WASHINGTON—Vice President Kamala Harris followed up the congressional certification of Donald Trump’s presidential win by delivering brief remarks on her role on Jan. 6.
Speaking with reporters at the Capitol after the ceremony on Jan. 6, Harris said she performed her constitutional duty “to ensure that the people of America, the voters of America, will have their votes counted, that those votes matter, and that they will determine the outcome of an election.”
The vice president added that she believes that the American system of government would only survive as long as people are willing to fight for and defend it.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has expressed triumph upon the certification of President-elect Donald Trump’s electoral victory.
“In two weeks, President Trump will take the oath of office, cementing the greatest political comeback in American history,” he said in a Jan. 6 statement.
“His landslide election and corresponding mandate from the American people dictate that Congress waste no time in delivering on the America First agenda, and we are prepared to hit the ground running,” he continued.
WASHINGTON—Following the certification of his election as vice president of the United States, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), was surrounded by members of Congress seeking photographs on the floor of the House.
Vance was seated in the left-most seat facing the rostrum of the front row of the House of Representatives, next to Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.). He stayed behind to take “selfies” with many Republican House members after the House adjourned.
On the floor, Vance was flanked by his junior state colleague, Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio), and several staff members of the Trump–Vance transition team, identified by their trapezoid lapel pins issued by the U.S. Secret Service. Photographers were quick to capture Vance’s every move on the floor.
WASHINGTON—The U.S. Congress on Jan. 6 certified President-elect Donald Trump’s electoral victory in the 2024 election, marking the official final step to guarantee Trump’s position as the incoming commander-in-chief.
Following in the footsteps of Al Gore and Walter Mondale, Vice President Kamala Harris oversaw the certification of her own election loss. The process confirmed that Trump received 312 electoral votes while Harris received 226.
The certification was largely uneventful, with Democrats raising no challenges to any of Trump’s electoral wins.
With all electoral votes counted and reported, Vice President Kamala Harris announced the certification of her 2024 presidential election loss to President-elect Donald Trump.
Harris also confirmed the certification of JD Vance as vice president-elect.
Trump and Vance received 312 electoral votes, putting them well above the 270-vote threshold.
WASHINGTON—Epoch Times reporters were inside the chamber of the House of Representatives while Congress met in a Joint Session to count the Electoral College votes of the 2024 presidential election. While tellers read the results from each state, the chamber floor was also active.
Democrats and Republicans applauded whenever the results were read out of a state their candidate won, with some cheering—particularly from the states of Georgia, Wisconsin, and Texas. Several times, Vice President-elect and Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) stood up to acknowledge the applause from Republicans after his name was read out.
In a marked contrast to the events of Jan. 6, 2021, there were no objections raised to the results of any state, nor were there disruptions or heckles from Members of Congress seated on the floor. The public galleries were largely empty, with few guests, given the heightened security surrounding the event.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) gaveled in the joint session of Congress. Vice President Kamala Harris then announced the commencement of the session to certify President-elect Donald Trump’s victory.
Trump defeated Harris in the Nov. 5 election with 312 to 226 electoral votes.
States are submitting the results of their electoral votes to Congress in a box. The congressional session goes through each state, counting the electoral votes.
Vice President Kamala Harris entered the House chamber just before 1 p.m. ET on Monday to begin the election certification process.
Harris was joined by members of the Senate. She then took her place on the dais alongside House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.).
The electoral vote certificates were transported into the chamber inside their ceremonial boxes.
Both chambers of Congress will gather at 1 p.m. ET on Monday to certify the results of the 2024 presidential election.
Here’s how that process will unfold:
A severe winter storm continued to hit much of the Midwest and East Coast of the United States on Jan. 6, dropping as much as a foot of snow on the Mid-Atlantic coast, including the Washington metro area.
An additional two to four inches is expected in the Ohio Valley and the Central Appalachian Mountains.
Attorney General Merrick Garland marked the fourth anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol breach by reaffirming his support for federal law enforcement’s response to the incident.
“January 6 was a violent attack on the law enforcement officers defending the Capitol, and it was an unprecedented attack on a cornerstone of our system of government—the peaceful transfer of power from one administration to the next,” Garland said in a statement, echoing the remarks of other administration officials.
