Pence congratulates Harris days before inauguration

Vice President Mike Pence called his successor, Kamala Harris, on Thursday to congratulate her ticket's win and to assist the transition, people familiar with the situation confirmed to POLITICO.

The phone call came only six days before Inauguration Day, following a fraught post-election season in which President Donald Trump and his supporters vehemently denied his loss in the 2020 election. Though Trump acknowledged his time in the White House was coming to a close following a violent insurrection by his supporters at the Capitol, the president has yet to fully admit defeat to Biden.

Pence's delayed phone call with Harris also comes in contrast to Biden's own contact with Pence in 2016, when he met with with the then-future vice president shortly after Election Day to offer his full support. Contact between the two tickets has remained limited since Election Day and Trump plans to spend the inauguration away from Washington — a major break from tradition.

Pence indicated that he will be at the ceremony, and Biden said he would welcome Pence to demonstrate a bipartisan commitment to the transfer of power.

"I'd be honored to have him there," Biden told reporters last Friday.

The New York Times first reported the call between Pence and Harris.