Congress certifies results of US presidential election

(JNS) — Absent the violence, controversy and false claims of election fraud of four years ago but amid tighter security, Congress certified the electoral vote count on Jan. 6 that made Donald Trump the 47th president of the United States.

This time around, no one in Congress rose to object to the votes, no one claimed the election was stolen, no one filed lawsuits to throw out the ballots, no one planned rallies to demand that the results be overturned and no one claimed the vice president could unilaterally reject state-certified electoral votes.

But the reminders of 2021 were there, as fencing was put up around the Capitol complex and more law enforcement personnel were in place, a result of the insurrection by pro-Trump supporters that took place four years ago, as Congress attempted to certify the victory of Joe Biden.

“Congress certifies our great election victory today—a big moment in history,” Trump said on his social media site, Truth Social.

When he is inaugurated on Jan. 20, Trump will become only the second person in U.S. history to serve two non-consecutive terms as president. The other was Grover Cleveland, the 22nd and 24th chief executive.

Harris, who lost the election in November to Trump, presided over the proceedings, joining Richard Nixon in 1960 and Al Gore in 2000, who also certified their own losses in presidential races.

It took lawmakers about half an hour to certify Trump’s victory over Vice President Kamala Harris, 312 electoral votes to 226.