blood sugar. with nutrients to help support immune health. welcome back to "gma." that is a live look at the capitol on this historic wednesday morning. >> yes, it's gorgeous, a little windy as we've been seeing but joe biden, kamala harris are going to be sworn in as president and vice president on the steps there of the capitol. >> cannot wait for that. in just a few hour, robin said kamala harris will take that oath and walk into the history books becoming the nation's first woman, first black and first south asian vice president. rachel scott joins us with a closer look at her trailblazing journey, good morning to you, rachel. >> michael, good morning. 232 years, 48 vice presidents, all of them men. today that changes when kamala harris stands on those capitol steps to take the oath of office. she will be standing where no

woman and no woman of color has ever stood before. it's an image our country has never seen before. this morning the daughter of indian and jamaican immigrants, kamala devi harris will be sworn in as vice president. the first black, asian-american and woman to hold the job. >> every little girl watching tonight sees that this is a country of possibilities. >> reporter: her role in the administration will be powerful from the start with the senate split 50/50, she will cast tie-breaking vote. and biden has made it clear he wants harris to be the last person in the room for every big decision. >> what will be your definition of success? >> joe biden's success, which is to build back better and to fight for the best of who we are as a nation. >> reporter: her road to the white house defined by breakthroughs. making history as san francisco's first black district

attorney, california's first female attorney general and the nation's first south asian-american senator. in 2019 she launched her own bid for president. >> i'm asking people to imagine something that they've not seen before in terms of believing that we can have a person that is like me as president of the united states. >> reporter: after ending her campaign, she later joined her former rival on the democratic ticket. >> i just look at kamala and she has everything it takes to engender confidence in the american people. he's straight as an arrow. >> reporter: her husband doug emhoff becoming our country's first second gentleman. >> the american people hired them for change and to get us out of these things and i'm going to do everything i can to help them. >> reporter: and their blended family of jewish, indian and black heritage now represented on the national stage. today harris will take the oath of office just miles away from her alma mater howard university, on the steps of the

capitol where she once interned. >> as a student, could you have imagined being just days away from such a historic moment? >> no and i really feel quite emotional about it. >> reporter: and it was at howard where she ran her first campaign as a freshman in college and joined alpha kappa alpha sorority incorporated and said the historically black college gave her the confidence to aim high and the tools to make the climb. and now she's inspiring that next generation. >> we feel inspired, energized. >> just seeing her and being able to feel like i'm being represented in the same way she's there and i'm there. i just feel like she's me, i'm her. >> reporter: for kamala harris, this moment is about all those who for the first time will see a woman in the nation's second highest office. >> what is going to be going through your mind when you take that oath of office? >> i'll be thinking about my mother. i was raised by a mother who

said that to me all the time, kamala, you may be the first to do many thing, make sure you've not the last and that's how i feel about this moment. >> reporter: and escorting harris on the last leg of her journey to the white house, the howard university marching band. robin. >> that will be something to see and, rachel, i have to say congratulations, congressional correspondent, rachel scott. that's a big deal. congrats to you. >> thank you, robin. >> also, a/k/a i found out rachel is we're joined now by three women who know harris well and were there during her formative years at howard, her sorority sisters from alpha kappa alpha, jill louis, lorri sadler and for the first time lisa jackson, good to see you. you had a chance to speak with kamala harris two days ago on a zoom call during your sorority's founders day celebration. so, lorri, what was that conversation like?

>> oh, robin, that conversation was magical. it included our entire line, including madam vice president-elect and what i remember about that conversation that she shared was that we are her center and that was so special that she said that, because we all feel that same way about each other and that truly describes our bond and so that was something that i definitely remember. we had a lot of conversation and a lot of fun but that was certainly one of my key takeaway. >> and i hope a lot of laughter and smiles. jill, what is your hope for your sorority sister as she embarks on this journey as our country's next vice president? >> well, she set out on this journey to have an impact on people and to make people's lives better and my hope is that she will be able to have that impact. >> and, lisa, what qualities does she bring that will make her an effective vice president? >> honestly, robin, i think her

genuineness, her authenticity, she as been for the people is for the people and it's amazing that america gets to see that in her. >> it is. lorri, you're an associate vice president at clark atlanta university so for historically black colleges and universities, just let people know what is the impact of this moment? >> this moment is so important, robin. historically black colleges and universities are finally getting the respect and recognition they so richly deserve. since their inception, these institutions have produced trail blazers and differencemakers throughout history. this moment, robin, amplifies the academic excellence of hbcus and this moment further attracts students to historically black colleges and universities.

