Despite the winter storm that socked Washington, D.C. over the weekend, a Joint Session of Congress convened Monday to certify the outcome of the 2024 presidential election. With the storm impending, Members of Congress were asked to stay in town over the weekend, and many did so.
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As provided by law, at 1:35 p.m. Eastern, without objection, the 119th Congress formally counted the votes of the Electoral College, and, having received 312 electoral votes, Donald Trump was certified as the 47th President of the United States. Vice President Kamala Harris presided over the session — something that places her in a somewhat exclusive (albeit not enviable) club.
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The Electoral Count Act was initially enacted in 1887 and later codified in 3 U.S. Code § 15. The aim of the act was to set out the proper procedure for counting electoral votes after a presidential election. Given the controversy surrounding certification in 2021, the Act was further amended in 2022 to clarify the process (and, truth be told, as a slap back at President-elect Donald Trump, most of which is largely moot in light of his November 5 win of both the Electoral College and the popular vote).
While there was some concern about protests or unrest around the Capitol on Monday, the winter weather helped place a bit of a damper on that. Then, too, there doesn’t seem to be as much appetite for such this go-round.
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No sledding on Capitol Hill today for the kids because of all of the extra security for January 6 and election certification. pic.twitter.com/DmjGAqZUet
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) January 6, 2025
This appears to come as a disappointment to some in the media.
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The reelection of Mike Johnson (R-LA) as Speaker of the House on Friday — on the first vote, surprising some — cemented the fact that certification would proceed on January 6 and that the expectation of President-elect Trump — and the millions of Americans who voted for him to have a second term — is that the president and Congress will hit the ground running come Inauguration Day.
