Congress certifies Trump’s victory, in ritual disrupted by violence in 2021

WASHINGTON — A joint session of Congress on Monday certified President-elect Donald Trump’s victory in the 2024 election, peacefully performing a basic ritual of democracy that was brutally disrupted four years ago by a violent pro-Trump mob inflamed by his lie about a stolen election.

There was no hint of a similar scene this time, although security had been stepped up at the Capitol. Unlike Trump back then, Vice President Kamala Harris did not dispute her loss in November, and unlike Republicans in the aftermath of the 2020 balloting, Democrats made no objections during the counting of the Electoral College votes.

Instead, Harris stoically presided over the certification of her own loss without interruption. The presentation of the results unfolded quickly without drama, as House and Senate lawmakers who had been designated in advance read out the number of electoral votes from each state in alphabetical order and who won them.

One by one, the lawmakers, Republicans and Democrats, rose to declare each state’s electoral votes “regular in form and authentic,” and nobody rose to challenge any. The only sign of partisanship in the House chamber was in the applause: Only Republicans applauded after the counting of each state Trump won and rose at the end for a standing ovation when it was announced that he had secured a majority, while only Democrats clapped for the states Harris won and rose to applaud when her total electoral votes were announced.

Inside a Capitol blanketed in snow from a major winter storm overnight, the House chamber was fairly empty as Harris led members of the Senate across the Capitol on Monday afternoon to preside over the joint session. Earlier in the day, she had posted a video online in which she described her ceremonial role as “a sacred obligation — one I will uphold guided by love of country, loyalty to our Constitution and my unwavering faith in the American people.”

She told reporters as she made her way through the Rotunda that the important takeaway from the proceedings should be that “Democracy must be upheld by the people.” Her aides said presiding over a peaceful transition of power was one of her most important final acts in office.

On the dais in front of the House chamber, Harris made polite small talk with House Speaker Mike Johnson, who four years ago played a leading role in trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

As lawmakers read their scripted presentation of electoral votes, they addressed Harris each time as “Madam President,” referring to her status as president of the Senate even as they were making it official that she would not hold that title for the next four years.

Amid the calm scene, however, there were reminders of the violence that had played out. The Capitol was on heavy lockdown, with tall black metal fencing around the building, and increased federal, state and local security resources were on hand. For the first time, the day had been designated by the Homeland Security Department as a “national special security event.”

Lawmakers and law enforcement officials were determined to be prepared after the violence Jan. 6, 2021, when protesters egged on by Trump’s false claim that he had won the election stormed the Capitol, wreaking havoc in a riot tied to the deaths of seven people, including three police officers.

President Joe Biden has focused on ensuring a smooth and orderly transition of power, but Sunday night, he warned Americans not to forget the violent attack at the Capitol. Writing in The Washington Post, Biden accused Trump and his supporters of trying “to rewrite — even erase — the history of that day.”

Four years after Trump urged his supporters to “fight like hell” and march to the Capitol during a rally at the Ellipse, some Trump loyalists in Congress have worked to distance themselves from criticism of the rioters. Many Republicans have tried to whitewash the events of that day. And the president-elect has said he will pardon people convicted on charges stemming from their actions Jan. 6, 2021.

Even as their party has for years called Trump a threat to the country’s foundational principles, Democrats refrained from challenging his victory.

“Our loyalties lie with the Constitution and the rule of law,” Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., the minority leader, said Monday.

And he warned Trump against pardoning the criminals who assaulted police officers in 2021, which he said “would be a dangerous endorsement of political violence. It is wrong, it is reckless and would be an insult to the memory of those who died in connection to that day.”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

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