Despite a major winter storm bearing down on the U.S. Capitol, Congress convened Monday to certify the results of the 2024 presidential election as memories of the violent Capitol insurrection just four years ago hung over the proceedings.
The count got underway at 1 p.m. ET during a joint session of Congress and lasted about 40 minutes. Bipartisan representatives from both chambers of Congress read the election results from each state aloud to confirm an official count.
President-elect Donald Trump and his running mate JD Vance received 312 electoral votes, while Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate Tim Walz received 226 votes.
"Today, in accordance with the Constitution, Congress met in a joint session to count electoral college votes and certify President Donald J. Trump's election as the 47th President of the United States," House Speaker Mike Johnson said in a statement following the vote. "In two weeks, President Trump will take the oath of office, cementing the greatest political comeback in American history."
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Vice President Kamala Harris presided over the certification of her own election loss, fulfilling the same constitutional obligation former Vice President Mike Pence did in 2021 after a mob of angry Trump supporters stormed the Capitol, seeking to overturn President Joe Biden's election win.
Today, I will perform my constitutional duty as Vice President to certify the results of the 2024 election. 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. pic.twitter.com/w21HzdNxGs
— Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP) January 6, 2025
But Monday's proceedings were much less chaotic than four years ago. Unlike Republicans in 2021, Democrats said they would not deny the election results.
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In an article published Sunday by The Washington Post, President Biden denounced the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection, saying that the peaceful transfer of power is an essential aspect of Democracy.
"We should be proud that our democracy withstood this assault. And we should be glad we will not see such a shameful attack again this year," Biden wrote. "But we should not forget. We must remember the wisdom of the adage that any nation that forgets its past is doomed to repeat it. We cannot accept a repeat of what occurred four years ago."
Now that Congress has certified the election results, the next major event on President-elect Trump's political calendar will be his inauguration on Jan. 20. That will be the final chance for any objections, though Harris has already conceded the election and not disputed the results.
