Who is Kamala Harris’ husband Douglas Emhoff — from the #DougHive to the Taco Bell Chihuahua?

Andrew Sheeler
·2 min read

It started with a tweet from Dr. Jill Biden, wife of presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.

“Hey (Douglas Emhoff). Are you ready?” she asked.

This wasn’t a random question: Emhoff is the husband of presumptive Democratic vice presidential nominee and U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris.

“Ready to work! Let’s go (Dr. Jill Biden)!” he wrote back.

While Harris has spent time in the national spotlight before, such as during her questioning of U.S. Supreme Court nominee (and later Justice) Brett Kavanaugh or her own run for president in 2019, Emhoff, an attorney, has held a much less high-profile position.

So who is Douglas Emhoff?

He married Harris in 2014

Emhoff and Harris got married in a Santa Barbara courthouse in 2014, when Harris was California’s attorney general. Harris’ sister, Maya, officiated over the wedding, which followed a five-month engagement, according to Sacramento Bee reporting at the time.

He works as an entertainment attorney

Emhoff is a partner at the firm DLA Piper, where he works based out of Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.

“He represents large domestic and international corporations and some of today’s highest profile individuals and influencers in complex business, real estate and intellectual property litigation disputes,” according to his biography on DLA Piper’s website.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Emhoff once represented the ad agency that gave the world the “Taco Bell Chihuahua.”

He has two children

While Emhoff and Harris have no children, Emhoff has two children, Cole and Ella Emhoff, from a previous marriage.

He’s active on Twitter

Emhoff’s Twitter bio states that he is a “dad, (Harris) hubby, lawyer, wannabe golfer, advocate for justice and equality.”

He even has his own hashtag: #DougHive.

He made headlines for escorting a protester away

Back when Harris was still running for president, she was speaking at an event in June 2019 when an animal rights protester rushed the stage and took the microphone from her. Emhoff was among the group of people to escort the protester off the stage.

CNN correspondent Kyung Lah captured a screenshot of Emhoff removing the man from the stage, and his expression glaring at the protester spoke volumes.