The 2020 Presidential Election was unique in the way that there was essentially no part of the process that the public took for granted.
While the practice of mail-in and absentee voting, the state certification of electoral results, and the joint session of Congress that confirms these results are normally not considered particularly noteworthy aspects of an election, all were the subject of great public anxiety this time around as it seemed unclear whether voters could do their civic duty safely and whether their will would be respected.
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So while a president’s inauguration can be a matter of widespread excitement depending on who they are, the fact that one took place at all this year was a cause for celebration.
With that in mind, it seems fitting that one Capitol Police officer should take an important role in the inauguration since we may not have ever seen it without him.
On the day of the Capitol riot, Officer Eugene Goodman risked his safety to protect the nation’s senators and with them, the democratic process itself.
As we can see in this video by HuffPost reporter Igor Bobic, he did this by baiting the mob gathered near the Senate chamber while its members were still inside to chase him, diverting them away from that critical room.
For his courage and quick-thinking, a bill is now being considered in the House of Representatives that would award him with the Congressional Gold Medal if passed.
Since that day, Goodman has been named the Capitol’s acting deputy Senate sergeant at arms.
As USA Today reported , this means that he carried the responsibility of escorting Vice President Kamala Harris to her swearing-in on Inauguration Day.
It was a duty he performed diligently both on the day itself and on Tuesday’s dress rehearsal.
According to KHOU 11 , the only difference between how the two events went for him were that he was wearing his Capitol Police uniform during the rehearsal and plain clothes during the official ceremony.
As we can see, the Inauguration Day ceremony saw him wearing a suit with a brown overcoat.
As a representative from the Capitol Police told KHOU 11, this plainclothes assignment is all part of the ceremonial role the deputy Senate sergeant at arms takes on Inauguration Day.
After Goodman escorted her to the ceremony, Harris took her oath of office on two Bibles in a ceremony presided over by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor.
According to USA Today , one of these Bibles carries significance to Harris’ historic role as America’s first Black vice president as it belonged to civil rights icon Thurgood Marshall, who was also the first Black justice on the Supreme Court.
The other Bible has more personal significance to Harris as it belongs to Regina Shelton, who runs a nursery school and was an influential neighbor to both Harris and her sister Maya when they were growing up.
