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.
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.
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.
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.