The attorney general praised the Justice Department’s years of investigative work surrounding the breach, noting that more than 1,500 people had been charged with various crimes.
President-Elect Donald Trump is attempting to halt proceedings in his business records case, with his attorneys stating that they intend to file an appeal to reverse a decision setting sentencing for Jan. 10.
Trump’s request came on Jan. 6, just days after New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan’s Jan. 3 decision to reject Trump’s request to dismiss the case.
President Joe Biden said, “We cannot forget” the events of Jan. 6, 2021, as the nation moves forward with a new presidential administration.
In an op-ed published on Sunday in The Washington Post, Biden criticized efforts to “rewrite” the history surrounding the U.S. Capitol breach, during which protesters he described as “violent insurrectionists” delayed Congress’s certification of the 2020 election results.
“In time, there will be Americans who didn’t witness the Jan. 6 riot firsthand but will learn about it from footage and testimony of that day, from what is written in history books and from the truth we pass on to our children. We cannot allow the truth to be lost,” Biden wrote.
Vice President Kamala Harris confirmed on Monday that she will certify the results of the 2024 presidential election without challenge in her role as president of the Senate.
Describing the peaceful transfer of power as “one of the most fundamental principles of American democracy,” Harris pledged to uphold that principle in a video shared on social media platform X.
“This duty is a sacred obligation, one I will uphold, guided by love of country, loyalty to our Constitution, and my unwavering faith in the American people,” Harris said.
Hours before Congress was set to certify the results of the 2024 presidential election on Monday, President-elect Donald Trump took a moment to reflect on the historic nature of the day.
“Congress certifies our great election victory today—a big moment in history. MAGA!” Trump wrote in all caps on his Truth Social platform.
The certification marks the fourth anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol breach, for which more than 1,500 people were indicted.
WASHINGTON—Congress will formally certify President-elect Donald Trump’s victory in the 2024 election on Jan. 6, marking the final step to confirm Trump as the next commander-in-chief.
Vice President Kamala Harris, as president of the Senate, will officiate the certification during a joint session of Congress and declare her erstwhile rival the winner in the presidential contest.
It’s expected to be largely a quiet, formal process this year. Harris has said she intends to treat her role as ceremonial. Democrats in Congress have already made clear that they accept Trump’s win.
For members of both parties, the day can’t help but recall the events that unfolded four years prior.
During the certification of the 2020 election results on Jan. 6, 2021, pro-Trump protesters entered the Capitol, placing the certification process on hold and putting an end to a Republican effort to object to certain electoral slates.
Following the Capitol breach, Republican leaders such as Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) distanced themselves from Trump, joining Democrats in saying he was ultimately responsible for the incident.
The House quickly pushed through a second impeachment resolution against Trump, though it failed in the Senate. Pundits believed Trump’s political future was at an end.
The Process
Lawmakers from both chambers will gather in the House chamber, which is traditionally used for joint sessions, at 1 p.m. ET to begin the process of certification.Under the process mandated by law, the official electoral slates will be transported into the House chamber in large mahogany boxes. Harris will then open the sealed electoral slates and hand them to the congressional tellers to be read aloud in alphabetical order.
As these votes are read off, lawmakers have the opportunity to raise any objections they see fit, so long as both a representative and a senator sign off on the objection. At that point, both chambers would meet for two hours to debate the objection before returning to a joint session.
Jan. 6, 2021
Though Jan. 6 was once seen as a relatively uneventful day in American political life, for the past four years, the date has been a cultural flashpoint.In the speech, Trump urged then-Vice President Mike Pence to reject certain electoral slates from key battleground states.
When the crowd arrived at the Capitol, chaos ensued as some protesters entered the Capitol. Most entered through the main entrances, though a minority entered through smashed windows.
Critics of Trump alleged that the Capitol breach was the culmination of an attempted insurrection against the U.S. government.
Supporters of Trump say the narratives surrounding the events of the day have been misrepresented and note Trump’s role in ending the breach and how he left office unchallenged on Jan. 20, 2021.