Congress certified President-elect election under the tightest national security level possible. Layers of tall black fencing flank the U.S. Capitol complex in a stark reminder of .
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Former Vice President Mike Pence applauds 鈥榯he return of order and civility鈥� to the certification process
And he commended Vice President Kamala Harris for her role certifying her rival鈥檚 win.
He wrote on X that, 鈥淭he peaceful transfer of power is the hallmark of our democracy鈥� and that, 鈥渢oday, members of both parties in the House and Senate along with the vice president certified the election of our new president and vice president without controversy or objection.鈥�
He also congratulated Trump on his win.
Kamala Harris played her ceremonial role with perfunctory remarks and no rhetorical flourishes
She passed copies of each state鈥檚 results to lawmakers, who read them out loud. When they finished, Harris announced the final results, and smiled tightly as Republicans applauded Donald Trump鈥檚 victory.
The entire process lasted less than 30 minutes.
鈥淭he chair declares this joint session dissolved,鈥� Harris said. 鈥淭hank you.鈥�
A stunningly ordinary certification comes to an end
After going through all the certificates for 50 states and D.C., Congress anticlimactically certified the 2024 election for Trump and Vance.
It happened with little fanfare with some members taking breaks from looking at the dais to check their phones or engage in conversations with their neighbors.
Harris ended it with the words: 鈥淭he chair declares this joint session dissolved.鈥�
She shook hands and kissed a few members on the cheek before being swept away.
The tallying of the electoral votes has been completed
Vice President Kamala Harris announced the tally as President-elect Donald Trump receiving 312 votes and Harris herself receiving 226 votes.
Her announcements of both received raucous cheers in the chamber.
When she announced Trump鈥檚 victory, she smiled tightly as Republicans gave a standing ovation.
Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal says in post that 鈥榳e will not forget鈥� what happened during Jan. 6 riot
Democrats who were trapped in the House gallery four years ago when Donald Trump鈥檚 supporters were trying to break down the doors to the chamber posed for a photo in the same spot ahead of this year鈥檚 Jan. 6 certification.
Washington Rep. Pramila Jayapal posted it on X and wrote 鈥渨e will not forget.鈥�
JD Vance is sitting in the front row of the chamber as tellers count the votes of his own election victory
The vice president-elect sat calmly as the chamber clapped for the announcement that his home state cast its electoral votes for the Trump-Vance ticket.
Harris is handing the certificates to the people reading them
As the results are announced, she stands with her hands clasped in front of her.
The designated tellers have begun the formal process of reading each state鈥檚 electoral certificates
Lawmakers clapped after the reading of each state鈥檚 results.
The first state where electoral votes went to Vice President Kamala Harris and Tim Walz was California and received a round of applause from Democrats.
The electoral certificate for Georgia going to Trump and Vance received an outburst of cheers from a few members of the GOP delegation, including staunch Trump ally Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.
Vice President-elect JD Vance also walked down the path of the House floor
He was greeted by Republican members. Vance will be in attendance as a senator as his and President-elect Donald Trump鈥檚 victory is certified by Congress.
Three boxes containing the official Electoral College tally were escorted across the Capitol by armed security
Vice President Kamala Harris and members of the Senate were in tow.
Senators filed into the House, greeting their House colleagues on both sides of the aisle
It鈥檚 a reunion for many, including new senators Adam Schiff of California and Ruben Gallego of Arizona who were until last week members of the House.
Many of the Republicans attending Monday鈥檚 joint session say they鈥檙e prepared to 鈥榲ote鈥� to certify Trump鈥檚 win
But it鈥檚 unlikely there will be any voting Monday.
The only time Congress votes on the Electoral College results is when someone lodges a successful objection to a state鈥檚 result. With Democrats not challenging the results of this election, the session should proceed mainly as a counting exercise.
Congress voted twice on the results of the election in 2021, rejecting Republican challenges to President Joe Biden鈥檚 victories in Arizona and Pennsylvania.
The House convenes for a joint session to certify the election
Attendance on both sides of the aisle appears low after Washington received heavy snowfall overnight into Monday.
There was mild applause for Vice President Kamala Harris as she arrived on to the House floor to a flurry of empty seats.
Sen. Schumer criticizes the possibility of pardons for Jan. 6 rioters
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer says it鈥檚 鈥渟hamefully, utterly outrageous鈥� that President-elect Donald Trump is considering pardons for those who participated in the breach of the Capitol four years ago.
