Congress certified President-elect Donald Trump’s electoral win on Monday in a drama-free joint session that cemented the former president’s political comeback.
Unlike four years ago, when a mob attacked the Capitol, and eight years ago, when Democrats raised objections to Trump’s first win, lawmakers carried out their constitutional duty at the snowy Capitol without interruptions.
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Vice President Kamala Harris presided over the counting of the Electoral College votes, in which Trump soundly defeated her 312 to 226. He also was the first GOP president to win the popular vote in 20 years, netting 77.3 million votes to Harris’s 75 million.
The Senate transferred the electoral ballot boxes to the House just before 1 p.m. on Monday, marking the first joint session of the 119th Congress. The atmosphere was jovial as party members greeted one another, with some House lawmakers reuniting with old colleagues who have since been elected to the upper chamber.
Among those present was Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), who sat in the front row of the House chamber as his own vice presidential victory was certified.
The event, which lasted less than an hour, consisted of lawmakers reading off the Electoral College results of each state in alphabetical order. For the states that swung in Trump’s favor, applause roared from only the Republican side of the chamber and vice versa for states Harris won on the Democratic side.
Dozens of lawmakers braved more than half a foot of snow and significant winter conditions to gather on Capitol Hill for the constitutionally required joint session of Congress that is the final step before Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration.
Security at the fenced-off Capitol was extremely tight as Jan. 6 was deemed a national special security event to ensure history does not repeat itself with outmanned police fighting off a mob of rioters. Few protesters were spotted outside the Capitol Monday morning in the snow.
The electoral certification comes in stark contrast to this day four years ago, when a mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol and delayed the tally of the vote. It also marks a significant moment for Trump, who pulled off a major political comeback after the 2021 Capitol attack that left him politically bruised and at odds with many in his own party.
Shortly after the Capitol riot, Trump was impeached by the Democratic-led House, and top Republicans in the Senate, such as then-Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC), admonished him for the attack. However, Trump was acquitted by the upper chamber.
This time around, the vote count concluded without much fanfare or objection — marking the first time in nearly a quarter of a century that Democrats haven’t opposed the final results in some fashion.
The traditionally uneventful procedure has also shifted in recent years to ensure no surprises, especially after the Capitol riot in January 2021. Shortly after that attack, Congress passed the Electoral Count Reform Act making it far more difficult for Congress to interfere with the certification.
Under that bill, which was signed by President Joe Biden, the required threshold for Congress to object to the results was raised to one-fifth of both the House and Senate, making it more difficult to delay the results. Previous law dictated that only a single member from the House and Senate could submit an electoral objection.
The law also narrowed justified reasons for lawmakers to reject election results, stating that the certification cannot be delayed over partisan disagreements.
Some scholars on the left have argued Democrats should object to the certification, citing the 14th Amendment that disqualifies individuals from office if they have been found to engage in insurrection — something they argue Trump did when he encouraged his supporters to march to the Capitol during the certification in 2021.
However, no Democrat raised objections to the certification on Monday — and others such as Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) said it was their “constitutional duty” to approve Trump’s victory.
“He won,” Moskowitz wrote in a post on X.
The ECRA also specified the vice president’s role to be purely “ministerial in nature” — rejecting Trump’s suggestions in 2021 that then-Vice President Mike Pence could object to his election loss.
Harris has vowed to ensure a peaceful transition, telling supporters in a video on Monday it is up to “each one of us to stand up for our most cherished principles.”
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“Today, I will perform my constitutional duty as Vice President to certify the results of the 2024 election,” Harris said in a post on X accompanying the video. “This duty is a sacred obligation — one I will uphold guided by love of country, loyalty to our Constitution, and unwavering faith in the American people.”
The electoral certification was the first major act for the new Republican-led Congress after taking charge on Friday and voting Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) as speaker for his first full term and ushering in Sen. John Thune (R-SD) as Senate majority leader.
Republicans will have control of the House, Senate, and White House after Trump is sworn in on Jan. 20.