US Congress certified Donald Trump’s victory in the 2024 presidential election. political news
The quiet action stands in stark contrast to Trump’s efforts to overturn his 2020 loss by his supporters attacking the US Capitol.
The United States Congress has certified Donald Trump’s victory in the November presidential election, clearing the final hurdle for his return to the White House later this month.
Monday’s ceremony in Congress officially validated the 2024 Electoral College results.
The event took place quickly and with little fanfare, overseen by Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump’s main opponent in the election.
“Today was clearly a very important day,” Harris, who also serves as president of the Senate, said in remarks afterward.
“This was about what the ideal should be and what the American people should be able to accept, which is that one of the most important pillars of our democracy will be a peaceful transfer of power.”
The largely procedural matter was a far cry from the last time Congress convened to certify Electoral College votes on January 6, 2021.
During that ceremony, thousands of Trump’s supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol in an effort to overturn then-President Trump’s defeat in the 2020 election.
MPs were forced to evacuate as doors were breached, police officers were attacked and a protester was shot dead while trying to enter a chamber through a broken window.
The attack came as Trump held a rally on the Ellipse, a park south of the White House, where he repeated false claims that the election was stolen through massive fraud.
Critics condemned the attack as an attack on democracy and the US Justice Department has since charged 1,583 participants with federal crimes.
As of Monday, about 1,009 people have pleaded guilty, including 327 who have pleaded guilty to felony charges.
Trump himself faces two criminal indictments for his role in trying to overturn the 2020 election results: A federal case in Washington, D.C., was recently dismissed, while a state-level case in Georgia remains stalled. Yes but it is going on.
Yet, four years later, Trump is poised to return to power after his most successful presidential campaign to date.
In November, Trump won 312 Electoral College votes to Harris’s 226, becoming the first Republican candidate to win the popular vote since 2004.
Trump’s Republican Party will also take control of Congress after gaining majority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Many in the party have bought into the Republican leader’s false claims about the 2020 election.
“Congress today certifies our great election victory – a major moment in history. Ask!” Trump wrote on his platform Truth Social on Monday, using an acronym for his slogan, “Make America Great Again.”
Meanwhile, Harris urged respect for the principles of American democracy. He called Monday’s peaceful certification an example of the right way forward.
“I firmly believe that America’s democracy is only as strong as our willingness to fight for it,” she said. “Otherwise it is too fragile, and it will not be able to withstand moments of crisis.”
