On January 6th, the outgoing president Joe Biden condemned the Capitol attack which happened the same day in 2021.

“We should be proud that our democracy withstood this assault…And we should be glad we will not see such a shameful attack again this year,” Biden wrote, in an opinion post in The Washington Post.

Biden noted that the certification would proceed peacefully without the violence seen in 2021, and highlighted the contrast between that chaotic day and the orderly transition planned for this year.

However, President-elect Donald Trump does not believe so.

US President-elect Donald Trump has publicly accused President Joe Biden of intentionally making the presidential transition difficult, citing recent executive orders on climate change and other official acts taken during Biden’s final weeks in office.

Trump, who is set to be sworn in as the 47th President of the United States on January 20, claimed that Biden is doing everything possible to hinder the transition process.

“Biden is doing everything possible to make the TRANSITION as difficult as possible”, he specifically mentioned “Lawfare” and “costly and ridiculous Executive Orders” on climate change, which he dubbed the “Green New Scam”.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump reassured his supporters that these executive orders would be terminated shortly, and that his administration would prioritise “Common Sense and Strength”. He also vowed to undo Biden’s recent executive orders, including the ban on drilling for oil and natural gas off most of America’s coastline.

Biden’s decision to block new drilling off the entire East Coast, as well as California, Oregon, and Washington state, was made just two weeks before Trump’s inauguration. Trump has promised to promote domestic energy production, and it remains unclear whether he will be able to reverse Biden’s decision on oil drilling.

Despite Trump’s claims that Biden’s White House has not been cooperative during the transition, his incoming chief of staff Susie Wiles has stated that the White House has been helpful. Wiles praised White House chief of staff Jeff Zients for his professionalism and assistance in navigating the transition process.

The Trump transition team has reached agreements on matters such as background checks for incoming officials, despite some Republicans expressing concerns about the quartet of criminal cases lodged against Trump.
 

Vice President Kamala Harris reads the results as House Speaker Mike Johnson listens during a joint session of Congress to confirm the Electoral College votes, affirming President-elect Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election, on January 6, 2025, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington.
| Photo Credit: AP

The U.S. Congress formally certified Republican President-elect Donald Trump’s November election victory over Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, clearing the way for him to be sworn in on January 20.

The certification of the election results on Monday (January 6, 2025) in the 50 states and the District of Columbia was accomplished in a brief, formal ceremony during a joint session of the House of Representatives and Senate. It was presided over by Ms. Harris, acting in her vice-presidential role as president of the Senate.

The quadrennial ritual stood in sharp contrast to four years ago when a mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in a failed bid to block the certification of then-President Trump’s 2020 loss to Democratic President Joe Biden.

Mr. Trump continues to falsely claim that his 2020 defeat was the result of widespread fraud, and had warned throughout his 2024 campaign that he harboured similar concerns until his November 5 defeat of Ms. Harris.

“Congress certifies our great election victory today – a big moment in history. MAGA!” Mr. Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social on Monday (January 6, 2025).

The joint session of Congress proceeded even as a winter storm hovered over the nation’s capital, dropping about 15 cm of snow and snarling travel.

The final certification backed up preliminary findings that Mr. Trump won 312 Electoral College votes to Ms. Harris’s 226.

Republicans control White House, Congress

Republicans also captured a majority in the U.S. Senate and held a narrow edge in the House in November’s election, which will give Mr. Trump the party support he needs to implement his planned agenda of tax cuts and a crackdown on immigrants living in the country illegally.

Democrats did not try to block certification of Mr. Trump’s victory on Monday (January 6, 2025).

“We must renew our commitment to safeguarding American democracy,” No. 2 House Democrat Katherine Clark said in a statement earlier in the day. “As elected leaders, our loyalty must be to the Constitution, first and always. We are here to honour the will of the people and the rule of law.”

Security inside and outside the Capitol was heightened in preparation for the certification and was expected to remain in place through Mr. Trump’s swearing-in.

The Capitol grounds were ringed by metal fences hundreds of yards from the U.S. Capitol, and accessible only via checkpoints guarded by uniformed police officers.

Convoys of black police vehicles were on hand, led by a 10-wheel Baltimore police mobile command centre. New York Police Department reinforcements were also patrolling the area.

Inside, extra teams of uniformed U.S. Capitol Police officers were checking IDs at entrance sites including doors and underground tunnels leading to the House and Senate chambers.

Mr. Trump has said he plans to pardon some of the more than 1,500 people charged with taking part in the January 6, 2021, assault on the Capitol, when a mob fought with police, smashing its way in through windows and doors and chanting, “Hang Mike Pence,” referring to Mr. Trump’s then-Vice President, in a failed bid to stop Congress from certifying Mr. Biden’s victory.

In the 2021 melee at the Capitol, rioters surged past police barricades, assaulting about 140 officers and causing more than $2.8 million in damage. Multiple police officers who battled protesters died in the weeks that followed, some by suicide.

As a result of that day’s violence, Congress passed legislation late in 2022 bolstering guardrails to ensure that the certification process is administered in a legal manner.

Many of these changes were directly in response to Trump’s actions leading up to and including January 6, 2021. For example, the new law asserts that the vice president’s role is largely ceremonial.