WASHINGTON − Congress certified President-elect Donald Trump’s 2024 election victory on Monday in a civil proceeding at a joint session of lawmakers four years after his supporters rioted and attacked the Capitol building.
Vice President Kamala Harris presided over certification of the election, which she lost to Trump as the Democratic nominee.
With the nation’s capital carpeted in snow, and the Capitol ringed in security fencing, Trump was certified the 2024 winner without a single objection in a swift, 40-minute ceremony.
Monday marks four years since the deadly Capitol riot, when a group of the president-elect’s supporters, driven by false claims of election fraud, stormed the Capitol building in an attempt to stop the certification of Joe Biden’s 2020 election win.
Keep up with live updates from the USA TODAY Network.
Republican reflects on Trump’s victory
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., said she was feeling “very excited” about lawmakers certifying Trump’s victory on Monday.
“The American people have rejected socialism. They’ve rejected wokeism, and they’ve chosen president Trump to lead them. So we’re very excited to be certifying results today,” she said.
Luna said she doesn’t expect any Democrats to raise objections during the Jan. 6 proceedings.
“They know that Trump won big,” said Luna, who has claimed voter fraud tainted Joe Biden’s 2020 election.
Trump received 312 electoral votes while Vice President Kamala Harris received 226 electoral votes in the 2024 presidential race.
−Sudiksha Kochi
Ohio lawmaker watches her first electoral vote count
Rep. Emilia Sykes, D-Ohio., was a state legislator in 2021 during the Capitol riot. She said it was one of the reasons she decided to run for Congress in 2022.
“It’s very surreal to be a member of Congress. It’s one of the reasons that I was encouraged to run for Congress to make sure that we could protect our democracy and ensure that peaceful transition of power that allows us to be the beacon of democracy for the entire world,” Sykes, who began her second term on Friday, said.
Before heading to her office, Sykes said she greeted the police stationed inside the Capitol and thanked them for their service.“I asked them how they are feeling today and thanked them for their service…and hopefully, didn’t give them a false promise of we’ll do better today,” she said.−Sudiksha Kochi
Several Democrats missing from chamber
A significant number of House Democrats appear absent from the proceedings.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., urged members to stay in town over the weekend. Republicans also met to plan a policy package they aim to tackle as soon as possible.
But most Democrats returned home over the weekend. A snow storm blanketing the country may have interrupted many of their flights.
The Republican side of the chamber is packed, with several House members standing in the back as GOP senators take their typical seats.
−Riley Beggin
Vice President Harris gavels the session into order
And electoral vote count and certification of Donald Trump’s victory begins.
Representatives of the states, in alphabetical order, are reading alout their electoral vote tallies.
Vance, Vice President-elect, shares a laugh with Dem senators
Vice President-elect JD Vance, R-Ohio, is among the senators attending the ceremony. He is still a U.S. Senator until Jan. 20, when he will be sworn in to his new role.
He is taking his time walking down the center aisle, pausing to speak with House members including Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga.
He also shared a moment of laughter with several Democratic members.
The chamber is now coming to order.
−Riley Beggin
‘Should be an unremarkable day’: Lawmaker reflects on four years since riot
Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J., went viral four years ago for images of him, then a member of the House, picking up debris left by January 6, 2021, rioters. Four years later to the day, Kim, now a recently elected senator, said he retraced his steps in the halls he helped clean.
“It’s a lot to process,” Kim said. “I don’t think I have an adjective that can really encapsulate how I feel right now.”
Before making his way to the House side with other senators, Kim noted what he said should be a return to normalcy.
“January 6th should be an unremarkable day,” Kim said. “You know, this is a day that the rest of America should never have to really think about it.”
“The fact that it is a day that still lingers in our consciousness just kind of shows just how broken our politics are right now,” he added.−Savannah Kuchar
U.S. Senators enter the House Chamber
The joint session of Congress is officially coming together to oversee the certification of President-elect Donald Trump’s victory.
Vice President Kamala Harris, his Democratic opponent, is the first to enter the chamber from the Senate side. She is the president of the Senate and will oversee today’s proceedings.
The rest of the senators file in behind her. Rep. Madeline Dean, D-Pa., asks Harris for a handshake as she nears the podium and the two clasp hands in a brief moment of recognition.
Harris will have the awkward task of certifying her loss, the first presidential candidate to do so since Al Gore in 2001.
−Riley Beggin and Savannah Kuchar
Schumer readies Democrats to certify results
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., revisited the events of Jan. 6, 2021 in a floor speech Monday. Lawmakers on that day returned to the chamber after a mob of Trump’s supporters stormed the Capitol and oversaw the counting of Electoral Votes. With the Senate cleared of rioters, some Republicans moved to overturn the results in key swing states, but a majority of their colleagues voted against it.
“As hard as January 6th was, it will be one of my proudest moments in office. Because on that day the majority of us united to uphold our oaths to the constitution,” Schumer said.
He pledged Democrats would not challenge the results this year.
“We can never again allow this level of unhinged election denialism to happen,” he said.
