The US Congress certifies Trump's election victory

2025-01-06 20:32:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

The US Congress has also formally certified the victory of the US president-elect, Donald Trump, in the November presidential election against the Democratic candidate, vice-president Kamala Harris, paving the way for him to be sworn in as president on January 20.

The certification of Monday's election results in all 50 states and the District of Columbia was done in a formal and quick ceremony during a joint session of the House of Representatives and the Senate. The session was led by Harris in the role of president of the Senate.

Monday's ceremony was a stark contrast to the one four years ago, when a group of Trump supporters stormed Congress in a failed attempt to prevent the certification of President Joe Biden's victory in the 2020 election, in which he beat Trump.

Trump continues to falsely claim that he lost the 2020 election as a result of extensive manipulation.

"Congress certified our great victory today - this is a great moment in history. MAGA!” Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social, on Monday.

The final certification confirms the preliminary result that Trump won 312 electoral votes, while Harris 226.

Republicans control the White House and Congress
Republicans also secured a majority in the US Senate and retained a narrow majority in the House of Representatives in the November elections, which will give Trump the party support he needs to implement his planned agenda. including lowering taxes and deporting immigrants living in the country illegally.

Democrats did not attempt to block the certification of Trump's victory on Monday.

"We must renew our commitment to protecting American democracy," said Katherine Clark, the No. 2 Democrat in the House of Representatives. "As elected leaders, our loyalty must be to the Constitution, first and always. We are here to respect the will of the people and the rule of law."

Security measures inside and outside Congress were increased in preparation for the certification and are expected to remain in place until Trump is sworn in.

The space around the Congress was surrounded by metal fences, hundreds of meters from the building, and entry was allowed only through checkpoints guarded by police officers.

Inside the building, additional police teams checked IDs at entry points, including doors and underground tunnels leading to the House and Senate chambers.

Trump has said he intends to pardon some of the more than 1,500 people accused of taking part in the January 6, 2021 attack on Congress, when a crowd clashed with police, forcing their way through windows and doors and chanting, "Hang Mike Pence," referring to Trump's then-vice president, in a failed attempt to stop Congress from certifying Biden's victory.

During the 2021 riots in Congress, protesters broke through police barricades, attacked about 140 officers and caused more than $2.8 million in damage. Several police officers who clashed with the protesters died in the weeks that followed, some of them by suicide.

As a result of the violence of that day, Congress passed legislation in late 2022 to strengthen legal protections and ensure that the certification process is administered lawfully.

Many of these changes were in direct response to Trump's actions before and during January 6, 2021. For example, the new law stipulates that the role of the vice president is largely ceremonial./REL