Congress Certifies Trump's Victory Four Years After Capitol Assault
This Monday, Congress is set to officially confirm Donald Trump's victory in the presidential election held on November 5, 2024. The event, which marks an important milestone in U.S. politics, is taking place on the fourth anniversary of the Capitol insurrection, a day when Trump's supporters attempted to overturn the election results that favored Joe Biden.
The session will be presided over by Kamala Harris, who was Trump's opponent in the recent election. This role may be particularly challenging for her, given the circumstances surrounding her loss. Trump's continued claims regarding election irregularities, including assertions that his former Vice President Mike Pence could have altered the outcome, have persisted, as he reiterated during a weekend event at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
While Trump has received the designation of president-elect, formal confirmation of his victory will occur during the proceedings on January 6. According to the U.S. Constitution, the Electoral College system requires electors from each state to cast their votes for the candidates they represent. The counting and certification of these votes take place on January 6, followed by the official inauguration, which is scheduled for January 20.
In the recent election, Trump garnered 77.3 million votes, accounting for 49.9% of the total, whereas Harris received 75 million votes, or 48.4%. Despite being one of the closest popular vote margins since the year 2000, Trump's success in the seven most contested states secured him 312 electoral votes, surpassing Harris's 226.
The joint session of Congress, which traditionally serves as a procedural formality, will hold significant historical weight this year. Four years ago, Trump did not accept the results of the election and pressured Pence to reject the votes, leading to a controversial and tumultuous period. A plan was devised by Republicans to present alternate slates of electors from key states where Biden had narrowly won, seeking to delegitimize those votes.
This strategy was largely attributed to John Eastman, an attorney associated with Trump, who has faced legal challenges related to his actions during that time. During a recent event with Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni as a guest, Trump showcased a documentary that he claims vindicates him, maintaining that the legal framework surrounding the election was manipulated to prevent the contesting of certain votes.
On January 6, 2021, Trump incited his supporters during a rally, stating that Pence needed to act in a way that could lead to Trump's victory. Following the Capitol riots, Pence upheld his constitutional responsibilities and certified Biden's win on that day. In response to the attacks on democratic processes, Congress has since tightened the rules governing electoral vote counting, clarifying the Vice President's limited role in this process.
As Trump prepares for his impending inauguration, authorities are ramping up security measures around the Capitol. Streets have been closed, and barriers have been erected to ensure a peaceful transition of power. The event will proceed under heightened security, with no anticipated disturbances.
Harris is not the first to oversee the certification of her own electoral defeat. In 2001, Al Gore presided over the counting of votes from the controversial 2000 election, which he lost to George W. Bush. Similarly, in 2017, Biden presided over the certification of Trump's victory in the 2016 elections.
During the congressional session, electoral votes will be presented in alphabetical order by state, and representatives from both parties will read each certificate aloud. Any objections must be submitted in writing and signed by a fifth of both chambers to be considered. The new regulations, instituted in 2022, have raised the threshold for such objections, making them less frequent.
If an objection is validated by a sufficient number of votes, the session will pause for separate discussions in the House and Senate. If no consensus is reached, the original electoral votes will remain unchanged. Previous objections, such as those raised in 2021 regarding Arizona and Pennsylvania, were dismissed by both chambers.
This upcoming session is expected to be straightforward, as there is little anticipation of contested objections.
