The US Congress officially confirmed Donald Trump’s victory on Monday. Four years after the assault on the Capitol, it was with revised rules and reinforced security measures that elected officials took this formal step.
What you need to know
- Congress met on Monday to certify the results of the American election, with the counting of the votes of the electors;
- The rules had been revised and security had been strengthened in the wake of the assault on the Capitol four years ago;
- The certification of Donald Trump’s victory went off without a hitch.
In turn, officials attested to the authenticity of the votes of the 538 Electoral College electors, announcing the results state by state.
PHOTO ELIZABETH FRANTZ, REUTERS
Vice President Kamala Harris had the role of confirming her own defeat.
“The votes for President of the United States go as follows,” Vice President Kamala Harris concluded at the end of the count. Donald J. Trump, from the state of Florida, received 312 votes. Kamala D. Harris of California received 226 votes. »
Kamala Harris’s role as President of the Senate was to confirm her own defeat. At the mention of her name, the elected Democrats stood up and warmly applauded her. This reaction pushed the ex-candidate to use his gavel to restore order and to continue, with a smile, his statement.
In capital letters, Donald Trump hailed on Truth Social a “great moment in history”. Its vice-president, Senator JD Vance, was present at the Capitol as a member of Congress. All smiles, he posed for a few photos with colleagues after the certification.
PHOTO SAUL MARTINEZ, THE NEW YORK TIMES ARCHIVES
President-elect Donald Trump
Without objections
The certification lasted around thirty minutes, without any objection from elected officials. In contrast to 2021, but also to previous elections, where it was enough for a senator and a member of the House of Representatives to oppose a result to force a debate.
“A certain uncertainty had developed, over time, about the legitimate and appropriate grounds on which members of Congress could object to the votes of a state,” notes the professor of constitutional law at New York University Rick Pildes, reached by telephone by The Press.
Certification, however, remains a formality; elected officials cannot, on this occasion, challenge the voters’ vote because they consider a state’s electoral law to be incorrect. Or because they suspect fraud. “If there are problems, they must be resolved in court, not in Congress,” summarizes Mr. Pildes.
Redesign
The specialist himself participated in the work of a bipartisan group to review the electoral certification procedure. Congress passed theElectoral Count Reform Act in 2022.
This revision of the rules notably tightens the criteria for issuing objections and clarifies the role of the Vice President of the United States, de facto President of the Senate.
When hundreds of Donald Trump supporters invaded the Capitol in 2021, they chanted: “Hang Mike Pence. » The attackers perceived the vice-president’s refusal to declare Donald Trump the winner of the lost election as an act of treason.
The overhaul clarifies what had always been previously understood about the role of the vice president during certification: that it is a merely ceremonial role.
Rick Pildes, professor of constitutional law at New York University
Security
Security at the Capitol had been a top concern for months. By September, the certification of the results had been designated, exceptionally, as an “extraordinary national security event” – the highest classification for security – coordinated by the Secret Service.
PHOTO J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Police officers from Arlington, Virginia, arrive at the Capitol to ensure security on Monday.
A security perimeter was established, and thousands of police officers were deployed to Washington for the occasion.
Images of the assault on the Capitol have periodically resurfaced for four years. Hitting police officers, overturning security barriers and smashing windows, the rioters entered the building. A protester was shot dead by a police officer. Two people died of heart attacks, and another reportedly died of an overdose at the scene.
PHOTO LEAH MILLIS, REUTERS ARCHIVES
Rioters supporting Donald Trump stormed the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Four police officers present during the assault committed suicide shortly after the event. And more than a hundred members of the police were injured in the riot.
The certification was interrupted to ensure the safety of elected officials, before resuming in the evening. Leaders of the Republican Party then decried the attack. Today they are much more discreet.
Donald Trump announced that he intended to pardon those convicted for their participation in this event – people he describes as “patriots”. More than 1,000 Americans have been found guilty of crimes related to the assault, and hundreds more are still awaiting verdicts.
In the end, the certification of the 2024 election went smoothly. The snowstorm raging in the northeast of the United States seems to have been the main downside for some elected officials, unable to reach the Capitol on Monday.
