US Vice-President Kamala Harris will oversee the official certification of the results from November’s presidential election in Congress on Monday — which she lost to Donald Trump.
This date also marks the fourth anniversary of the Capitol riot when Trump’s supporters attempted to disrupt the certification of Democratic President Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election.
Trump’s victory represents a remarkable political resurgence following his electoral defeat 2020, along with a criminal conviction in 2024 — the first involving a current or former U.S. president.
Out of office, he has been embroiled in numerous legal battles, including those connected to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results, which he continues to contest. After his loss in 2020, Trump and his supporters made unfounded claims of extensive voter fraud, asserting that the election had been stolen.
In his address in Washington, D.C., on the day of certification, January 6, 2021, Trump urged the audience to “fight like hell” while calling for them to “peacefully” express their opinions. He pressured his vice president, Mike Pence, to invalidate the election outcome, which Pence declined.
The rioters subsequently broke through barricades and vandalised the Capitol building before Trump eventually intervened, instructing them to disperse. Several fatalities were attributed to the ensuing violence.
Trump has stated that he intends to pardon individuals convicted of crimes related to the incident, claiming that many are “wrongfully imprisoned,” although he has admitted that “a couple of them, probably they got out of control.”
In Washington, D.C., stringent security measures are in effect, and Biden has promised that there will be no recurrence of the violence witnessed on January 6, 2021, which resulted in multiple deaths.
As the current vice president, Harris is mandated by the U.S. Constitution to formally oversee the certification process after Trump defeated her in the nationwide election held on November 5.
Trump secured victories in all seven battleground states, thus ensuring his win in the electoral college — the system used to determine the presidency. On Monday, Harris will be responsible for announcing the total electoral college votes garnered by each candidate.
Trump’s second term will commence following his inauguration on January 20. For the first time since 2017, the president’s party will hold a narrow majority in both houses of Congress.
