 2022, he traveled toEugene, Oregon, to participate in the opening ceremonies of the2022 World Athletics Championships.[34] Emhoff was part of the American legation to the2024 Summer Olympics, attending several competitions and theclosing ceremony.[35]
In June 2023, Emhoff engaged with the Congressional Dads Caucus in a roundtable on Capitol Hill, discussing the Biden administration'sfamily support programs. The discussion stressed the significance of universalfamily leave and encouraged its utilization. The roundtable's agenda focused on federal strategies to encourageco-parenting, promotepaid family andmedical leave policies, expand theChild Tax Credit, and improve access to affordablechildcare.[36]
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As the first Jewish spouse of a president or vice president, Emhoff emerged as one of the Biden administration's most prominent faces in the fight againstantisemitism. After a November 2022 meeting between former presidentDonald Trump,Kanye West, andNick Fuentes, theWhite House announced that Emhoff would lead around table on antisemitism on December 7.[37][38][39]
OnInternational Holocaust Remembrance Day in January 2023, Emhoff visited theAuschwitz concentration camp in Poland alongsideHolocaust survivors. His visit intended to pay tribute to the victims of the Holocaust and to honor survivors. During his time at Auschwitz, Emhoff laid a wreath at the camp's "Wall of Death," where thousands of prisoners were executed, and participated in a memorial service with the survivors in attendance. Harris was not present.[40]
Emhoff was part of the White House team that launched theU.S. National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism, the country's first combatting antisemitism strategy, on May 25, 2023.[41]
In the context ofreactions to theIsrael–Hamas war, Emhoff expressed concern about antisemitism in schools and on college campuses. He stated that conflations ofJewish identity with the actions of theIsraeli government had led to increased hostility and threats against Jewish people.[42] He said: "When Jews are targeted because of their beliefs or identity, and when Israel is singled out because of anti-Jewish hatred, that is antisemitism, and it must be condemned."[43] Speaking aboutpro-Palestinian protests on university campuses, Emhoff supported the right to protest, but said that "calls for genocide" and the murder of Jews are "completely unacceptable and must be stopped."[44]
Emhoff was married to film producerKerstin Mackin from 1992 to 2008.[45] They have two children together, Cole andElla.[46][47] Although Emhoff and Mackin'sdivorce was amicable, and they have since referred to each other as "friends", Emhoff has acknowledged that he had anextramarital affair with one of his children's teachers and that the affair contributed to the breakup of the marriage.[48][49]
In 2013, Emhoff was set up on ablind date withKamala Harris, who wasattorney general of California at the time.[50][51] They became engaged in March 2014, and were married at theSanta Barbara County Courthouse on August 22, 2014.[52] Harris's younger sister,Maya, officiated at their wedding.[52] As of November 2024, Emhoff and Harris had an estimated net worth of $8 million.[53] The couple temporarily resided atBlair House, the official guest house of the president, while the official residence of the vice president,Number One Observatory Circle, underwent maintenance and renovation at the beginning of Harris's term.[54] They also maintain homes in San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and theBrentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles.[55]
A few months ago, second gentleman Doug Emhoff asked his team about what more he could do about the rise of antisemitic incidents across the country. The issue had long concerned him. And in private conversations with other Jewish figures, he'd conveyed a desire to do something more forceful about it. His team decided that a roundtable with top officials would be appropriate. A few weeks ago, they started planning for it. But things took a turn around the Thanksgiving break, when news emerged that former President Donald Trump had dined with two notable antisemitic figures: white nationalist Nick Fuentes and Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West. Overnight, the roundtable that Emhoff had been planning became the most pointed administration response to a brewing national controversy. Come Wednesday, when top White House officials and Jewish leaders convene for it, it will further cement a status he never set out to have: one of America's foremost Jewish political figures.
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| Preceded byas Second Lady | Second Gentleman of the United States 2021–2025 | Succeeded byas Second Lady |
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