Despite obvious differences, the White House offered its congratulations Friday to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas on his historic selection to swear in Mike Pence as vice president on January 20.



In asking Press Secretary Josh Earnest for the White House’s opinion of Pence's choice of Thomas, Newsmax noted that the justice will become the first black American ever to administer the oath of office to either of the top two officials in the United States.



"I was not aware of that announcement from Vice President-elect Pence," Earnest told us, "but obviously Justice Thomas, for all of our profound differences when it comes to some pretty important basic American values, he is somebody who has had a genuinely historic career. And I think this is just the latest evidence of the historic nature of the position that he holds."



The President’s top spokesman added that "I think it's also reflective of the political philosophy of Vice President-elect Pence that he would choose Justice Thomas to administer the oath. But obviously that was a decision that was left up to him."



Although the president is traditionally sworn in by the chief justice, a variety of officials have administered the oath of office to the vice president through the years. Thomas' role in the swearing-in ceremony will mark the eighth time since 1949 an associate justice of the Supreme Court has administered the oath to a vice president.