'It's about time:' In historic first, two powerful women flank U.S.
president
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[April 29, 2021]
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Joe
Biden's address to Congress broke a historic glass ceiling on Wednesday,
as two women - Vice President Kamala Harris and House Speaker Nancy
Pelosi - sat behind the president for the first time in U.S. history.
The seating arrangement carried a symbolic meaning for the advancement
of U.S. women in recent decades, since Harris and Pelosi stand first and
second in the presidential line of succession, respectively.
Harris, the first woman and the first Black and Asian person to serve as
vice president, sat to Biden's right. Pelosi, who became the first woman
speaker of the House of Representatives in 2007, sat to his left.
The two women are playing a vital role in the early days of the Biden
presidency, with Harris as a close adviser and tie-breaker in an evenly
divided Senate and Pelosi helping to marshal the president's legislative
agenda through Congress.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2021/Apr/29/images/ads/current/charrons_bch041713.png)
Biden spoke to a joint session of the House and Senate with attendance
restricted to enforce social distancing amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
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![](../images/042921PIX/news_I17.jpg)
President Joe Biden addresses a joint session of Congress as
President Kamala Harris and Speaker of the House U.S. Rep. Nancy
Pelosi (D-CA) react in the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, U.S.
April 28, 2021. Chip Somodevillaat/Pool via REUTERS
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2021/Apr/29/images/ads/current/2021_lda_Businessdirectory.png)
Harris arrived ahead of Biden and Pelosi
affectionately took the vice president's hand as she reached the
dais before quickly switching to a pandemic-appropriate elbow bump.
"Madam Speaker, Madam Vice President," Biden said as he addressed
the crowd. "No president has ever said those words from this podium,
no president has ever said those words. And it's about time!"
(Reporting by David Morgan; Editing by Scott Malone and Richard
Pullin)
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