−Riley Beggin
Federal employees take advantage of snow day
The national mall was empty hours before Congress was set to certify the election, save for a few walkers and a small group engaged in a snowball fight.
The snow was good news for Sara Ludewig and Casey Hughes, two librarians who took a stroll around the snowy mall on their lunch break. As federal employees, the pair teleworked for the day, and will have Thursday off for former President Jimmy Carter’s funeral.
“I’m from the Midwest, so I like all the winter sports, and it’s fun to see that people still do them out here,“ said Ludewig, 29.
The tall fences around Capitol building also ringed the National Mall. Hughes, 29, said she hadn’t realized that the January 6 riot four years ago was the reason for the extra security.
“Every year when the date rolls around, people get anxious for good reason,” she said. “This year, at least the snow was a nicer way to think about different things.”
−Cybele Mayes-Osterman
Dem knocks Trump before Congress certifies his victory
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., blasted Trump on Monday, saying that he wants to “whitewash” the Capitol riot.
“Four years ago, we watched an insurrection here, and now we are in a position to say, once again, we believe in democracy, and we are handing over power,” Warren told USA TODAY. “Donald Trump wants to whitewash the insurrection that occurred four years ago, but the American people know what they saw with their own eyes.”
Warren said she was disappointed Trump’s praise of the Jan. 6 rioters. Trump has called the Jan. 6 defendants “warriors” and politicial prisoners − and has promised pardons for some.
“They’re insurrectionists,” Warren said. “This is what transfer of power is supposed to look like. The side that wins gets the power, the other side ratifies the election.”
Over a thousand defendants tied to the Capitol riot have been charged.
−Sudiksha Kochi
Snow and silence over U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 anniversary
On the anniversary of the Jan. 6 riots, silent snow fell over a heavy barricade around the U.S. Capitol.
“Police line: do not cross,” read the signs zip-tied to roughly 8-foot fences blocking off the reflecting pool and the U.S. Capitol beyond it. Police cars with blinking lights surrounded the street.
In contrast with the thousands rioters who converged on the Capitol building four years earlier, a few passersby walked the street, some stopping to peer through the gates.
A lone bicyclist holding a sign bearing an expletive directed at the president-elect passed slowly up and down the street behind a snow plow. He declined to be interviewed.
−Cybele Mayes-Osterman
Where is Donald Trump today?
As Congress is set to certify the 2024 presidential election results, President-elect Donald Trump isn’t in Washington D.C. on Monday.
No details of Trump’s schedule have been released by his team, but the president-elect is currently in West Palm Beach, according to a transition pool report.
–Rebecca Morin
Kamala Harris says she’ll certify Trump’s win
Vice President Kamala Harris said she would perform her constitutional duty and certify the results of the 2024 election in a Monday video, in which she emphasized the importance of protecting America’s democracy.
“As we have seen, our democracy can be fragile. And it is up to each of us to stand up for our most cherished principles,” she said in the message, which she posted to X.
Harris said her decision was “guided by love of country, loyalty to our Constitution, and my unwavering faith in the American people.”
“The peaceful transfer of power is one of the most fundamental principles of American democracy. As much as any other principle, it is what distinguishes our system of government from monarchy or tyranny,” she said.
Harris will become the first presidential candidate since former Vice President Al Gore in 2001 to certify their own electoral loss.
–Francesca Chambers
‘Do not leave town’: Lawmakers asked to stay in D.C. amid winter storm
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., on Sunday urged lawmakers to stay in Washington D.C. amid the winter storm that hit the nation’s capital early Monday morning.
“I hope we have full attendance,” Johnson said during an interview with Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures.” “We have got a big snowstorm coming to D.C. and we encouraged all of our colleagues: do not leave town, stay here.”
The Electoral Count Act requires Congress to certify presidential results on January 6 at 1 p.m., Johnson said.
“Whether we’re in a blizzard or not, we are going to be in that chamber making sure this is done,” Johnson said. “President Trump had a mandate, a landslide…we cannot delay that certification. He deserves that.”
–Rebecca Morin
A bat in the corner: Lawmakers hope for smooth proceedings
For the last four years, there’s been a baseball bat propped up in a corner of Elissa Slotkin’s office.
The Democrat from Michigan bought it after Jan. 6, 2021, when she found herself barricaded inside that office as a frenzied mob of Donald Trump’s supporters roamed the U.S. Capitol after overwhelming police. Slotkin, a former House member who began her first term as a U.S. senator on Friday, recalled rushing into her office and frantically looking around for a weapon to defend herself and others.
“It’s a day that is seared on my memory,” she told USA TODAY. “It was an extremely dark stain on our country’s history.”
Unlike Jan. 6, 2021, lawmakers say they expect Jan. 6, 2025, to be uneventful. “Jan. 6 is going to be nice and calm,” said Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, an avid supporter of the president-elect.