and we know that these institutions have produced graduates that have been in industry at every level and the accomplishments of madam vice president-elect only amplify the hbcu standard. >> yes, indeed. so tell me, i see you all wearing your pers. why do you have your pearls on, jill? >> pearls symbolize our founders and pearls symbolize the elegance of women but also pearls are forged in oysters and oysters come from irritation. they come from challenge and so they represent resilience and that's who we are as alpha kappa alpha women. >> jill, lorri, lisa, thank you very much. the oldest historically block sorority was found there had at howard. my mother was aka, my father was

que dog. that's another story for another day but we appreciate you and i know it's going to be a very special moment for all of you this morning. >> indeed. >> you take care. >> thank you. we'll have much more on kamala harris and her big blended family. that's going to come up in our next hour. coming up next here, an abc news exclusive, cindy mccain who crossed party lines to endorse longtime family friend joe biden will join us live with her hopes for his administration and how she might play a role. come on back. hey malcolm, you know that audible's got a lot more than audiobooks? of course, podcasts. originals. bestsellers. future bestsellers. sleep stories. sleep stories? what are you talking about sleep stories? malcolm. oh wow. malcolm. malcolm! mal-hey no! roxy, hey! roxy, get out of malcolm's house! the most inspiring minds. the most compelling stories.

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♪lovelo, love♪ ♪love, love, love♪ you are looking live at the capitol where they are preparing for this monumental day. in just a few hours joe biden and kamala harris will be sworn in as president and vice president, george. >> it is a big day in washington right now. we have an exclusive interview with one of the women who helped make it happen. cindy mccain crossed party lines to endorse joe biden voting for a democrat for the first time in her life. she and her husband, the late arizona senator john mccain were longtime friends with the bidens and joins us from washington. mrs. mccain, thank you for joining us. i see that big smile on your face. tell us how you're feeling. >> oh, it's a wonderful day, george. this country can begin to heal and we can begin to work together for what's good for the country and not for selfish interests. i have great hope that this president is going to lead us

down a path that's going to not only as i said help us heal but help us thrive as well. it's a wonderful day and i'm very happy to be here. >> you've known joe biden for an awful long time. why is he the right man right now to help heal this country which is so deeply divided? >> you know, joe is so many good thing, obviously has great empathy, great character, the dignity that he holds but more importantly he has the experience and he has worked across the aisle to bring people together before. that's exactly what we need right now and having watched him work with my husband and other republicans through the years, he has great tackitt and great ability to listen and work through the issues that are difficult. >> it seems like the challenge is so much greater than presidents have faced before when you've got so many people in your party, the republican party, who don't even believe he was legitimately elected president.

>> well, that's part of this healing process. this pandemic has played a large role in how people feel for obvious reasons and so i think with joe's abilities to not only help us come together but also our abilities to understand our differences, and he can show us that way in many ways and i'm just grateful that we have someone that is smart and is dignified and will also lead this country in a way that is respectful and honorable for the people that he serves. >> you said you were putting together a list of people who could serve in the biden administration. anything come of that? >> i've returned our list in. things are happening. you know, there's many, many, many positions that are going to occur within this administration and i know republicans will play a role in that. >> how about you? you know, there is a scheme every four years for people

jockeying for positions and i read you might be considering an ambassadorship or the president-elect might be considering that for you? >> well, i will serve in whatever way i can be helpful to this administration and, of course, this president and i didn't do that -- i didn't do this to gain a position. i did this for my country and i truly believe that. but if i can help serve in any way possible i certainly will do that. as you know, i come from a family, a longtime family with longtime service. >> oh, absolutely. i do know that and i was lucky enough on a couple of occasions to be on trips with both your husband and the president-elect, joe biden. clearly they are friends despite their political differences. what do you think your husband would say to his old friend today? >> oh, you know, i think he would tell joe that he has great confidence in him, he knows he's

going to be a good president in terms of bringing the country together, healing and listening to people. i think john would be excited to be able to w wh someoneis bls h to bring people together and cross the divide and encourage people to work together in a civil manner. >> cindy mccain, thanks for joining us today. i hope you enjoy this day. >> thank you, thank you. coming up more on our new first family, the president-elect's rock dr. jill biden, how she brought their family together and how she's carving her own path, will carve her own path as first lady.

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a dangerous offshore wind eve event happening right now in california that caused fires to not just become more erratic but also just blowing, that's going to be the case today. extreme fire danger likely. we've got high wind warnings all the way down to san diego. coming up here on "gma" more on the first family and how they've been through so much to get to this point. you'll see that and more coming up right here on "gma." your local news and weather next. [male narrator] for as long as we've existed, boys & girls clubs has always been about coming together. to support the families of our communities and do whatever it takes to give every kid a chance at a great future. but we're going through a challenging time right now. and while we may not all be able to come together in the same physical ways, in other ways, we're coming together like never before.

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visit arbor day dot org and see how you can help. >> announcer: this is an abc news special report, the inauguration o reporting, chief anchor george stephanopoulos. >> good morning, and welcome to our special coverage on this big day for joe biden and the country. he is about to be inaugurated the 46th president of the united states shortly before noon today. he will take the oath of office and then become president of the united states. but it is an inauguration unlike any other and that's one of the signs right there. there you see marine one on the lawn of the white house. president trump still there but expected to depart any minute for andrews air force base. he will not be taking part in the traditional civic rituals that signify the peaceful transfer of power in our country.