Harris will confirm that Trump has won the US election, four years after the Capitol riot

The certification, scheduled for Monday at 1 p.m., is usually a symbol of America’s commitment to a peaceful transfer of power, despite partisan differences.

But this time, he became an emblem of Trump’s extraordinary political turnaround and complete takeover of the Republican Party.

Trump marked the moment on Truth Social, writing: “Congress today affirms our great election victory – a great moment in history.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson vowed to proceed with the certification despite the weather, telling Fox News: “Whether we’re in a blizzard or not, we’re going to be in that chamber to make sure it gets done.”

Harris, meanwhile, vowed to “do my constitutional duty as vice president to confirm the results of the 2024 election.”

“This position is a sacred obligation — one I will fulfill based on love of country, loyalty to our Constitution, and unwavering faith in the American people,” he said.

Usually, the vice president does not need to declare such an intention. The US Constitution requires the January 6 presidential election to be approved and the vice president to oversee the vote.

But the last time the US Congress convened to confirm the US president-elect, the vote was delayed for several hours as window-smashing rioters, fueled by the mistaken belief that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump, beat their way through the ranks. police officers stormed the US House of Representatives and ransacked then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office.

In a speech in Washington that day, before the violence erupted, Trump told the crowd to “fight like hell” and asked them to make their voices heard “in a peaceful way.”

Lawmakers, including Republicans, were forced to hide in the basement, and Capitol staff hid wherever they could find shelter. Trump’s then-Vice President, Mike Pence, went into hiding as rioters set up a gallows on Capitol Square and called for him to be hanged for refusing to inaccurately certify the results in Trump’s favor.