Congress certifies Trump's 2024 win, paving way for second term
The American Congress has officially declared Donald Trump the winner of the 2024 presidential election, formally concluding the election process for the President of the United States. Kamala Harris, a candidate in the election, overseen the procedure for certifying the electoral votes.
During the procedure, which lasted less than half an hour, politicians from both houses of Congress and both parties read the certificates of electoral votes for the President and Vice President from each state and the District of Columbia, taken from mahogany boxes, and confirmed their authenticity. At the end, Vice President Kamala Harris announced the victory of her election rival, Donald Trump, and adjourned the session.
During the ceremony, Harris adhered strictly to formal protocol. However, just before the session, she shared her thoughts in a recording published on social media.
"A peaceful transfer of power is one of the most fundamental principles of American democracy," Harris emphasized, pointing out how this principle sets our system of government apart from monarchies or tyrannies. She announced the certification of the election results, assuring that she would fulfill her "sacred duty" guided by "love of country, loyalty to our Constitution, and unwavering faith in the American people."
She added, "As we have seen, our democracy can be fragile, and it is up to each of us to stand in defense of our most cherished principles and ensure that in America our government will always be 'of the people, by the people, for the people,'" quoting Abraham Lincoln.
Donald Trump has not yet commented on the event, but he posted a picture on his social media platform of a crowd from a demonstration of his supporters from January 6, 2021.
The first ceremony under the new law
The ceremony proceeded smoothly and without disruptions, in contrast to four years ago when Joe Biden became president. At that time, it was interrupted for several hours by an attack by Trump supporters on the Capitol, resulting in the ceremony ending after 4:00 AM.
Due to the chaos and attempts to invalidate the 2020 election results by Trump, Monday's session was conducted for the first time under the new law enacted in 2022. This law made it more difficult to raise objections to the votes and confirmed that the Vice President's role in the session is purely ceremonial. This was a response to the pressures from Donald Trump and his supporters on then-Vice President Mike Pence to invalidate the 2020 election result.
Although this year's session did not involve similar controversies and tensions as in 2021, the Capitol Police and city authorities implemented enhanced security measures, erecting high metal fences around Capitol Hill. The session took place despite a snowstorm that brought about 24 inches of snow and paralyzed the capital. Even before the storm, a decision was made to close all other federal offices in Washington.
The announcement of Donald Trump's victory by Congress is the last formal step before the inauguration of the new president. The inauguration of Trump's second term will begin at noon on January 20.
