Lawmakers in the House and Senate are meeting in joint session to ensure President-elect Donald Trump’s 2024 victory.
The vote count is taking place exactly four years after thousands of Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol, temporarily suspending lawmakers confirming President Joe Biden’s 2020 victory.
Monday’s events are expected to return to the traditional ceremony that was long-held until Trump lost to Biden, although heightened security measures remain in place.
A winter snowstorm blanketed Washington, but lawmakers are moving forward with their constitutionally mandated responsibility.
Law enforcement officers patrol the snow outside the US Capitol during a winter storm on January 6, 2025 in Washington.
Win McNamee/Getty Images
This year, President Biden emphasized the importance of the principle of the peaceful transfer of power in America, but asked the country not to forget what happened in 2021.
“We should be proud that our democracy has withstood this attack,” Biden wrote in a comment posted late Sunday. Washington Post. “And we should be happy that this year we will not see such a shameful attack.”
Vice President Kamala Harris will preside over the certification of the election that she lost to Trump.
“This duty is a sacred duty that I will uphold guided by love of country, loyalty to our Constitution, and unwavering faith in the American people,” Harris said in a video message posted earlier Monday.
Vice President Kamala Harris shakes hands with House Speaker Mike Johnson as they arrive at a joint session of Congress to certify the results of the 2024 presidential election, January 6, 2025, at the Capitol in Washington.
Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images
Speaker Mike Johnson, simply elected for a second term With Trump’s support to lead the House, Vice President Harris called the chamber to order shortly after 1:00 p.m., after the vote and procession of senators through the Capitol.
Harris will open each state’s ballots and give them to House councilors, who will read the results aloud.
Unlike in 2021, it is not expected that there will be any objection to the results. Harris endorsed Trump the next day The elections Day, and Democrats haven’t challenged it the way many of Trump’s Republican allies did in 2020.
Senate pages carry Electoral College ballot boxes into the House chamber for a joint session of Congress to determine the results of the 2024 presidential election on Capitol Hill, January 6, 2025, in Washington.
Jemal Countess/AFP via Getty Images
A U.S. flag flies at midweek at the U.S. Capitol as a winter storm that brought snow, ice and freezing temperatures to a wide swath of the U.S. arrived in Washington on January 6, 2025.
Marko Djurica/Reuters
Trump, ahead of the certification, posted on his social media platform, “A BIG MOMENT IN HISTORY. MAGIC!”
The president-elect will be sworn in on Monday, January 20.
Trump won 312 Electoral College votes compared to Harris’ 226. He said his victory is a “mandate” from the American people to implement his agenda on the economy, immigration and more.
He is returning to the White House with Republicans controlling the House and Senate. The 119th Congress was sworn in last Friday.
