Washington – Four years after a mob stormed the Capitol, the full Congress is set to meet to certify the 2024 election and formally 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 struck a jubilant tone On his social page, the truth Early Monday, calling it “a big moment in history.” MAGA!”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) had a somber message in a statement Monday morning: “History will always remember the attempted insurrection and we will never allow the violence that erupted in plain sight to be whitewashed.”
What was once a routine duty of Congress — certifying the Electoral College votes from all states — became an international disaster in 2021, when people upset over Trump’s reelection defeat in 2020 forced their way into the Capitol to disrupt the process.
“Thanks to the resilience of our institutions and the courage of the US Capitol Police officers who risked their lives, this attack on our democracy failed. However, attacks on the right to vote and the foundation of our democracy continue,” California Democratic Senator Alex Padilla said in a statement.
The riot, which broke out live on television, drew immediate bipartisan condemnation. House leaders formed a committee to investigate the rioters on January 6, and law enforcement authorities from across the country cracked down, leading to hundreds of convictions. But conflicting political narratives soon took hold.
By the 2024 election, Trump had described January 6, 2021, as “Love Day” and promised to pardon many rioters. Family members and supporters of those arrested after January 6 often attended Trump campaign events.
Democrats used the January 6 attacks as evidence of a fragile democracy at risk of being toppled under a second Trump administration. President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have often portrayed Trump as a danger to democracy — though Republicans have returned the insult, claiming Democrats stole the 2020 election. Democrats, who clearly lost in November, echoed a familiar phrase on Monday. :We’re not sore losers.
Harris, who lost her bid for president just two months ago, She posted a video on Monday Confirming that she will perform her duty on Monday. Under the Constitution, the Vice President handles the ratification process. Harris joins a small club of vice presidents who lost their bid for president and were asked to certify the results — Al Gore and Richard Nixon among them.
“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. It is then up to each of us to stand up for our most precious principles, and ensure that our government in America always remains of the people, by the people and for the people.
Several layers of deep security surrounded the Capitol buildings Monday morning, but the campus was mostly quiet as a snowstorm blanketed Washington, D.C., in white. Police presence has been reinforced throughout the capital.