Congress certifies Trump's 2024 win, Harris affirms transition
The American Congress has officially declared Donald Trump the winner of the 2024 presidential election, formally concluding the process for electing the President of the United States. The electoral votes were certified by Kamala Harris, who lost in the election.
During a procedure lasting 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 of each state and the District of Columbia. The certificates were taken from mahogany boxes, and their authenticity was confirmed. At the end, Vice President Kamala Harris announced her rival's victory in the election, Donald Trump, and adjourned the session.
Throughout the ceremony, Harris adhered strictly to the formal protocol. However, just before the session, she commented on the situation in a recording published on social media.
- A peaceful transfer of power is one of the most fundamental principles of American democracy and, unlike any other principle, distinguishes our system of government from monarchies or tyrannies, emphasized Harris, announcing the certification of the election results. She assured that she would fulfill her "sacred duty" guided by "love of country, loyalty to our constitution, and unwavering faith in the American people."
- 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," she added, 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 without disruptions, in contrast to four years ago (when Joe Biden became president), when it was interrupted for several hours by an attack by Trump supporters on the Capitol, resulting in the ceremony ending after 4:00 AM Eastern Time.
Due to the chaos and attempts to invalidate the previous results by Trump, Monday's session was conducted for the first time under the new law enacted in 2022. The new 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, which was a response to the pressures from Donald Trump and his supporters on 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, setting up high metal fences around Capitol Hill. The session took place despite a snowstorm that brought about 61 centimetres (about two feet) 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 Eastern Time on January 20.
