The husband of Senator Deb Fischer, Republican of Nebraska, drew criticism online when he failed to accept a handshake offered by Vice President Kamala D. Harris at his wife’s ceremonial swearing-in.
The ceremonial swearing-in of new senators is normally a perfunctory part of the start of a new Congress, a ritual orchestrated to showcase courtesy and camaraderie as even political rivals smile together for family photos.
That’s how it unfolded six years ago, when Senator Deb Fischer, a low-key Republican from Nebraska, was sworn in by Vice President Mike Pence, and her husband, Bruce, thanked him for his service.
The same thing had happened six years before that, when it was a Democrat administering the oath; the couple both warmly shook hands with Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr.
But this year, when it was Vice President Kamala Harris doing the job, things were chillier.
On Friday, Mr. Fischer, who stood beside his wife holding the Bible on which she swore her oath, appeared to snub Ms. Harris by declining to shake her hand or even make eye contact with her afterward.