Team,

This is a moment of history and hope.

Today is Inauguration Day, and Joe Biden has been sworn in as the 46th President of the United States.

My sister, Kamala Harris, is now the first woman, the first Black woman, and the first South Asian woman to be sworn in as the Vice President, inspiring generations of young leaders to come.

After four long, unprecedented, and disturbing years, the Trump presidency is officially over. The American people stood up, organized, voted, and removed this dangerous man from office.

We witnessed attacks on our voting rights, our democracy and the Constitution, immigrants, Muslims, Black and brown communities, the poor, LGBTQ Americans and women, the free press, peaceful protesters, our environment, and our health care. We’ve lost more than 400,000 of our loved ones to a pandemic that was initially downplayed and wildly mishandled by the former president.

And through the power of the ballot, we said, “enough.”

Though this inauguration has been unlike any other, due to restrictions posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and security threats from far-right extremists, it is a positive and pivotal turning point in our country’s history.

The time to heal and rebuild is now.

Not only have President Biden and Vice President Harris been sworn in to serve the American people, but later today I'll be joined by new colleagues in what will soon be a Democratic-led Senate, including Georgia’s first Black and first Jewish Senators, Rev. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, who I am so honored to get to work with.

The truth is we as a country have experienced a collective trauma during this presidency and pandemic. But I know that through the tireless work of organizers and voters like you, we are now in a position to redeem our nation, tackle this deadly virus, revitalize our economy, and make progress to lift up each and every one of us.

I am thrilled and encouraged to think about what comes next: passing stronger pandemic relief for workers, businesses, and families, letting science and our medical experts guide the strategy on stopping the spread of this virus, raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour, honoring our heroes like John Lewis by restoring the Voting Rights Act and preventing voter suppression, passing comprehensive and compassionate immigration reform, ensuring that Black Lives Matter in the eyes of our justice system, taking bold action to address the climate crisis, and so much more.

We got here together, and we’ll build our country back better together. The future is bright.

With love,

Cory