At the White House ceremonial tea before Monday’s inauguration, former second gentleman Doug Emhoff reportedly rebuffed Bruce Fischer, husband of Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., who refused to shake former Vice President Kamala Harris‘ hand earlier this month.

A person privy to the incident told CNN when Fischer extended his hand, Emhoff quickly rejected the handshake. The move mirrored Fischer’s refusal to shake Harris’ hand at his wife’s swearing-in on Jan. 3. Harris, After congratulating the third-term senator, Harris went to shake Fischer’s hand. He instead looked down, nodded and said, “Thank you.” A video of the snub went viral.

At Monday’s tea, Emhoff addressed Fischer’s snub, asking, “Why would you try to shake my hand when you wouldn’t shake my wife’s hand?”

Harris and the senator were not involved in the interaction, but Fischer apologized. The conversation cooled, and the two reportedly discussed golf and other topics.

Following their departure from Washington on Monday, Harris and Emhoff returned home to California on an all-female crew flight, NBC Los Angeles reported. According to WomanMagazine.com, it marked the “first time a Boeing C-32 aircraft was flown by women in military service.” The couple have actively supported areas affected by the Los Angeles wildfires, including Altadena, a historically Black neighborhood with immeasurable damage. They met with volunteers helping deliver meals to wildfire victims and visited a local fire station.

“It was really important to us before we went home, and we are some of the lucky ones; our home is still standing,” Harris told reporters at the station. “We wanted to come out and particularly to this extraordinary community and just let people know that we see them and that they are cared for.”

Doug Emhoff

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