As senators get sworn in, Joe Biden is the star

It's clear that one of Vice President Biden's favorite responsibilities is swearing in new and re-elected senators for their next term in office. Even though it's the lawmakers' day to shine, it's often Biden who steals the show with his colorful interactions with family members, and especially children.

"You've got some killer eyes--those girls are in trouble," Biden said to a young member of the family of Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois.

Upon meeting Emily, a granddaughter of Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, he remarked, "Hope you have a big fence around the house!"

His fondness for the youngest family members was apparent, but he drove the point home by declaring at one point, "I like kids better than people!"

Biden was just as friendly to Republican senators as he was to those of his own party. "I know I'm a Democrat, but I'm okay!" he told members of Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst's clan as he tried to get them to stand next to him for a photo. After meeting a baby in the family of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, he joked, "He said, 'grandpa, can I talk to a Democrat!"

He sought to find common ground with everyone he met, telling Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colorado, "We've got sisters better looking and smarter than us!" and Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Arkansas, "We both married up!"

He even interacted with family members who weren't at the swearing in, fielding a call from Gardner's grandmother, Betty. The call only lasted a few seconds before he handed the phone back to the senator.

"She said, 'It's nice talking to you but I don't have time. I'm watching my grandson being sworn in right now!'" he told the family members, who laughed.