A joint session of Congress is scheduled to convene on Monday to certify President-elect Donald J. Trump’s 2024 election victory. Fraudulent election.
There is no hint that a similar scene will occur this time. Unlike then-President Trump, Vice President Kamala Harris did not contest his defeat last November, and in the aftermath of the 2020 vote, Democrats, unlike Republicans, made it clear that they accepted the results.
Ms. Harris will preside over the certification as president of the Senate, a ceremony that emphasizes the importance of a peaceful transfer of power even between bitter political rivals.
Nonetheless, reminders of the violence that shocked the world on this day four years ago remain everywhere. The National Assembly building is under strict lockdown, with a tall black metal fence surrounding the building. Enhanced federal, state and local security resources are at the ready as lawmakers prepare to convene at 1 p.m. for the task of counting and certifying the Electoral College votes under the Constitution.
The Department of Homeland Security designated this day as a ‘National Special Security Event’ for the first time.
What is expected to be a peaceful and orderly day may all seem excessive. But lawmakers and law enforcement officials are determined to prepare after the violent events that occurred on January 6, 2021. Four years ago, protesters with truncheons and other weapons stormed the Capitol incited by President Trump’s false claims that he had won the election. , sparking a riot that left seven people dead, including three police officers.
Republicans have tried to forget the trauma of that day and whitewash history. Some Trump loyalists in Congress, such as Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York, have sought to distance themselves from previous statements prosecuting perpetrators of violence and characterizing their actions as “anti-American.” (President Trump, who had promised to pardon those accused of participating in the riots, later chose Mr. Stefanik as ambassador to the United Nations.)
Today, no such memorial hangs in the Capitol, despite a law passed in 2022 requiring memorial plaques to be hung with the names of police officers and other law enforcement officers who responded to the violence that day.
But a new law enacted in 2022 overhauled the congressional certification process to avoid a repeat of what happened in 2021. This makes it much more difficult for lawmakers to throw out a state’s Electoral College votes, and we make that clear. Just as President Trump tried to pressure Vice President Mike Pence but failed, the Vice President does not have the authority to do so unilaterally.
The prospect of such a repeat was essentially eliminated in November, when Trump won both the Electoral College and the popular vote.
And Democrats, who for years have presented President Trump as a unique threat to democracy and democratic norms, have built their party’s brand on respect for the Constitution, including a willingness to accept unfavorable election results and move forward.
“Two months ago, the American people elected Donald Trump as the 47th president of the United States,” Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, a New York Democratic congressman and minority leader, said on Friday when the new Congress convened, and Republicans I applauded. National Assembly members on site.
“It’s okay,” he added. “There is no one on our side who is denying the election.”
Representative Jamie Raskin, a Maryland Democrat who served on the special committee that investigated the Jan. 6 mob attack, promised “there will be no violence” on Jan. 6 this year.
He added, “There will be no attempt to cause an insurrection against the Constitution.” “This will be much more similar to what we have seen throughout the rest of American history.”
Before the 2021 riots, President Trump told supporters on the Ellipse near the White House: “We fight like hell. And if we don’t fight like crazy, there will be no more country,” he said, encouraging them to march to the National Assembly building. In the end, 8 Senate Republicans and 139 House Republicans opposed certification of the election results.
Both Democrats and Republicans are hoping for a smooth process this year. On Friday, House Republicans put aside their divisions and re-elected Speaker Mike Johnson to his position. In part, that’s because they wanted to smoothly certify President Trump’s election victory.
And Democratic lawmakers, from the president down, have telegraphed that they plan to set an example. Last November, Mr. Biden extended to Mr. Trump some of the traditions taken away four years ago, inviting the president-elect to the White House to acknowledge his victory and saying the administration would “do everything we can.” Make sure you are accepted and have what you need.”
In her concession speech last November, Ms. Harris said she had spoken with Mr. Trump and “congratulated him on his victory” and “told him we would help him and his team with the transition.”
On Monday, Ms. Harris will assume the largely ceremonial role that four years ago put Mr. Pence in the crosshairs of Mr. Trump and his supporters. Some of them chanted “Hang Mike Pence” as they marched. Capitol.
For Harris, presiding over the peaceful transfer of power is one of the most important final acts of her term, aides said.
“This certification process is not just a formality for the Vice President.” said Brian Fallon, a former top adviser to the Harris campaign. “She believes this is a moment to signal to the nation that the events of four years ago were an aberration and that our country’s tradition of the peaceful transfer of power has been restored.”
