“She will really be bringing the role of first lady into the 21st century.”
Dr Jill Biden is set to make history as the first First Lady of the United States with a full time job.
Biden, who is a university professor with two masters degrees and a doctorate of education, reportedly intends to keep her job at Northern Virginia Community College throughout her role as FLOTUS.
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will enter the White House later today (January 20).
USA Today reports that Jill Biden plans to keep her full time job during her term in the White House – the first time a First Lady has done so in the role’s 231 year history.
“She will really be bringing the role of first lady into the 21st century,” first-lady historian Katherine Jellison told the publication.
“Americans have historically wanted their first ladies to be in the White House and at the president’s side whenever possible.
“Maybe the time has come when Americans will be more accepting of the idea that a president’s wife can simultaneously be a first lady and a working professional.”
Dr Biden said last summer that if her husband succeeded in becoming president, she would continue her work regardless.
“If we get to the White House, I’m going to continue to teach,” she told CBS last August. “I want people to value teachers and know their contributions and to lift up the profession.
She also told Vogue in 2019 that the beauty of being the First Lady “is that you can define it however you want.”
“And that’s what I did as second lady – I defined that role the way I wanted it to be. I would still work on all the same issues. Education would be right up there, and military families. I’d travel all over this country trying to get free community college.”
Jill and Joe Biden will enter the White House later today.
