It was routine, and that was the point.
Congress certified President-elect Trump's election victory Monday in a smooth and relatively short ceremony.
The normalcy of the event was reminiscent of what happened four years ago, when a mob laid siege to the Capitol, coming eerily close to keeping President Trump in power after losing the election.
This time, Vice President Harris, President Trump's opponent, oversaw the proceedings as president of the Senate.
This led to some interesting moments. Harris was sometimes referred to as “Madam President,” a reminder of the presidential title she hoped to enjoy while acknowledging her role in the Senate.
Once the electoral votes were officially counted, it was up to Harris to announce the results. She had to wait for the Republican cheers to die down after announcing Mr. Trump's vote totals — as expected, Mr. Trump received 312 votes — before announcing, “Kamala D. Harris.'' ” announced the 226 votes it received in the third person.
Democrats cheered what could happen at that point. However, there were no objections from the Democratic Party to any part of the proceedings.
This year, and going forward, political parties that want to protest state results will have to clear a higher hurdle than they did for Trump supporters four years ago. The Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act was passed in 2022 primarily in response to the events of January 6, 2021.
Harris' political future is unclear, but there is speculation that she might run for governor of her home state of California in 2026, when Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom's term expires in 2026. He made some broad political points.
In a video released Monday morning, she emphasized that “the peaceful transfer of power is one of the most fundamental principles of American democracy.” It was an important indicator that “differentiates our system of governance from monarchies and tyrannies,” she added.
She reiterated that point in brief remarks to reporters after the ceremony, saying, “It was about what should be the norm and what the American people should be able to accept as a given.” .
“Today, American democracy has survived,” Harris concluded.
But despite the nice words, it must be upsetting for Harris that someone she believes has endangered American democracy has been re-elected. Trump did better in November than he had in either of the previous two elections. Although she won the popular vote against Harris, it was a feat she could not achieve against Hillary Clinton in 2016 or President Biden in 2020.
His recent victories were to some extent explainable by standard political factors. Harris was weighed down by the same millstone that hung around Biden's neck until she withdrew from the race, particularly voter concerns about immigration, inflation and the economy.
But Trump was elected in part because, for some voters, he succeeded in recasting the events of January 6, 2021, in a completely different light.
The president-elect calls protesters patriots. He has promised to pardon many of them when he takes power on January 20, and any effort to hold them legally accountable for his actions on and around that day is a sinister political move. He accused it of a conspiracy.
But President Trump on Monday avoided any mention of what happened four years ago on social media.
“Congress certifies a major election victory today. This is a huge moment in history. MAGA!” he wrote.
He quickly returned to business as usual on social media, trumpeting a “fake news” article in the Washington Post, claiming that Biden was trying to make the transition “as difficult as possible,” and possibly He suggested this mischievously. It's the same day that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his resignation and announced that Canada should merge with the United States.
But the question of how January 6, 2021 will look over time is a serious question as Trump prepares to take power again.
On Monday morning, the Justice Department released the latest numbers on prosecutions related to the four-year-old case.
The report noted that approximately 1,600 defendants were charged in federal cases, with more than 1,000 pleading guilty and more than 200 being convicted in contested trials.
In politics, Biden argued in an op-ed in the Washington Post on Sunday that Americans “should be proud that our democracy withstood this attack.” [in 2021]. And we should all be glad that we won't see another such shameful attack this year. But we must not forget. ”
On the same day, Mr. Biden told reporters, “I think what he did was a real threat to our democracy.'' We expect to exceed that. ”
But an old saying goes that history is written by the victors.
Trump's victory in November is evidence that many voters do not view his role in events four years ago as disqualifying.
Well, he will soon be back in power. And the relative calm that resulted from his certification of victory on Monday will almost certainly be replaced by new instability.
The Memo is a reported column by Niall Stanage.
