Four years after attempting to overturn the results of the election, leading to a deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol, Donald Trump was certified as the winner of last year’s presidential contest.
In a heavily fortified Capitol complex, a joint session of Congress gathered to listen as the electoral vote results of each state were read off.
Presiding over the session was the president of the Senate, Vice President Kamala Harris, in the position of announcing the winner of an election that she lost. Harris kept a slight smile as she read off the tally, 312-226. Republicans cheered for Trump, and Democrats responded with a large ovation for her.
On CNN, Dana Bash noted the heavy security today, and that so many that backed Trump’s challenge of the 2020 results were still present and actually now in positions of leadership. They include Mike Johnson, who is now speaker of the House.
“They are in charge because the voters put them there,” Bash said.
The certification is typically a pro forma, ceremonial process. But four tears ago, Trump and his allies orchestrated an effort to challenge the results with false claims that the election was rigged.
the attack on the Capitol temporarily halted the proceedings. Congress ultimately certified the results for Joe Biden early the next morning. A number of Republicans, including Lindsey Graham and Mitch McConnell, angrily spoke out against Trump, only to endorse him in the most recent presidential race. The House impeached Trump the week after the 2001 attack, but the Senate declined to convict him the next month.
