Speaking with reporters at the Capitol after the ceremony on Jan. 6, Harris said she performed her constitutional duty “to ensure that the people of America, the voters of America, will have their votes counted, that those votes matter, and that they will determine the outcome of an election.”
The vice president added that she believes that the American system of government would only survive as long as people are willing to fight for and defend it.
“Otherwise, it is very fragile, and it will not be able to withstand moments of crisis. And today, America’s democracy stood,” Harris said.
She did not answer questions from reporters regarding her future plans. But when asked by The Epoch Times how she was feeling, Harris replied: “It’s a peaceful transfer of power. It’s a good day.”
“In two weeks, President Trump will take the oath of office, cementing the greatest political comeback in American history,” he said in a Jan. 6 statement.
“His landslide election and corresponding mandate from the American people dictate that Congress waste no time in delivering on the America First agenda, and we are prepared to hit the ground running,” he continued.
Vance was seated in the left-most seat facing the rostrum of the front row of the House of Representatives, next to Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.). He stayed behind to take “selfies” with many Republican House members after the House adjourned.
On the floor, Vance was flanked by his junior state colleague, Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio), and several staff members of the Trump–Vance transition team, identified by their trapezoid lapel pins issued by the U.S. Secret Service. Photographers were quick to capture Vance’s every move on the floor.
Vance also spent time speaking with House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), who was one of the Senate tellers that read out the results of states from the podium. He departed the chamber shortly after at 2 p.m. ET, exactly one hour after he entered for the Joint Session.
WASHINGTON—The U.S. Congress on Jan. 6 certified President-elect Donald Trump’s electoral victory in the 2024 election, marking the official final step to guarantee Trump’s position as the incoming commander-in-chief.
Following in the footsteps of Al Gore and Walter Mondale, Vice President Kamala Harris oversaw the certification of her own election loss. The process confirmed that Trump received 312 electoral votes while Harris received 226.
The certification was largely uneventful, with Democrats raising no challenges to any of Trump’s electoral wins.
Harris, in her role as president of the Senate, presided over the joint session of Congress, which began at 1 p.m. ET and proceeded to certify Trump’s win.
Asked how she was feeling after the vote, Harris told The Epoch Times: “It’s a peaceful transfer of power. It’s a good day.”
Harris also said after the certification, “Today, America’s democracy withstood.”
Trump, meanwhile, emphasized the importance of the certification.
“Congress certifies our great election victory today—a big moment in history. MAGA!” Trump wrote in all caps on his Truth Social platform earlier in the day.
The timing was in accordance with the Electoral Count Act, which sets the date, time, and specific procedures behind the certification process.
Each state’s slate of electors was read off in alphabetical order and approved by the Congress, gathered as is customary for joint sessions in the House chamber.
While there were objections in 2001, 2005, 2017, and 2021, no challenges were made to the 2024 election during the certification—one of the few times in this millennium that’s been the case.
Instead, the certification proceeded quickly, without substantial interruptions as the results were read out. Cheers broke out when Harris’s home state of California had its 54 electoral votes called for her; some Georgia Republicans whooped when the Peach State—one of the most important of the 2024 cycle—had its votes declared for Trump.
The certification wrapped up at 1:36 p.m. ET, a far cry from the previous certification, which took 14 hours.
As is traditional, Trump did not attend the event. However, Vice President-elect JD Vance (R-Ohio) was in attendance. He remains a member of the U.S. Senate until his swearing-in on Jan. 20.
The camera often returned to Vance, seated beside Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), as the results were read. Following the vote, several lawmakers milled about in the chamber hoping for a photo with their incoming vice president.
The Jan. 6 certification of the election results is a constitutional duty in accordance with Article II of the Constitution, which lays out congressional certification of results as the final step in confirming the next president. This step is necessary to ensure that the winning candidate received a majority of 270 electoral votes or more, as a separate process in Congress is required in cases in which that margin isn’t reached.
In the 2021 certification process, some members of the House and Senate objected to results from battleground states where they believed election fraud was committed.
Under a 2022 law that reformed the Electoral Count Act, the threshold for instituting a challenge is one-fifth of the House, or 87 members, and one-fifth of the Senate, or 20 members, signing off on the objection. Previously, challenges required just one member from each chamber.
