Harris, Sanders interaction caught on video: 'Not your nature' to 'stand wherever you're told'

While the House of Representatives was meeting for a contentious speakership vote, on the other side of the Capitol, Vice President Kamala Harris opened the Senate to swear in members ahead of a new Congress.

During the ceremony, a humorous interaction was caught on C-SPAN cameras between the vice president and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.

“Stand right here. Although that is not your nature to just stand wherever you're told to stand, but give it a try,” Harris said to Sanders as the senator approached her to be sworn in.

Sanders let out a brief smile in response.

For the 83-year-old Sanders, this new term in the Senate will be fourth and likely last, he told Politico in a December interview. Sanders has been serving in the Senate since 2007. Before that, he was a member of the House of Representatives for 16 years.

Sanders, who is an Independent but caucuses with Democrats, has at times been critical of the Democratic Party, especially following Harris' defeat in the 2024 presidential election.

Sanders slams Dems for election loss: 'The American people are angry and want change'

"It should come as no great surprise that a Democratic Party which has abandoned working class people would find that the working class has abandoned them," Sanders wrote in a statement days after the election.

This story was updated to add more information.

Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at [email protected] and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Harris jokingly jabs Sanders during swearing-in: 'Stand right here'