TULSA, Okla. — One of Oklahoma's delegation talked to 2 Works for You about the presidential inauguration amid current political division.
Representative Kevin Hern attended the 59th presidential inauguration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris on Jan. 20th.
READ MORE: Breakdown of what happened during the inauguration of Joe Biden, Kamala Harris
Although some representatives decided not to attend the inauguration, Hern said he attended because it's his job and an indication of our democracy.
"Well, I think it's my job, you know, regardless if your party won or not. What the world needs to see as a peaceful transition. It's something we've done since George Washington. And it's just an indication of our democracy or representative Republic, and how important it is to be an example of the rest of the world. We can have our arguments politically, but when it comes time to transition power, we've done it time and time again, for over 200 years," Hern said.
Hern said both sides of the aisle are going to have to find common ground in order to fulfill Biden's call for unity. Hern stated although Biden called for unity, his first action in office was "very polarizing."
"You have to find common ground because obviously, the only tiebreaker in the Senate is Kamala Harris, Vice President Harris. And I also like to give her huge accolades for being the first female to ever hold the federal office, at that level, African American, vice president, woman. I mean, there are a lot of firsts there. And if that's something that we need to recognize as America, that's pretty important as an example, as well," Hern said. "But as far as working together, you know, the President called on unity. And the first measure that he did was go sign, you know, a number of executive orders on his first day more than any president in history. And, you know, it's a little bit perplexing why he would do that when he has both the Senate and the House. And you know, that he's had conversations with Senator Schumer, and Speaker Pelosi, that he needed to do this, because he's not confident that his own party, the Democrat Party, would go along with what he's doing. So very, very perplexing on unity. And his first action was something that was very polarizing. So we'll see how this all goes. It's not starting out very well, though."
Among the slew of executive orders, many of them negates previous orders and directives from Biden’s predecessor President Donald Trump. Biden signed, and is expected to sign, orders such as, extending the pause on federal student loan payments, rejoining the World Health Organization, extending eviction and foreclosure moratoriums, stopping border wall construction, and several more.CLICK HERE to read more of Biden’s executive orders.
Hern also talked about the the Electoral College vote on January 6th, after a historic interruption of the joint session by protesters delayed the counting for six hours, saying this is a process that's "done time and time again." He said Congress has the ability to look at the electoral process and the integrity of the voting system. "It clearly states that the legislators are supposed to do all the changes that time, place and manner, very easily spelled out. And, you know, time and time again, we hear national media forget this thing that we swear upon, which is the United States Constitution," Hern said.
Hern supported the objection of the Electoral College results on Jan. 6th. Hern expressed he "will not back down" when it comes to the challenging of the presidential election results.
WATCH full interview below:
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