Joe Biden to accompany Doug Jones for Senate swearing-in ceremony
Vice President Joe Biden will accompany Democrat Doug Jones to the Senate floor as he is sworn in on Wednesday, CBS News' Nancy Cordes reports. Biden, a longtime friend of Jones, has known the senator-elect since Jones was a young volunteer on the vice president's 1988 presidential campaign.
Biden previously told "CBS This Morning" that Jones' win in the Alabama special election had sent a "message" to Americans amid persistent partisan division and polarization. Biden praised Jones, a former prosecutor, for focusing his campaign on issues that really matter to the people of the state.
"It sends a message that not only do they reject all that [Roy Moore] stood for,...but also Doug talked about the issues he cares about," said Biden on "CBS This Morning."
Biden, who campaigned for the Democrat and says he spoke to Jones three times on Election Day, said the advice he gave to the candidate was to "focus on the issues."
"If you noticed the bulk of what he did was that, and last night — instead of a victory lap like a lot of Democrats may have wanted to do and go out and say this is a big loss for the president, which it is — he talked about bringing people together," Biden said.
Ahead of Wednesday's ceremony, Jones told reporters that he was "loving" that Biden would be joining him on such an important day in his career.
"The fact that he's been here for a long time. He's been here many years himself so it's going to be a special day," said Jones.
Jones will join fellow Democrat Tina Smith in the Senate as both sworn in by Vice President Mike Pence. Smith takes the seat of Sen. Al Franken, D-Minnesota, following his resignation amid allegations of sexual misconduct. She will be escorted by former Vice President Walter Mondale, a Minnesotan.
