Congress certified President-elect Donald Trump as the winner of the 2024 election in a session on Monday that was devoid of challenges or unrest, a stark contrast to the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack.
Four years ago, a mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol after he urged rallygoers to “fight like hell” in an attempt to overturn the election results, marking one of the darkest days in American democratic history.
This time, proceedings concluded swiftly under heavy security measures and a winter snowstorm. Tall black fences encircled the Capitol complex, serving as a somber reminder of the past violence.
Vice President Kamala Harris presided over the session, fulfilling her constitutional role despite her defeat to Trump in the election. “Today, America’s democracy stood,” Harris remarked after the session, which ended with Congress affirming Trump’s 312 electoral votes against Harris’ 226.
Trump, now set to return to the White House in two weeks, maintains that he never lost the 2020 election and has hinted at ambitions beyond the Constitution’s two-term limit for presidents. He continues to defend the January 6 mob, calling it a “day of love,” and has pledged to pardon those convicted for their roles in the Capitol siege.
While Monday’s peaceful certification reflected the long-standing tradition of a smooth transfer of power, questions remain about whether January 6 was an anomaly or if the calm proceedings this year will prove to be the exception.
The certification followed ceremonial traditions, with mahogany boxes containing electoral certificates brought to the chambers—reminiscent of the chaos four years ago when staff scrambled to protect those same boxes during the attack.
Senators walked to the House chamber, where four years earlier rioters had roamed, some defacing the Capitol and others clashing violently with police.
Margaret Kibben, the House chaplain who prayed during the 2021 violence, opened Monday’s session with a request to “shine your light in the darkness.” Harris stood at the same dais where, in 2021, then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi was rushed to safety as rioters neared, lawmakers donned gas masks, and a Trump supporter, Ashli Babbitt, was fatally shot while attempting to breach the chamber.
Harris followed historical precedent by certifying her own defeat, as Al Gore did in 2001, Richard Nixon in 1961, and Mike Pence in 2021. The session ended with applause: first from Republicans for Trump’s victory, and then from Democrats for Harris’ efforts. Vice President-elect JD Vance, present in the front row, received congratulations as the session concluded within 30 minutes.
New procedural safeguards, introduced after the 2021 attack, were in place, requiring one-fifth of lawmakers to object to election results, rather than just one from each chamber. However, no objections were raised, as even Republicans who once challenged the 2020 results now express greater confidence in the electoral system following Trump’s victory.
Despite lingering tensions and Trump’s controversial remarks, Congress upheld its role as a pillar of democracy, affirming the peaceful transfer of power to the nation’s next leader.
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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