What to Know About Kamala Harris’s Husband, Doug Emhoff

As the spouse of the first woman to be vice president, Doug Emhoff has focused on combating antisemitism and expanding access to legal aid.

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Doug Emhoff could become the first first gentleman, if Vice President Kamala Harris wins the November election.

Doug Emhoff, the second gentleman, would become the country’s first-ever first gentleman if Vice President Kamala Harris were to win the presidency in November.

Over the past three and a half years, Mr. Emhoff has cultivated a small policy portfolio reflecting his identity as the first Jewish spouse of a vice president or president and his 30-year career as an entertainment lawyer.

As the husband of the first woman to be vice president, Mr. Emhoff has spoken openly about the joys and challenges of taking a supporting role in his marriage and how he has looked for pathways to do meaningful public service work.

Shifting gears to focus on family

Mr. Emhoff, 59, was born in Brooklyn and raised in Matawan, N.J., before his family moved to California when he was a teenager. He attended college and law school in Los Angeles and rose through the ranks of major law firms, including Venable and DLA Piper, where he became a partner and earned as much as $1.2 million per year, before stepping away in 2020 to avoid conflicts of interest.

He and Ms. Harris married in 2014, and while Mr. Emhoff delights in sharing stories of their courtship and relationship, he has also described ambivalence about pausing his career, and his search for avenues to make an impact through public service.

“I miss it every day,” he told the New York Times reporter Katie Rogers in her book “American Woman.”

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