Congress certifies Donald Trump’s victory without objection from Democrats

Lawmakers on Monday certified President-elect Donald Trump’s election victory in a largely quiet affair that made Mr. Trump only the second incoming president to serve nonconsecutive terms.

It took just over half an hour to formalize Mr. Trump’s victory, cementing him alongside President Grover Cleveland, who was the first commander in chief to serve non-consecutive terms in 1885 and again in 1893.

Republicans viewed the certification as the first real step toward implementing Mr. Trump’s agenda, while Democrats viewed the proceedings through a bleak lens, informed by the violent events of four years ago.

“The Republican coalition is broad, strong and growing,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, Republican of South Dakota, said before the certification. “Now the work begins to implement our program. … The Republicans are ready to go.”

Inside the House, lawmakers chatted and shook hands with their House and Senate counterparts, and once the count began, applause erupted from corresponding sides of the aisle as the electoral votes won by Mr. Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, respectively, were read aloud.

At the forefront was Vice President-elect JD Vance of Ohio, who until his inauguration day on January 20, is still serving his term in the Senate.

Democrats kept their promise not to raise objections to the certification process led by Ms. Harris, ensuring that the transition from the Biden administration to the incoming Trump administration would be relatively drama-free.

“We accept the results — even if we don’t like them — because our loyalty is to the Constitution and the rule of law,” Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York, said in a speech before certification. . “We hope that what is happening today, rather than what happened four years ago, will set a shining example for future generations of how to behave in a free democracy. »

It was also the first time that congressional Democrats did not challenge a Republican winner of the presidential election since the certification of George H. W. Bush’s victory in 1989.

Their reluctance to object was largely driven by criticism they leveled at Republicans for opposing President Biden’s certification, and made more difficult by legislation passed after January 6, 2021, which increased the threshold to challenge the electoral college results of a House member. and one senator for at least 20% of the members of either chamber. He also claimed that the vice president’s role was purely ceremonial.

The events of Monday’s relatively calm process — which were further muted by heavy snow that virtually paralyzed Washington — were a far cry from the writhing mass of humanity that burst through the gates and windows of the Capitol four years ago when a pro-Trump mob marched into the Capitol.

Indeed, Capitol Hill was virtually motionless ahead of the joint session of Congress, except for the heavy security presence patrolling inside and outside the Capitol complex.

Democrats continued to reiterate the events of that day, in testimony or on the campaign trail, recalling the thousands of Mr. Trump supporters who broke down doors and smashed windows and the subsequent deaths of five police officers and a woman. woman who was shot and killed as other rioters attempted to break into the Capitol.

However, their campaign during the January 6 riots failed to sway voters in favor of Democrats, as Mr. Trump won a return trip to the White House and Republicans retained control of the House and took control of the Senate.

“It wasn’t the most important issue on Election Day, largely because of inflation, and I think immigration, too, had pushed it to the top of the agenda.” Massachusetts Democratic Rep. Jake Auchincloss said on CNN. “But that doesn’t mean voters don’t expect their elected officials to uphold the United States Constitution. I’m convinced they do.

“And one of the worst things Donald Trump did was hijack the patriotism of his base by convincing them that they were the ones protecting democracy, when in fact it was them who colluded against the peaceful transfer of power,” he added.

Republicans have sought to poke holes in the narrative they claim Democrats crafted in the wake of Jan. 6, particularly its level of involvement in the mob that marched on the Capitol.

Even though they didn’t make noise in the House, Democrats didn’t want to let what happened four years ago be erased by the change in administration.

President Biden, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California and many others spoke before the certification, affirming their commitment to a peaceful transition of power but calling on the country not to forget.

“We must remember the wisdom of the adage that any nation that forgets its past is doomed to repeat it. We cannot accept a repeat of what happened four years ago,” Mr. Biden wrote in an op-ed for The Washington Post.

“There have been relentless efforts to rewrite, if not erase, the history of this era,” he continued. “To tell us that we didn’t see what we all saw with our own eyes. Dismissing concerns about this as some sort of partisan obsession. To explain this away as a protest that got out of hand.

Ms. Pelosi said in a statement that Jan. 6 “left behind physical scars and emotional trauma” on lawmakers, staff and the country that still linger today.

Ms. Pelosi, like other members of Congress, was evacuated from the Capitol as the day’s events unfolded. A documentary following her that day showed footage of her telling her chief of staff that she bore responsibility for not having the National Guard on hand during the certification process.

“The parable of January 6 reminds us that our precious democratic institutions are only as strong as the courage and commitment of those in charge,” she said. “On January 6, we proved all night that our flag was still there by returning to the Capitol to certify the election results and demonstrate to America and the world that our democracy prevails.”

Republicans have remained largely silent about the events of four years ago as they took to social media to express their excitement about certifying Mr. Trump’s victory.

“We are united. We’re ready to go,” Rep. Tony Gonzales, Republican of Texas, said in a video posted on X. “We have big problems to solve. We can secure the border, (enact) regulatory reform, make sure we drill, drill, drill and of course, tax reform, put more money in our pockets and not the federal government’s pockets.

One Republican who recognized the anniversary of the 2021 Capitol riot was Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, who sought to honor the Capitol Police and others who defended the institution that day.

“We owe these courageous men and women, and all of our nation’s law enforcement officers, a debt of gratitude that we can never fully repay, but we can honor their service and sacrifice by reaffirming our commitment to maintaining and protecting the democracy they so valiantly defended,” he said on X.