And now, a speech from Madame Vice President Kamala Harris.
After taking the oath of office on the steps of the U.S. Capitol on the morning of Wednesday, Jan. 20, the former California senator addressed the nation as vice president for the first time.
Wearing a chic black pantsuit, Vice President Harris stood in front of the Washington Memorial and delivered a message of hope for Americans across the country.
"It is my honor to be here, to stand on the shoulders of those who came before, to speak tonight as your vice president. In many ways this moment embodies our character as a nation. It demonstrates who we are, even in dark times," she said. "We not only dream, we do. We not only see what has been, we see what can be. We shoot for the moon and then we plant our flag on it. We are bold, fearless, and ambitious. We are undaunted in our belief that we shall overcome, that we will rise up. This is American aspiration."
The Howard University alum, who makes history as the first female Vice President of the United States, continued, "In the middle of the civil war Abraham Lincoln saw a better future and built it with land grant colleges and the transcontinental railroad. In the middle of the civil rights movement Dr. King fought for racial justice and economic justice."
And in a message directed to the boys and girls across the country who aspire to follow in her footsteps, she said, "American aspiration is what drove the women of this nation throughout history to demand equal rights and the authors of the Bill of Rights to claim freedoms that had rarely been written down before."
Her message of hope and unity was followed by a performance from John Legend, who sang "Feeling Good" by Nina Simone.
Harris hit the ground running on Wednesday, participating in the swearing in of three senators, Rev. Raphael Warnock, Jon Ossoff and Alex Padilla, who is assuming her former position.
She laughed as she announced that Padilla would be replacing her as California's senator, remarking, "Okay, that was really weird."
Moving forward, Harris' chief spokesperson Symone Sanders told NBC that she intends to devote her attention to achieving President Biden's policy goals, including the economic recovery package, health care, climate change and criminal justice reform.