January 6, 2025
And just like that Donald Trump’s electoral victory is certified.
You see Vice President Harris – in her role as the President of the Senate standing there next to House Speaker Mike Johnson overseeing the process.
Elected officials from the House and the Senate got up and formally read off each state and the electoral votes awarded to either Trump or Harris as decided on election day.
There were no objections. No lawmakers challenged any of the electoral votes. So once they were announced, Trump’s victory was pronounced in front of a joint session of the House and the Senate.
Look – this is how it’s supposed to be. This January 6th event is supposed to be boring and ceremonial. In fact, prior to January 6 2021, no one really even paid attention to this event. It’s a wonky constitutional duty that for decades has been uneventful. Yes – lawmakers have challenged slates of electors in the past but in the end – the presidential victories as they were decided by the people on election day have always won out.
And yes – the Vice President is required to oversee this process. Win or lose it is the Vice President’s job to stand there and make this announcement. Just like Mike Pence oversaw his loss with Donald Trump in 2020. And just like Al Gore had to oversee his loss to George W Bush.
The next event will be Trump’s inauguration on January 20th.