Congressional tellers and other staff congregate in the House of Representatives ahead of the certification of President-elect Donald Trump’s 2024 election victory in Washington on Jan. 6, 2025. (Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times)
The objection can only be made to assert that a state or states unlawfully certified their election results, and not on the basis of electoral fraud, thereby avoiding a repeat of 2021 and other past election certifications.
When there is an objection, Senate and House members go to their respective chambers and debate the challenge.
Harris is the first presidential candidate in more than 20 years to certify her own defeat for the presidency. This last occurred in 2001, when Gore presided over his highly contested loss to President George W. Bush.
During the Jan. 6, 2021, certification process, Trump called on his supporters to go “peacefully and patriotically” to the Capitol to protest as the certification was overseen by then-Vice President Mike Pence, who affirmed President Joe Biden’s win despite Trump calling for Pence to act otherwise.
Partly because of limited law enforcement at the Capitol, a breakdown of order occurred and hundreds of protesters entered the Capitol; while most were peaceful and entered through main entrances, a minority were accused of violent crimes—assaulting police officers, carrying lethal weapons, and breaking Capitol windows.
The disorder resulted in the deaths of several Trump supporters, including Rosanne Boyland and Air Force veteran Ashli Babbitt. No Capitol Police officers were killed in direct connection to the events of the day.
The incident prompted Congress to pause the certification, which faced challenges from Republican House and Senate members over the results in states including Arizona and Pennsylvania. Pence and congressional members were hidden for their own protection.
In the morning hours of Jan. 7, 2021, Congress certified Biden’s win.
Since that day, more than 1,500 people have been charged in connection with the Capitol breach, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ). Of that number, about 750 people have been sentenced on charges ranging from trespassing to seditious conspiracy.
Former Proud Boys leader Henry “Enrique” Tarrio is serving a 22-year sentence for his role in the attack—the longest of the Jan. 6 sentences—though he was not at the Capitol as he was ordered to stay away from Washington that day based on his alleged commission of an unrelated crime.
Attorney General Merrick Garland said he was “proud” of the DOJ’s work in rounding up those involved in the breach. Trump, meanwhile, has said he would pardon at least some of the Jan. 6 defendants and convicts.
Biden, meanwhile, released an op-ed on the morning of Jan. 5, 2024, critical of what he described as efforts by Trump to “rewrite” history concerning Jan. 6, 2021, and criticizing Trump’s plan to pardon many of those charged in connection to the event.
This time around, there was a heavy security presence around the Capitol with large-scale fencing around the complex and officers from multiple law enforcement agencies patrolling the area amid snowy conditions.
Arjun Singh and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Harris also confirmed the certification of JD Vance as vice president-elect.
Trump and Vance received 312 electoral votes, putting them well above the 270-vote threshold.
Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, received 226 electoral votes.
As the votes were announced, Republicans and Democrats cheered their parties’ candidates.
Democrats and Republicans applauded whenever the results were read out of a state their candidate won, with some cheering—particularly from the states of Georgia, Wisconsin, and Texas. Several times, Vice President-elect and Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) stood up to acknowledge the applause from Republicans after his name was read out.
In a marked contrast to the events of Jan. 6, 2021, there were no objections raised to the results of any state, nor were there disruptions or heckles from Members of Congress seated on the floor. The public galleries were largely empty, with few guests, given the heightened security surrounding the event.
A few members of Congress were absent, the highest-ranking one being Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.).
Upon the conclusion of the certification, members of both parties delivered a large standing ovation for the announcement of their candidates’ results. Vice President Kamala Harris, presiding over the joint session as the president of the Senate, declared the Joint Session dissolved at 1:36 p.m. ET.
Trump defeated Harris in the Nov. 5 election with 312 to 226 electoral votes.
States are submitting the results of their electoral votes to Congress in a box. The congressional session goes through each state, counting the electoral votes.
Harris was joined by members of the Senate. She then took her place on the dais alongside House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.).
The electoral vote certificates were transported into the chamber inside their ceremonial boxes.
