Vice President Kamala Harris gaveled in Monday's joint session of Congress as she presided over the certification of Donald Trump's victory four years after a pro-Trump riot stopped a constitutional debate on the certification of President Joe Biden's victory.
The 40 electoral votes announced by Texas officially gave him the White House just before 1 p.m. ET, joined by House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and loud applause.
When Harris first announced Trump as the next president starting Jan. 20, applause paused her pre-written remarks and forced her to continue after gaveling for attention, certifying her own election loss to Trump.
"The votes for president of the United States are as follows: Donald J. Trump of the state of Florida has received 312 votes," Harris said.
"Kamala D. Harris," she continued before the applause interruption forced her to start again,
"has received 226 votes," she added with a smile.
The official count "shall be deemed a sufficient declaration," she concluded, for Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance to take their oaths of office Jan. 20.
It happened with little fanfare with some members taking breaks from looking at the dais to check their phones or engage in conversations with their neighbors.
Harris ended it with the words, "The chair declares this joint session dissolved."
She shook hands and kissed a few members on the cheek before being swept away.
Harris announced the tally as President-elect Donald Trump receiving 312 votes and Harris herself receiving 226 votes. Her announcements of both received raucous cheers in the chamber.
When she announced Trump's victory, she smiled tightly as Republicans gave a standing ovation.
Congress convened Monday under heavy security and a snowstorm.
Lawmakers gathered as layers of tall black fencing flanked the U.S. Capitol complex in a stark reminder of what happened four years ago when Trump told supporters to "peacefully and patriotically" protest at the Capitol.
"The House comes to order," Vice President Kamala Harris said, opening the session as the role of the office.
No violence, protests, or even procedural objections in Congress were delivered.
Democrats frustrated by Trump's 312-226 Electoral College victory nevertheless accept the choice of the American voters. Even the winter snow blanketing the grounds did not interfere with Jan. 6, the day set by law to certify the vote.
Trump said in a Monday post online that Congress was certifying a "GREAT" election victory and called it "A BIG MOMENT IN HISTORY."
The day's return to a U.S. tradition that launches the peaceful transfer of presidential power comes with an asterisk as Trump prepares to take office in two weeks with a revived sense of authority.
The U.S. is struggling to cope with its political and cultural differences at a time when democracy worldwide is threatened. Trump has called Jan. 6, 2021, a “day of love.”
In a video message, Harris described her role as a "sacred obligation" to ensure the peaceful transfer of power.
"As we have seen, our democracy can be fragile," she said. "And it is up to each of us to stand up for our most cherished principles."
Harris will be joining a short list of other vice presidents to oversee the ceremonial confirmation of their election loss as part of their role of presiding over the Senate.
Richard Nixon did it after losing to John F. Kennedy in 1960. Al Gore followed suit when the Supreme Court tipped the 2000 election to George W. Bush.
But no other vice president has been holding the gavel when Congress certified their loss to an incoming president who refused to concede a previous defeat.
Information from The Associated Press, Reuters, Agence France-Presse was used to compile this report.
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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