Vice President Kamala Harris reads the results as House Speaker Mike Johnson looks on to certify the electoral votes at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Jan. 6, 2025. On January 6, 2025, President-elect Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election was confirmed. . |Photo courtesy: AP
The US Congress has officially certified Republican President-elect Donald Trump’s victory over Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in the November election, paving the way for him to take office on January 20th.
The certification of election results in all 50 states and the District of Columbia on Monday (January 6, 2025) took place in a short formal ceremony during a joint session of the House and Senate. Harris, who served as vice president as president of the Senate, presided.
The quadrennial ceremony was in sharp contrast to four years ago, when a mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in an attempt to stop then-President Trump’s certification of his 2020 loss to Democratic President Joe Biden.
Mr. Trump continued to falsely claim that his 2020 loss was the result of widespread fraud, and throughout his 2024 campaign he said he had similar concerns until his loss to Ms. Harris on November 5. I was warning you.
“Congress today certifies our great election victory. This is a huge moment in history. MAGA!” Trump tweeted on Monday (January 6, 2025) on his social media platform ” I wrote this in “Truth Social.”
The joint session proceeded as a winter storm blanketed the nation’s capital, dumping about 15 centimeters of snow and causing traffic noise.
The final certification confirmed preliminary findings that Mr. Trump received 312 electoral votes to Ms. Harris’ 226.
Republicans control the White House and Congress
Republicans won a majority in the Senate and maintained a slim majority in the House in November, giving Trump the party support he needs to carry out his plan to cut taxes and crack down on undocumented immigrants. Dew. .
Democrats did not try to block the certification of Trump’s victory on Monday (January 6, 2025).
“We must renew our resolve to protect American democracy,” Catherine Clark, the No. 2 Democrat in the House, said in a statement on the same day. “As elected leaders, we must always remain loyal to the Constitution above all else. We are here to respect the will of the people and the rule of law.”
Security in and around the Capitol had been stepped up in the lead-up to the certification and was expected to remain in place throughout Trump’s swearing-in.
The Capitol grounds were surrounded by a metal fence several hundred yards from the Capitol, and access was only possible through checkpoints manned by uniformed police officers.
A convoy of black police vehicles was on standby, led by a 10-wheel Baltimore police mobile command center. New York City police reinforcements were also patrolling the area.
Inside, additional teams of uniformed U.S. Capitol Police officers checked IDs at entry points, including the doors leading to the House and Senate chambers and underground tunnels.
Trump is one of more than 1,500 people charged with taking part in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, where rioters broke through windows and doors and clashed with police, chanting: He said he plans to pardon some of them. Trump’s attempt to block Congress from certifying Biden’s victory by calling him to “hang Mike Pence,” referring to his then-vice president, failed.
During the 2021 melee at the U.S. Capitol, rioters poured through police barricades, assaulted about 140 officers and caused more than $2.8 million in damage. Several police officers who engaged with demonstrators died in the weeks that followed, some by suicide.
As a result of that day’s violence, Congress passed legislation in late 2022 that would strengthen guardrails to ensure the certification process is conducted in a lawful manner.
Many of these changes are in direct response to President Trump’s actions prior to January 6, 2021. For example, the new law asserts that the vice president’s role is primarily ceremonial.
issued – January 7, 2025 12:32am IST
