New York ladies do us proud: Three of NYC’s favorite daughters in the spotlight at Biden and Harris inauguration

Cathy Burke

They’re A-No. 1, top of the heap — and on Wednesday, Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez and Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor were the New York, New York, class acts at Joe Biden’s inauguration.

Each took center stage at the swearing in of the 46th president and his history-making VP, Kamala Harris, the first woman, first Black person and first Asian-American to hold the office.

Singer Lady Gaga walks back after singing the National Anthem during the inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th President of the United States on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol on January 20, 2021 in Washington, DC.
Singer Lady Gaga walks back after singing the National Anthem during the inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th President of the United States on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol on January 20, 2021 in Washington, DC.


Singer Lady Gaga walks back after singing the National Anthem during the inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th President of the United States on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol on January 20, 2021 in Washington, DC. (JONATHAN ERNST/)

Gaga, who grew up in Manhattan, was decked out with a flouffy red Schiaparelli couture dress with a gold dove brooch and dark blue jacket to sing America’s national anthem, giving a stunning earnestness to the classic “Star-Spangled Banner” that lit up the web.

The arrangement, said New Jersey singer Charlie Puth, gave him Whitney Houston “1991 vibes,” while California Gov. Gavin Newsom tweeted, “Gaga > Maga.”

One fan gibed, “Weirdly a lot of speeches at this gaga concert,” and another joked, “We did it we did it joe ... we made it to the gaga concert.”

Bronx-born Jenny from the Block belted out a medley of patriotic songs that included “This Land Is Your Land” — and a declaration in Spanish ripped right from America’s Pledge of Allegiance.

“Una nación, bajo Dios, indivisible, con libertad y justicia para todos!” she yelled at the spot where rioters broke into the Capitol two weeks ago: “One nation, under God, with liberty and justice for all.”

Kamala Harris is sworn in as vice president by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor as her husband Doug Emhoff holds the Bible during the 59th Presidential Inauguration at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021.
Kamala Harris is sworn in as vice president by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor as her husband Doug Emhoff holds the Bible during the 59th Presidential Inauguration at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021.


Kamala Harris is sworn in as vice president by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor as her husband Doug Emhoff holds the Bible during the 59th Presidential Inauguration at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021. (David Tulis/)

Sotomayor, the first woman of color to serve on the Supreme Court, wore her SCOTUS black robe to read the oath of office to Harris, who in turn repeated that she did “solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God.”

Jennifer Lopez arrives to sing during the 59th Presidential Inauguration at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 20.
Jennifer Lopez arrives to sing during the 59th Presidential Inauguration at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 20.


Jennifer Lopez arrives to sing during the 59th Presidential Inauguration at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 20. (Patrick Semansky/)

It wasn’t the first time Sotomayor, who grew up in public housing in the same borough as J.Lo, participated in a presidential inauguration. She previously administered the vice presidential oath to Biden in 2013.

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