Washington DC, US
Reuters
The US Congress formally certified Republican President-elect Donald Trump’s election victory on Monday during a session presided over by Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, who lost the November contest.
The quadrennial ritual, clearing the way for Trump’s inauguration in two weeks, went like clockwork and stood in sharp contrast to four years ago when a mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in a failed bid to block the certification of then-President Trump’s 2020 loss to Democratic President Joe Biden.
US Vice President Kamala Harris holds the gavel next to Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (a Republican from Louisiana) during a joint session of Congress to certify Donald Trump’s election, at the US Capitol in Washington, US, on 6th January, 2025. PICTURE: Reuters/Evelyn Hockstein.
Trump continues to falsely claim that his 2020 defeat was the result of widespread fraud, and had warned throughout his 2024 campaign that he harbored similar concerns until his 5th November defeat of Harris.
Harris oversaw the roll call of the states in the Vice President’s ceremonial role as president of the Senate. Known for her broad smiles and upbeat demeanor in public appearances, she stood stoic with hands clasped on the dais as she handed off certificates of each state’s electoral votes for Trump and herself.
“Today was obviously a very important day, and it was about what should be the norm and what the American people should be able to take for granted, which is that one of the most important pillars of our democracy is that there will be a peaceful transfer of power,” Harris told reporters at the Capitol. “I do believe very strongly that American democracy is only as strong as our willingness to fight for it.”
Four years ago, then-Vice President Mike Pence had to preside over Biden’s victory. In 2001, then-Vice President Al Gore had the same dubious distinction following a bitter battle between him and George W. Bush that ended so close that the US Supreme Court ultimately had to put a stop to the legal challenges, leading to Bush being declared the winner.
Sitting in the House chamber was Senator JD Vance, whose vice presidential victory was also certified by Harris. Vance stood and waved to the members in the chamber when his electoral vote total was announced.
“Congress certifies our great election victory today – a big moment in history. MAGA!” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social earlier on Monday.
The joint session of Congress proceeded even as a winter storm hovered over the nation’s capital, dropping about 15 centimetres of snow and snarling travel.
The final certification backed up preliminary findings that Trump won 312 Electoral College votes to Harris’s 226.
Republicans control White House, Congress
Republicans also captured a majority in the US Senate and held a narrow edge in the House in November’s election, which will give Trump the party support he needs to implement his planned agenda of tax cuts and a crackdown on immigrants living in the country illegally.
Democrats did not try to block certification of Trump’s victory on Monday.
“We must renew our commitment to safeguarding American democracy,” number two House Democrat Katherine Clark said in a statement earlier in the day. “As elected leaders, our loyalty must be to the Constitution, first and always. We are here to honor the will of the people and the rule of law.”
US Vice President-elect JD Vance reacts as he attends a joint session of Congress to certify Donald Trump’s election, at the US Capitol in Washington, US, on 6th January, 2025. PICTURE: Reuters/Annabelle Gordon.
Security inside and outside the Capitol was heightened in preparation for the certification and was expected to remain in place through Trump’s swearing-in on 20th January.
The Capitol grounds were ringed by metal fences hundreds of yards from the US Capitol, and accessible only via checkpoints guarded by uniformed police officers.
Convoys of black police vehicles were on hand, led by a 10-wheel Baltimore police mobile command centre. New York Police Department reinforcements were also patrolling the area.
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Inside, extra teams of uniformed US Capitol Police officers were checking IDs at entrance sites including doors and underground tunnels leading to the House and Senate chambers.
Trump has said he plans to pardon some of the more than 1,500 people charged with taking part in the 6th January, 2021, assault on the Capitol, when a mob fought with police, smashing its way in through windows and doors and chanting, “Hang Mike Pence,” referring to Trump’s then-Vice President, in a failed bid to stop Congress from certifying Biden’s victory.
In the 2021 melee at the Capitol, rioters surged past police barricades, assaulting about 140 officers and causing more than $US2.8 million in damage. Multiple police officers who battled protesters died in the weeks that followed, some by suicide.
– Additional reporting by KATHARINE JACKSON
