Kamala Harris’ bitter pill to swallow: Certifying Trump’s victory... on January 6

To proceed with the certification of the new president, Section 15 of Chapter 3, Title 1 of the U.S. Code states: “Congress shall be in session on the sixth day of January succeeding every meeting of the electors. The Senate and House of Representatives shall meet in the Hall of the House of Representatives at the hour of 1 o’clock in the afternoon on that day, and the President of the Senate shall be their presiding officer.”

These electors are the representatives of each state responsible for affirming that the Republican candidate, Donald Trump, has comfortably secured a second term in the White House — four years after inciting thousands of his supporters to storm the Capitol as Joe Biden’s 2020 victory was being certified. By law, the President of the Senate is the vice president — in this case, Kamala Harris.

Thus, on January 6 — the fourth anniversary of the Capitol attack — Kamala Harris has a bitter pill to swallow: certifying her opponent’s victory in the election. Not often does a vice president — who ran as a presidential candidate — have to preside over the confirmation of their rival’s win. A similar situation occurred to Al Gore, Bill Clinton’s vice president, when he lost the 2000 election to George W. Bush after an agonizing recount. Richard Nixon also experienced this, after losing to John F. Kennedy in 1960. However, Nixon had the consolation of playing the opposite role on January 6, 1969, when Hubert Humphrey — another vice president who, like Harris, had to campaign swiftly after Lyndon Johnson’s resignation — certified Nixon’s victory. Humphrey, however, chose to skip that day in Congress.

In none of these cases had the winner previously been president. And certainly, none of them saw their victory certified on the fourth anniversary of a day when, after weeks of refusing to accept his defeat — a defeat acknowledged by dozens of judges in every jurisdiction where it was challenged — the losing candidate called a rally in Washington.

At the end of that rally, thousands of Trump supporters marched from the south of the White House to the Capitol, and violently stormed the building. On January 6, 2021, at least 140 officers were injured, and one police officer and three rioters lost their lives, all while Trump remained in the White House, watching the chaos unfold on television without doing anything.

Not only that: Kamala Harris, then a senator from California and vice president-elect, was at the Capitol earlier that day for a House Intelligence Committee meeting, and then left. On the first anniversary of the attack, she recalled that dark day for American democracy in a speech: “My thoughts immediately turned not only to my colleagues, but to my staff, who had been forced to seek refuge in our office, converting filing cabinets into barricades. [...] On January 6th, we all saw what our nation would look like if the forces who seek to dismantle our democracy are successful. The lawlessness, the violence, the chaos.”

“Hang Mike Pence!”

The most symbolic rally of the Harris campaign, attended by around 75,000 people, took place in the same location where Trump had told his supporters: “We fight like hell. And if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore.” He also said: “I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard.”

The Trump supporters wanted to stop the certification of Joe Biden’s victory, and had a clear target: the vice president, Mike Pence. For days, Trump had been pressuring Pence to stop Congress from certifying the results. “Mike Pence, I hope you’re going to stand up for the good of our Constitution and for the good of our country. And if you’re not, I’m going to be very disappointed in you. I will tell you right now,” Trump said from the stage before the riot.

While the law clearly stated that Pence did not have the power to stop the process, it did not stop Trump’s followers from marching down Pennsylvania Avenue, chanting: “Hang Mike Pence!”

These events were the subject of an investigation by a bipartisan House commission (seven Democrats and two Republicans), which conducted over 1,000 interviews, reviewed more than a million documents, and subpoenaed roughly 100 witnesses over 18 months. The investigation concluded with a voluminous report that stated: “The central cause of January 6th was one man, former president Donald Trump, who many others followed. None of the events of January 6th would have happened without him.”

Harris, Biden, and other prominent Democratic leaders have promised to facilitate a peaceful transition of power. On January 6, Congress will certify the results of the 2024 election in which Trump won 312 electoral votes, far more than the 270 needed to form government. Just three years ago, in February 2021, the House voted to impeach Trump for the Capitol insurrection, but was acquitted by the Senate.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries was one of the politicians who voted to impeach Trump, and has since referred to the president-elect as “insurrectionist in chief.” Many of Trump’s opponents also championed a legal theory — unanimously struck down by the Supreme Court — that the 14th Amendment to the Constitution bars the Republican from running again due to his role in the Capitol attack.

Another member of Congress who will be in the spotlight on January 6, 2025, is Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. He announced months ago that he would step down as the Republican leader in the Senate when the new Senate members are sworn in, though he will remain a senator until 2027. After the Trumpist assault, McConnell declared: “It was a violent insurrection.” He added: “The mob was fed lies [about the 2020 election being stolen]. They were provoked by the president and other powerful people.” Despite this, McConnell voted against impeachment.

The recent publication of a book by AP journalist Michael Tackett has shed light on McConnell’s private thoughts during those days. He described Trump as “stupid,” “ill-tempered,” a “despicable human being,” and a “narcissist.” Upon learning of Trump’s new victory, McConnell, in another of his intellectual pirouettes, told reporters it was “certainly a happy day for the GOP.”

Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAÍS USA Edition