*** Election Certification Livewire *** Congress Convenes in Snowstorm to Certify Trump’s Historic Election
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Congress assembled Monday with snow and security personnel swirling around the Capitol to officially certify President-elect Donald Trump’s historic political comeback.
The counting of votes certified by each of the 50 states in December will make Trump’s 312 electoral vote romp official only two weeks before Inauguration Day.
The ceremony represents a monumental victory for Trump, who will follow the proceedings from Mar-a-Lago as he continues preparing for his post-inauguration sprint.
“CONGRESS CERTIFIES OUR GREAT ELECTION VICTORY TODAY — A BIG MOMENT IN HISTORY. MAGA!” an ebullient Trump posted Monday morning on Truth Social.
The Capitol complex, almost empty due to a rare heavy snowstorm in Washington, is blocked off by barriers in a security perimeter extending for blocks. No crowds will assemble to cheer, and no protesters or even tourists will be allowed anywhere near the Capitol.
The process and schedule are largely dictated by law and precedent, although the process was altered by the Electoral Count Act of 2022. Still, unexpected fireworks are possible.
Each chamber will briefly gavel in at noon. At 12:40 p.m. Eastern, Senators will convene in the Senate chamber before walking south through the Capitol to the House chamber.
The Joint Session of Congress begins at 1:00 p.m. Eastern. Vice President Kamala Harris will preside over the certification of Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance’s victory.
Harris’s ceremonial role in rubber stamping Trump’s victory, cementing her own loss, may be her lasting political legacy in a decades-long political career.
Electoral ballots are certified alphabetically by state. Each certificate will be opened and inspected by four “tellers” – two from each chamber.
Members of Congress can challenge each state’s electoral votes at this point. But unlike in past years, when only one member of the House and one member from the Senate were required in order to pause proceedings, an objection must be submitted in writing and signed by at least one-fifth of the House as well as one-fifth of the Senate.
That’s a high bar, and the grounds for objecting were also narrowed by the Electoral Count Act.
Harris’s role as Vice President will be “solely ministerial.” She will have no authority to influence the outcome. Her main contribution will be announcing the outcome after the official tally.
The process is expected to take about an hour, absent theatrics from Democrats.
There are strong signs Democrats will take a pass on objecting to the count. But Democrats have a long history of objecting after Republican victories, having done so after every Republican presidential victory beginning in 2000.
That history is unlikely to stop Democrat efforts to portray themselves as taking the moral high ground.
But don’t count out individual Democrats, most likely from the rowdy ranks of the House Democratic Caucus, causing a scene. It was only 15 months ago that former Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) pulled a fire alarm in a House office building, delaying a critical government spending vote.
Bowman is gone, defeated last year in a bruising primary. But many of his colleagues in the Squad remain. And new members of the caucus might look to make a name for themselves in the early days of Democrat resistance to Trump and his Republican majorities on Capitol Hill.
Regardless of any potential Democrat shenanigans, the day represents a significant victory for Trump and his movement, and joyful congressional Republicans, if only for a time, will unite to celebrate making their governing trifecta official.
UPDATE 12:43 p.m. ET:
A quorum (majority plus one) of each of the two chambers is required today. The snowstorm has created travel difficulties, but while some members may be stranded at home, quorums are expected to be met easily. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) requested members remain in Washington over the weekend (the House Republican Conference met Saturday to discuss budget reconciliation strategy), although many went home and may not be here. Democrat attendance is likely to be spottier, but again, there appears little chance a quorum will not be easily met.
UPDATE 12:36 p.m. ET:
House members have begun trickling into the House chamber, with a dozen or so, mostly Republicans, already seated. We’re still 20 minutes or so from the joint session beginning, but the room will fill up soon.
Bradley Jaye is a Capitol Hill Correspondent for Breitbart News. Follow him on X/Twitter at @BradleyAJaye.