Harris says ‘democracy can be fragile’ as she prepares to certify Trump’s election victory – US politics live

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Four years ago, the joint session of Congress to certify Joe Biden’s election victory was disrupted by an insurrection carried out by violent supporters of Donald Trump, who unsuccessfully tried to prevent the Democrat from taking office.

But before the evening was over, dozens of Republican lawmakers also made futile attempts to formally object to the certification of Biden’s election victory in key states. Smaller groups of Democrats had done the same in the past, such as when Trump’s first victory was certified in 2017, also to no avail.

Objecting to the count of electoral votes is less about preventing a president from taking office, and more about signaling opposition to an incoming administration. This year, there are no signs that any Democrats will object to Trump’s election victory.

“House Democrats are not election deniers. That sentiment speaks for itself,” House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries told Semafor, when asked if any of his lawmakers would today lodge objections to Trump’s win.

Biden warns against attempts to rewrite history of January 6 insurrection

Writing in the Washington Post, Joe Biden said the violent insurrection carried out by Donald Trump’s supporters four years ago should not be forgotten, even as he pledges to smoothly transfer power to his resurgent predecessor:

An unrelenting effort has been underway to rewrite — even erase — the history of that day. To tell us we didn’t see what we all saw with our own eyes. To dismiss concerns about it as some kind of partisan obsession. To explain it away as a protest that just got out of hand.

This is not what happened.

In time, there will be Americans who didn’t witness the Jan. 6 riot firsthand but will learn about it from footage and testimony of that day, from what is written in history books and from the truth we pass on to our children. We cannot allow the truth to be lost.

Thousands of rioters crossed the National Mall and climbed the Capitol walls, smashing windows and kicking down doors. Just blocks away, a bomb was found near the location of the incoming vice president, threatening her life. Law enforcement officials were beaten, dragged, knocked unconscious and stomped upon. Some police officers ultimately died as a result.

As president-elect that day, I spoke to the country and called for peace, and for the certification to resume.

Four years later, leaving office, I am determined to do everything I can to respect the peaceful transfer of power and restore the traditions we have long respected in America. The election will be certified peacefully. I have invited the incoming president to the White House on the morning of Jan. 20, and I will be present for his inauguration that afternoon.

Trump says election certification 'A BIG MOMENT IN HISTORY'

Over on Truth Social, Donald Trump had this to say about Congress’s upcoming certification of his election victory:

CONGRESS CERTIFIES OUR GREAT ELECTION VICTORY TODAY — A BIG MOMENT IN HISTORY. MAGA!

The president-elect also posted what looks like a picture of the crowd gathered for his first inauguration – the size of which he famously exaggerated:

Harris says 'democracy can be fragile' as she prepares to certify Trump's election victory

Today’s joint session of Congress to certify Donald Trump’s election victory will be presided over by vice-president Kamala Harris, in her ceremonial capacity as president of the Senate.

Harris, of course, was Trump’s opponent in the November presidential election, and is now tasked with making official his victory. Such a scenario has played out before – Al Gore certified his opponent George W Bush’s victory in 2001, and Richard Nixon did the same for John F Kennedy in 1961.

In a video released earlier today, Harris said she was honored to play a part in the peaceful transfer of power between American presidents, while nodding to the January 6 insurrection four years ago. Here’s what she had to say:

Congress to certify Trump's election victory four years after Capitol insurrection

Good morning, US politics blog readers. It is January 6, the legally designated day when the Senate and House of Representatives convene in a joint session to certify the results of the presidential election – in this case, Donald Trump’s victory two months ago. Today’s meeting comes four years after the then-president’s supporters stormed the Capitol after he addressed them outside the White House, a historic attack that Trump’s successor, Joe Biden, tried and ultimately failed to have him prosecuted over. There’s no sign that a repeat of those events will take place this year. Washington DC is socked in by a snowstorm that’s snarled roads across parts of the east coast and midwest, the Capitol is under heavy guard, and, unlike the Republicans who in 2021 tried to used procedural moves to block Biden from taking office, no congressional Democrats have signaled plans to object to Trump’s re-election during the session.

The session is set to begin at 1pm ET, with Kamala Harris presiding in her role as president of the Senate. Once Trump’s victory is certified, it will clear the way for his inauguration two weeks from today, on 20 January.

Here’s what else is happening today:

• Trump on Sunday said he will support efforts by Republicans in Congress to pass one massive piece of legislation that will enact many of his campaign promises, including better fortifying the country’s borders and removing taxes on tips. There had been some debate among the GOP over whether to split those priorities up into separate bills, but with that decided (for now), expect Republicans to spend the next several months getting that legislation through Congress.

• Biden wrote on opinion piece for the Washington Post, in which he encouraged Americans not to forget the insurrection that took place four years ago today.

• Seven US states in the midwest and east coast have declared emergencies as a big winter storm blows through. Follow our live blog for the latest.