WASHINGTON – Four years after a violent mob stormed the Capitol, a full Congress will gather to certify the 2024 election and officially declare President-elect Donald Trump the winner.
On a day filled with political symbolism for both parties, Democratic and Republican leaders sought to set the tone.
Trump made a jubilant sound on his Truth Social page early Monday and called it “A GREAT MOMENT IN HISTORY.” MAGA!”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) delivered a somber message in a statement Monday morning: “History will always remember the attempted insurrection, and we will never allow the violence that unfolded before all eyes, is glossed over.”
What was once a perfunctory duty of Congress — certifying the Electoral College votes from every state — became an international debacle in 2021 when people angered by Trump's 2020 reelection loss broke into the Capitol to disrupt the process.
“Thanks to the resilience of our institutions and the bravery of the U.S. Capitol Police officers who risked their lives, this attack on our democracy failed. Yet attacks on the right to vote and the foundations of our democracy continue,” California Democratic Senator Alex Padilla said in a statement.
The insurrection, which unfolded live on television, immediately sparked bipartisan condemnation. House leaders convened a committee to investigate the Jan. 6 rioters, and law enforcement agencies across the country cracked down, resulting in hundreds of convictions. But dueling political narratives quickly took hold.
At the time of the 2024 election, Trump had called January 6, 2021, “a day of love” and promised to pardon many of the rioters. Family members and supporters of those arrested after January 6 often attended Trump's campaign rallies.
Democrats seized on the January 6 attacks as evidence of a fragile democracy that threatens to collapse under a second Trump administration. President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris frequently portrayed Trump as a threat to democracy – although Republicans rejected the insult and claimed Democrats stole the 2020 election. The Democrats, who clearly lost in November, took a familiar line on Monday: We are not sore losers.
Harris, who lost her bid for the presidency just two months ago, posted a video on Monday She assured that she would complete her duty on Monday. According to the constitution, the vice president presides over certification. Harris joins a small club of vice presidents who lost their presidential bids and had to certify the results – including Al Gore and Richard Nixon.
“The peaceful transfer of power is one of the most fundamental principles of American democracy,” Harris said. “As we have seen, our democracy can be fragile. And it is then up to each of us to stand up for our most cherished principles and ensure that our government in America always remains of the people, by the people and for the people.”
Multiple layers of deep security surrounded the Capitol buildings Monday morning, but the campus remained mostly quiet as a snowstorm blanketed Washington, D.C. in a blanket of white. Police presence was increased throughout the capital.