Kamala Harris presides over US Congress as it certifies Donald Trump’s election victory

The United States Congress has formally certified Republican president-elect Donald Trump’s November election victory over Vice President Kamala Harris, clearing the way for him to be sworn in on January 20.

The certification of the election results on Monday in the 50 states and the District of Columbia was accomplished in a brief, formal ceremony during a joint session of the House of Representatives and Senate.

It was presided over by Ms Harris, acting as president of the Senate, as is her constitutional duty.

She confirmed the preliminary findings that Mr Trump won 312 Electoral College votes — prompting loud applause from Republicans in Congress — and she won 226 votes in the election — prompting Democrats’ cheers.

The Vice President spoke briefly to reporters after the ceremony, saying she did her duty to “ensure that the people of America... will have their votes counted, that those votes matter and that they will determine the outcome of an election.”

“I do believe very strongly that America’s democracy is only as strong as our willingness to fight for every single person, their willingness to fight for and respect the importance of our democracy. Otherwise, it is very fragile, and it will not be able to withstand moments of crisis. And today, America’s democracy stood,” she said.

The 2025 ceremony stood in sharp contrast to proceedings four years ago when a mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in a failed bid to block the certification of then-president Trump’s 2020 loss to Democratic President Joe Biden.

But unlike 2021’s event, which also saw dozens of Republican lawmakers formally disputed the election results in key swing states, no Democrats rose to object to the results from any state.

Because of the violent interruptions, the previous certification took 14 hours and 48 minutes to complete, according to CSPAN. This year, it took the Joint Session just 35 minutes to certify the results.

Trump continues to claim that his 2020 defeat was the result of widespread fraud — despite his own attorney general, recounts and investigations finding no evidence of that — and had warned throughout his 2024 campaign that he harboured similar concerns until his November 5 defeat of Harris.

“Congress certifies our great election victory today —a big moment in history. MAGA!” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social on Monday.

Republicans also captured a majority in the US Senate and held a narrow edge in the House in November’s election, which will give Trump the party support he needs to implement his planned agenda of tax cuts and a crackdown on immigrants living in the country illegally.

Security inside and outside the Capitol was heightened in preparation for the certification and was expected to remain in place through Trump’s swearing-in.

The Capitol grounds were ringed by metal fences hundreds of metres from the US Capitol, and accessible only via checkpoints guarded by uniformed police officers.

Convoys of black police vehicles were on hand, led by a 10-wheel Baltimore police mobile command centre.

New York Police Department reinforcements were also patrolling the area.

Inside, extra teams of uniformed US Capitol Police officers were checking IDs at entrance sites including doors and underground tunnels leading to the House and Senate chambers.

Trump has said he plans to pardon some of the more than 1500 people charged with taking part in the January 6, 2021, assault on the Capitol, when a mob fought with police, smashing its way in through windows and doors.

Some chanted “Hang Mike Pence,” referring to Trump’s then-vice president, in a failed bid to stop Congress from certifying Biden’s victory.

In the 2021 melee at the Capitol, rioters surged past police barricades, assaulting about 140 officers.

Multiple police officers who battled protesters died in the weeks that followed, some by taking their own lives.

As a result of that day’s violence, Congress passed legislation late in 2022 bolstering guardrails to ensure that the certification process is administered in a legal manner.

For example, the new law asserts that the vice president’s role is largely ceremonial.

with AP