Here’s how that process will unfold:
- Vice President Kamala Harris, as president of the Senate, will preside over the joint session of Congress.
- Harris will open and present the certificates of each state’s electoral votes in alphabetical order.
- Bipartisan “tellers” of the House and Senate will read each certificate aloud and record the votes.
- Lawmakers will have an opportunity as each state’s votes are read to rise and object to those votes on any grounds. An objection must be written and signed by one-fifth of each chamber to be heard—a change that was enacted after the 2020 election. Previously, objections needed the support of just one member of each house to be heard.
- If an objection is successfully lodged, the joint session will pause so that the House and Senate may consider it in separate sessions. An objection is sustained if upheld by majorities in both chambers. Otherwise, the count resumes.
- Once all votes are counted, Harris will announce the candidates for president and vice president who received a majority of the votes.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A severe winter storm continued to hit much of the Midwest and East Coast of the United States on Jan. 6, dropping as much as a foot of snow on the Mid-Atlantic coast, including the Washington metro area.
The National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center announced that a major winter storm will make its way eastward from the Ohio Valley toward the Mid-Atlantic coast throughout the day, producing six to 12 inches of heavy snow across the coastal region.
An additional two to four inches is expected in the Ohio Valley and the Central Appalachian Mountains.
The Weather Prediction Center further forecasted that the snow would be accompanied by light icing and freezing rain.
Winter storm warnings and weather advisories have been issued from southern Illinois along the Mississippi River to Delaware and the southern half of New Jersey.
The storm began over the previous weekend, hitting parts of the Midwest with record-setting amounts of snow, along with ice, wind, and freezing temperatures.
Kansas reported receiving roughly 10 inches on Jan. 5, and it is expected to get as much as 14 inches.
Louisville, Kentucky, broke a 115-year record when it received 7.7 inches of snow on Jan. 5, beating the previous mark of three inches set in 1910.
Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport reported a record eight inches of snow on Jan. 5, causing the cancellation of dozens of flights, including some on Jan. 6.
There were 1,759 flight cancellations across the country on Jan. 6 as of 12:15 p.m. EST, according to tracking data from FlightAware, and 3,549 delays.
This is on top of the more than 1,800 cancellations and 9,343 delays reported on Jan. 5, and the more than 8,000 canceled or delayed flights reported on Jan. 4 when the storm began.
The bad weather has also caused the cancellation of more than 60 passenger trains between Jan. 5 and Jan. 6.
Major roads across parts of Kansas, Nebraska, and Indiana were blanketed, causing the National Guard to assist stranded motorists.
Authorities in Missouri reported that there were at least 600 snowed-in motorists over the weekend as well, and hundreds of car accidents were reported in Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, and Virginia.
Emergency units responded to more than 200 crashes in Virginia between 4 p.m. on Jan. 5 and 4 a.m. on Jan. 6.
Government buildings were closed on Jan. 6 in several states, including by Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, who declared a state emergency.
“We see far too many wrecks out there for people that do not have to be on the roads, so I want to ask: Stay inside,” Beshear said.
Schools have also been closed in several states, including Kentucky, Indiana, Virginia, and Maryland.
The Associated Press and Naveen Athrappully contributed to this report.
“January 6 was a violent attack on the law enforcement officers defending the Capitol, and it was an unprecedented attack on a cornerstone of our system of government—the peaceful transfer of power from one administration to the next,” Garland said in a statement, echoing the remarks of other administration officials.
The attorney general praised the Justice Department’s years of investigative work surrounding the breach, noting that more than 1,500 people had been charged with various crimes.
Throughout those prosecutions, officials “conducted themselves in a manner that adheres to the rule of law and honors our obligation to protect the civil rights and civil liberties of everyone in this country,” Garland said.
His comments were an apparent response to critics who say the Biden administration has weaponized the Justice Department to target its political opponents.
One of those critics is President-elect Donald Trump, who has vowed to begin pardoning Jan. 6 defendants “in the first hour” of his presidency, according to a December interview with Time magazine.
Garland’s remarks also coincide with Congress’s scheduled certification of Trump’s 2024 presidential victory.
