Congress Ratifies Trump's Win In Peaceful Session, Unlike '21

Unlike in 2021, when the proceedings stretched out over two days, no objections were raised. No angry crowd gathered and no lawmakers were evacuated. The proceedings wrapped up in well under an hour. But tensions over the violence of that day, which led to Trump's second impeachment, continued to simmer.

Lawmakers went ahead with their duties despite a snowstorm that hit Washington and closed schools and many businesses. Federal law requires Congress to convene for a joint session on Jan. 6 after a presidential election to count and ratify the 538 Electoral College votes certified by the 50 states and District of Columbia.

Shortly before 1 p.m., Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, walked onto the House floor in her role as president of the Senate, charged Monday with presiding over the certification of the election she lost. As senators poured in and greeted House colleagues, the din of the packed chamber rose to a loud buzz.

Congressional pages brought in the states' election certificates in leather boxes and staffers sliced through the envelopes with letter openers. Lawmakers read out the results of each state's election one by one, affirming that they were accurate.

Harris, standing next to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R., La.), gave the final result: "The votes for president of the United States are as follows. Donald J. Trump of the state of Florida has received 312 votes. Kamala D. Harris of the state of California has received 226 votes." Republicans cheered the conclusion of the certification, rising to their feet and snapping selfies with Vice President-elect JD Vance. Trump, who was at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, called the certification "a big moment in history. MAGA!" in a post on social media.

Trump won the 2024 election by clawing back several swing states, including Michigan and Pennsylvania, to the Republican column. He also won the popular vote, ending with 49.9%, compared with 48.4% for Harris.

Harris reflected on her role in certifying her defeat.

"One of the most important pillars of our democracy is that there will be a peaceful transfer of power," Harris said. "Today I did what I have done my entire career, which is take seriously the oath that I have taken many times, to support and defend Constitution the United States." of the On Jan. 6, 2021, a swarm of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol, climbing its walls, ransacking its offices and forcing the evacuation of lawmakers. Later that month, the House impeached Trump for a second time, alleging he encouraged the mob to attack the Capitol. He was acquitted by the Senate. Lawmakers returned to the Capitol to complete the certification in the early-morning hours of Jan. 7, 2021. About two-thirds of House Republicans at the time voted against certifying some states' results.

About 140 Capitol and D.C. police officers were injured, according to a bipartisan Senate report released in 2021.

The report linked seven deaths to the attack and its aftermath.

Some lawmakers said Monday's events marked a return to election norms, with Democrats drawing a pointed contrast between how the two parties handled losing. Trump had falsely claimed the 2020 election was stolen, including at a rally the day of the Capitol riot at the Ellipse.

Trump was indicted in federal court and separately in Georgia state court on election-interference charges.

Federal prosecutors dropped their case after the 2024 election, citing a Justice Department policy against prosecuting a sitting president; the Georgia case is pending but is in disarray.

"I'd like to be able to say that we've restored the normal, peaceful transfer of power. But of course we won't know until Trump's party loses an election whether they're actually willing to accept the constitutional process as it's supposed to work," said Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee.

Republicans said the day's uneventfulness reflected the integrity of the presidential election.

"There were minimal irregularities throughout the election process," said Rep. Dan Meuser (R., Pa.). "That's why there were no objections." In late 2022, Congress passed legislation in response to the 2021 attack that makes it clear that the vice president's role is merely to count the votes publicly and that he or she has no power to alter the results. On Jan. 6, 2021, Trump pressured then-Vice President Mike Pence to reject some electors unilaterally to block Biden's win, but Pence refused. The 2022 law raised the threshold to sustain an objection to a state's electors to one-fifth of both chambers, up from one House member and one senator.

"I welcome the return of order and civility," Pence said on social media Monday. He said it was "particularly admirable that Vice President Harris would preside over the certification of a presidential election that she lost." Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R., S.D.) congratulated Trump on his victory without dwelling on the events of four years ago. Republicans won both chambers of Congress along with the White House in the November elections, and are set to roll out sweeping border-control and tax-cuts legislation.

"The Republican coalition is broad and strong and growing," Thune said. "Now the work begins of delivering on our agenda."

Trump has said he is considering pardoning as early as his first day in office some of the more than 1,500 people who have been charged in connection with the Jan. 6 riot. A Trump transition spokeswoman has said Trump will make all pardon decisions on a case-by-case basis.

To make it to the Capitol on Monday amid the snow, some lawmakers had chosen to remain in Washington over the weekend, rather than risk traveling home. Some lawmakers posted photos and videos of their wintry walks to the Capitol, as snow piled up about a half-foot deep in the morning and continued to fall in the afternoon.

Monday's snowy proceedings posed an inconvenience to another schoolchildren constituency: One of Washington's best sledding hills-from the west side of the House chamber down toward the U.S. Botanic Garden-wasn't open to the public because of the security measures surrounding the electoral certification and inauguration.

-Catherine Lucey and Richard Rubin contributed to this article.