鈥淚t would send a message to the country and to the world that those who use force to get their way will not be punished,鈥� said Schumer, as lawmakers gathered Monday to certify Trump鈥檚 victory in November鈥檚 presidential election.
Schumer paid tribute to law enforcement officers working at the Capitol four years ago and said pardoning the rioters would be reckless and an insult to the memory of those whose lives were lost in connection with that day.
A rare GOP statement remembering the Jan. 6 attack
As most of his colleagues deflected or wrote off the anniversary of the Jan 6 insurrection, Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, a moderate Pennsylvania Republican, honored the 鈥渞emarkable courage and sacrifice鈥� of the Capitol police 鈥渨ho defended the Capitol that day.鈥�
鈥淭heir courage in the face of danger upheld the ideals of our nation and reminded us of the profound cost of defending freedom,鈥� he wrote on the social media site X.
A Republican congressman downplays the violence that happened four years ago
Rep. Mike Collins, R-Ga., described the riot that took place at the U.S. Capitol four years ago as 鈥渁 self-guided, albeit unauthorized, tour of the U.S. Capitol building鈥� and praised President Donald Trump鈥檚 vow to pardon rioters who stormed the Capitol that day on social media.
鈥淪ince then, hundreds of peaceful protestors have been hunted down, arrested, held in solitary confinement, and treated unjustly,鈥� . 鈥淭hankfully, President Trump has announced that, on day one of his presidency, he will grant pardons to nonviolent defendants.鈥�
have pleaded guilty or were convicted of crimes for the Capitol siege.
Collins鈥� statement downplayed the violence and disruption to the certification of the 2020 election four years ago. He described the armed mob as comprised of 鈥渢housands of peaceful grandmothers鈥� in his post.
Collins was elected to Congress in the 2022 midterms and campaigned on false claims that President Joe Biden had stolen the 2020 election. He鈥檚 known for often posting controversial, ironic and hard right statements online.
Democrats release a flurry of Jan. 6 remembrance statements as the GOP remains quiet
The four year anniversary of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol is being marked Monday by a number of congressional Democrats, including current and former leaders as Republicans remained mostly silent as they prepare to certify the election of the man who incited that very mob.
Rep. Nancy Pelosi, who was speaker when the insurrection happened, marked the occasion, saying the attack 鈥渟hook our Republic to its core.鈥�
鈥淲e must never forget the extraordinary courage of law enforcement officers on January 6th who stood in the breach and stared down the insurrectionists to protect the Capitol, the Congress and the Constitution,鈥� the California lawmaker said in a statement.
Her successor, Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries echoed her sentiment, saying the 鈥淎merican people must never be allowed to the forget the events鈥� of Jan. 6. He added that 鈥渉istory will always remember the attempted insurrection and we will never allow the violence that unfolded in plain sight to be whitewashed.鈥�
Reminders of Jan. 6 attack fade in the Capitol
Inside the Capitol, reminders of the violence are increasingly hard to find.
Scars on the walls have been repaired. Windows and doors broken by the rioters have been replaced. And there's no plaque, display or remembrance of any kind.
In some ways, it鈥檚 like the insurrection of , that shook the foundations of American democracy, never happened.
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An eerie day at the US Capitol
On the morning of the certification, the U.S. Capitol was covered in snow with roads blocked off for miles as police hoped for a quiet day in Congress.
At certain points, there were more officers than staff as many lawmakers were expected to be absent Monday due to the inclement weather. It鈥檚 a stark difference from what transpired four years ago today as lawmakers, staff and reporters hid from a violent mob that overtook the Capitol building, leaving mayhem in their wake.
Biden says Americans shouldn鈥檛 forget the 2021 Capitol attack but there won鈥檛 be a repeat this time
President is decrying what he calls an 鈥渦nrelenting effort鈥� to downplay a mob of supporters in an attempt to block certification of the 2020 election 鈥� seeking to contrast that day鈥檚 chaos with what he promises will be an orderly transition returning Trump to power for a second term.
In an opinion piece published Sunday in The Washington Post, Biden recalled Jan. 6, 2021, writing that 鈥渧iolent insurrectionists attacked the Capitol.鈥�
鈥淲e should be proud that our democracy withstood this assault,鈥� Biden wrote. 鈥淎nd we should be glad we will not see such a shameful attack again this year.鈥�
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An overview of what will be happening at the Capitol
Under heavy security, lawmakers in the snowy Capitol will gather at 1 p.m. ET to count the electoral votes in the 2024 election and declare Donald Trump the winner.