President-Elect Donald Trump is attempting to halt proceedings in his business records case, with his attorneys stating that they intend to file an appeal to reverse a decision setting sentencing for Jan. 10.
Trump’s request came on Jan. 6, just days after New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan’s Jan. 3 decision to reject Trump’s request to dismiss the case.
Merchan said in his Jan. 3 order that he wasn’t inclined to impose a prison term on the president-elect. Citing concerns about presidential immunity, he also said that “a sentence of unconditional discharge appears to be the most viable solution to ensure finality and allow the Defendant to pursue his appellate options.”
Merchan rejected the idea that the Presidential Transition Act, the supremacy clause of the U.S. Constitution, or presidential immunity—each of which had been cited by Trump’s legal team—required vacating the jury’s verdicts or dismissal of the indictment.
Trump’s lawyers argued that their appeal should trigger what’s known as an automatic stay, or pause, in the proceedings. If that doesn’t happen, they argued, Merchan should then grant a pause and prevent sentencing from happening on Jan. 10 as scheduled.
“Today, President Trump’s legal team moved to stop the unlawful sentencing in the Manhattan D.A.’s Witch Hunt,” Trump spokesman Steven Cheung said. “The Supreme Court’s historic decision on Immunity, the state constitution of New York, and other established legal precedent mandate that this meritless hoax be immediately dismissed.”
In May 2024, a jury found Trump guilty of 34 felony counts of falsification of business records in the first degree.
Merchan’s order came after the dismissal of special counsel Jack Smith’s federal cases against Trump in Florida and Washington. Trump’s other state-level criminal case in Georgia saw an appeals court disqualify the prosecutor, Fani Willis. More recently, an appeals court affirmed a verdict in a civil suit that found Trump liable for sexually abusing writer E. Jean Carroll.
Congress is scheduled to certify Trump’s election on Jan. 6, and he’s headed for inauguration on Jan. 20. Merchan said that Trump had presented a novel theory of presidential immunity for presidents-elect and that current precedent didn’t require the case’s dismissal.
In December 2024, Merchan rejected Trump’s various immunity-related objections to the evidence used during trial.
He said that Trump waited too long or failed to preserve objections to evidence and that information related to both preserved and unpreserved arguments did not receive protection under the doctrine of presidential immunity.
“This Court ... finds that the evidence related to the preserved claims relate entirely to unofficial conduct and thus, receive no immunity protections,” Merchan wrote in his opinion.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
In an op-ed published on Sunday in The Washington Post, Biden criticized efforts to “rewrite” the history surrounding the U.S. Capitol breach, during which protesters he described as “violent insurrectionists” delayed Congress’s certification of the 2020 election results.
“In time, there will be Americans who didn’t witness the Jan. 6 riot firsthand but will learn about it from footage and testimony of that day, from what is written in history books and from the truth we pass on to our children. We cannot allow the truth to be lost,” Biden wrote.
Biden reiterated his oft-repeated claim that those who protested at the Capitol that day posed a threat to democracy and urged the nation to acknowledge the incident as such “every year.”
Others have refuted that narrative, however, noting that many protesters were waved into the Capitol by U.S. Capitol Police and that most did not engage in violence.
Describing the peaceful transfer of power as “one of the most fundamental principles of American democracy,” Harris pledged to uphold that principle in a video shared on social media platform X.
“This duty is a sacred obligation, one I will uphold, guided by love of country, loyalty to our Constitution, and my unwavering faith in the American people,” Harris said.
The outgoing vice president’s pledge was made four years after President Donald Trump urged Vice President Mike Pence not to certify the 2020 election results.
The request—which Pence denied—sparked a debate over the vice president’s role in the certification process. Congress consequently passed a law in 2022 clarifying that the vice president's role is ceremonial only.
Trump, now president-elect, will be sworn in for a second presidential term on Jan. 20.
“Congress certifies our great election victory today—a big moment in history. MAGA!” Trump wrote in all caps on his Truth Social platform.
The certification marks the fourth anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol breach, for which more than 1,500 people were indicted.
A sea of red converged on Washington that day as thousands of Trump’s supporters arrived from across the country to protest the certification of the 2020 election, which they contended was stolen from him.