−Riley Beggin and Sudiksha Kochi
More:Four years after Trump supporters rioted at Capitol, lawmakers hope this Jan. 6 is peaceful
Accused in Jan. 6 riot, hoping to view Trump’s inauguration
As he fights multiple felony charges for allegedly assaulting police on Jan. 6, 2021, Tommy Tatum of Mississippi had hoped to attend Donald Trump’s inauguration later this month.
Prosecutors resisted, arguing Tatum could end up face-to-face with the officers he’s accused of attacking.
A federal judge agreed in one of several recent rulings by judges barring Jan. 6 defendants from participating in events celebrating Trump’s return to office.
“Tatum’s alleged conduct was particularly violent,” U.S. District Judge John Bates wrote of the need to restrict his travel to the nation’s capital while he’s awaiting trial.
The nearly 1,600 people charged with crimes related to the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol are counting on Trump to fulfill his promise to pardon at least some of them.
In the meantime, some have had mixed success in getting judges to let them attend Trump’s inauguration.
−Maureen Groppe and Bart Jansen
More:These Capitol riot defendants want to go to Trump’s inauguration. Some judges aren’t on board.
As Trump awaits certification in DC, reports say Justin Trudeau may resign in Canada
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is expected to announce his resignation amid increasing pressure from the nation’s lawmakers for him to step down, according to reports.
Trudeau is expected to announce as early as Monday that he would quit as leader of Canada’s ruling Liberal Party after nine years in office, sources first told the Globe and Mail. A source close to Trudeau told Reuters on Sunday the prime minister was likely to announce plans to step down, but had not made a final decision.
The telegenic son of the late Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau is under pressure to step down ahead of an anticipated election wipeout for the Liberals. Trudeau has had an often antagonistic relationship with Trump. Trump has promised to impose hefy tariffs on Canada and Mexico once he takes office.
−Eric Lagatta
More:Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau likely to announce resignation, reports say
Jan. 6 is traditionally a brief, no-drama ceremony
One way of recalling the events of 2021 might be to compare what took place on that astonishing January day with the brief, orderly formalities Americans can expect at the Capitol on Monday.
Certifying the Electoral College’s vote is a perfunctory ceremony.
On Monday, the House and Senate will meet jointly. Vice President Kamala Harris will preside.
More:How a violent mob took over the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021
The chambers will appoint members as “tellers” to count the votes, weigh any objections − and then formally announce who won.
In 2009, it took 36 minutes to name Barack Obama president. In 2013, Obama’s reelection was certified in 22 minutes. In 2017, confirmation of Trump’s victory lasted 41 minutes.
In 2021, when a mob violently took control of the Capitol complex, it took 14 hours and 48 minutes to name Joe Biden the winner.
−Sarah D. Wire
Will Trump pardon everyone charged in Jan. 6 riot?
Trump said he planned to issue the pardons “very quickly” but clarified there could be “some exceptions” if an individual had acted “radical” or “crazy” during the assault.
−Anthony Robledo
More:Will Donald Trump pardon January 6 Capitol rioters? Here’s what he has said
Biden urges U.S. to remember Jan. 6 attack
President Joe Biden urged Americans on Sunday to never forget the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on their democracy and to not allow the history of that day to be rewritten.
“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,” Biden wrote in an opinion piece published by The Washington Post.
More:Biden signs bill to boost Social Security payments for some public sector workers
“We cannot allow the truth to be lost,” he said.
President-elect Donald Trump has promised to pardon some of the Jan. 6 defendants and last year described the riot, in which four people died, as a “day of love.”
−Michael Collins
More:Biden urges Americans to never forget Jan. 6 attack: ‘Cannot allow the truth to be lost’
An orderly certification expected – unlike four years ago
No one expects an angry mob this time.
Four years to the day that supporters of Donald Trump attacked the U.S. Capitol and tried to halt the certification of the 2020 election, Congress will usher in a new Trump era on Monday when it gathers to count each state’s electoral votes and officially declare him the winner of last year’s presidential contest.
This time, the proceeding is expected to go off smoothly. No rioters storming the Capitol. No one pushing past police barricades and beating officers with makeshift weapons. No lawmakers running through the Capitol’s corridors in fear of their lives. No sitting president pressuring a vice president to thwart the process.
“I think it will almost be a nonevent,” predicted Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.
−Michael Collins, Bart Jansen and Sudiksha Kochi
More:A new Donald Trump era: Congress to certify election victory four years after Jan. 6 riot
What happens on Jan. 6?
The House and Senate will convene to count the Electoral College votes from coast to coast and declare the winner of the presidential election.
Since the Capitol riot, Congress has passed the Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act of 2022, which requires approval of one-fifth of the House and Senate to consider a challenge to a state’s results, a much higher bar than existed before when any single lawmaker from each chamber could trigger a challenge.
– Ana Rocío Álvarez Bríñez and Maya Marchel Hoff
When does Trump take office?
The inauguration ceremony will be held on Monday, Jan. 20, 2025 at the U.S. Capitol building in Washington D.C.
Around noon on Inauguration Day, the president-elect recites the following oath in accordance with Article II, Section I of the U.S. Constitution:
“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
– Victoria E. Freile
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