The joint session, which takes place on Jan. 6 every four years, is the final step after the Electoral College meets in December to officially elect the winner of the White House.
At the center of the process are sealed electoral certificates from each state, which are brought into the House chamber in special mahogany boxes that are used for the occasion. Those same boxes were rushed to safety four years ago as rioters breached the Capitol.
Bipartisan representatives of both chambers will read the results out loud and do an official count. No challenges to the results are expected this year, which means the process should move quickly.
Vice President Kamala Harris, as president of the Senate, will preside over the session and certify her defeat to Trump.
Trump鈥檚 win has boosted Republicans鈥� faith in elections 鈥� for now
Four years ago, then-President urged supporters to head to the Capitol to protest of Democrat in the 2020 election.
鈥淲ill be wild!鈥� Trump promised on Twitter a few weeks before And
This year, the only turbulence preceding the quadrennial ratification of the presidential election resulted from House Republicans over who should be .
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Hundreds of Capitol riot prosecutions are in limbo as a DC court awaits Trump鈥檚 White House return
It鈥檚 the in Justice Department history 鈥� with reams of evidence, harrowing videos and of the rioters who stormed the . Now Donald Trump鈥檚 return to power has thrown into question the future of the more than 1,500 federal cases brought over the last four years.
Jan. 6 trials, guilty pleas and sentencings have continued chugging along in Washington鈥檚 federal court despite Trump鈥檚 promise to , whom he鈥檚 called and 鈥渉ostages鈥� he contends were treated too harshly.
In a statement Monday, Attorney General Merrick Garland said Justice Department prosecutors 鈥渉ave sought to hold accountable those criminally responsible for the January 6 attack on our democracy with unrelenting integrity.鈥�
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Harris will oversee certification of her defeat to Trump four years after he sparked Capitol attack
Vice President on Monday is set to preside over the to Donald Trump four years after he tried to stop the very process that will now return him to the White House.
In a video message, Harris described her role as a 鈥渟acred obligation鈥� to ensure the peaceful transfer of power.
鈥淎s we have seen, our democracy can be fragile,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd it is up to each of us to stand up for our most cherished principles.鈥�
Harris will be joining a short list of other vice presidents to oversee the ceremonial confirmation of their election loss as part of their role of presiding over the Senate. Richard Nixon did it after losing to John F. Kennedy in 1960. Al Gore followed suit when the U.S. Supreme Court tipped the 2000 election to George W. Bush.
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No violence expected this year, but what happens in another four years?
What鈥檚 unclear is if Jan. 6, 2021, was the anomaly, the year Americans violently attacked their own government, or if this year鈥檚 expected calm becomes the outlier. The U.S. is struggling to cope with its political and cultural differences at a time when . Trump calls Jan. 6, 2021, a 鈥渄ay of love.鈥�
鈥淲e should not be lulled into complacency,鈥� said Ian Bassin, executive director of the cross-ideological nonprofit Protect Democracy.
He and others have warned that it鈥檚 historically unprecedented for U.S. voters to do what they did in November, reelecting Trump after he publicly refused to step aside last time. Returning to power an emboldened leader who鈥檚 demonstrated his unwillingness to give it up 鈥渋s an unprecedentedly dangerous move for a free country to voluntarily take,鈥� Bassin said.
Lawmakers brace for Trump鈥檚 promised Jan. 6 pardons
The fourth anniversary of the attack on the Capitol has a new focus as lawmakers brace for the prospect that President-elect Donald Trump may soon pardon many of the more than 1,500 people with crimes for their actions related to .
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Congress is ready to certify Trump鈥檚 election win, but his Jan. 6 legacy hangs over the day
As Congress convenes during a winter storm President-elect election, hangs over the proceedings with an extraordinary fact: The candidate who tried to overturn the previous election won this time and is legitimately returning to power.
Lawmakers will gather noontime Monday under the tightest national security level possible. Layers of tall black fencing flank the U.S. Capitol complex in a stark reminder of , when a defeated Trump sent his mob to in what became on the seat of American democracy in 200 years.
in Congress are expected this time. Republicans from the highest levels of power who challenged when Trump lost to Democrat have this year after Vice President .
And Democrats frustrated by Trump鈥檚 nevertheless accept the choice of the American voters. Even barreling down on the region wasn鈥檛 expected to interfere with Jan. 6, the day set by law to certify the vote.
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The Associated Press
