The US Congress confirms Donald Trump’s victory in the 2024 presidential election | Politics news

The quiet procedure contrasts with efforts by Trump’s own supporters to overturn his 2020 loss by storming the US Capitol.

The US Congress has certified Donald Trump’s victory in November’s presidential election, clearing a final hurdle to his return to the White House later this month.

Monday’s ceremony in Congress officially validated the Electoral College results for 2024.

Supervised by Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump’s main rival in the election, the event moved quickly and with little fanfare.

“Today was obviously a very important day,” Harris, who also serves as president of the Senate, said in remarks afterward.

“It was about what should be the norm and what the American people should be able to take for granted, which is that one of the most important pillars of our democracy is that there will be a peaceful transfer of power.”

The largely procedural affair marked a stark contrast to the last time Congress met to certify Electoral College votes, on January 6, 2021.

During this ceremony, thousands of Trump’s supporters stormed the US capital in an attempt to overturn then-President Trump’s defeat in the 2020 election.

Lawmakers were forced to evacuate as doors were smashed, police officers were attacked and a protester was shot dead while trying to enter a chamber through a broken window.

The attack came after Trump held a rally nearby at the Ellipse, a park south of the White House, where he repeated false claims that the election had been stolen through massive fraud.

Critics strongly condemned the attack as an attack on democracy, and the US Department of Justice has since pressed charges 1,583 participants with federal crimes.

As of Monday, approximately 1,009 have pleaded guilty, of which 327 have pleaded guilty to felony charges.

Trump himself faced two criminal charges for his role in trying to overturn the 2020 election results: A federal case in Washington, DC, was recently dismissed, while a state-level case in Georgia has stalled but is ongoing.

Nevertheless, Trump will return to power four years later on the heels of his most successful presidential campaign to date.

In November, Trump won 312 Electoral College votes to Harris’ 226, becoming the first Republican candidate to win the popular vote since 2004.

Trump’s Republican Party will also take control of Congress after winning majorities in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Many in the party have since taken issue with the Republican leader’s false claims about the 2020 election.

“Congress affirms our great election victory today – a great moment in history. MAGA!” Trump posted on his platform Truth Social on Monday, using an acronym for his slogan, “Make America Great Again.”

Harris, meanwhile, called for respect for the principles of American democracy. She cited Monday’s peaceful certification as an example of the right way forward.

“I believe very strongly that America’s democracy is only as strong as our willingness to fight for it,” she said. “Otherwise it is very fragile and it will not be able to withstand moments of crisis.”