WASHINGTON – Donald Trump’s presidential win is going to be certified in Congress in January by the candidate he beat, Vice President Kamala Harris.
Under the Constitution, the vice president is the head of the Senate, and it's the role of the Senate president to declare the result of a White House election.
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That happens Jan. 6.
Under normal circumstances, the vote-tallying procedure performed by the vice president is a mere formality and it's the final step in the complicated technical process of electing a new administration.
For example, in 2000, after the grueling 36-day Florida recount battle, Democrat Al Gore conceded the presidency on Dec. 13 to Republican George W. Bush.
Gore, too, was the vice president, and he certified Bush’s win.
“The whole number of the electors appointed to vote for president of the United States is 538,” Gore said from the rostrum, going on to read off his own loss to Congress. “George W. Bush of the state of Texas has received for president of the United States 271 votes. Al Gore of the state of Tennessee has received 266 votes.”
But this nearly didn't happen four years ago.
Trump refused to accept defeat and sparked a violent insurrection at the Capitol, when then-Vice President Mike Pence was to certify Democrat Joe Biden's win. Trump's supporters chanted “Hang Mike Pence” as they ransacked Capitol offices.
Trump had wanted Pence to “do the right thing” and declare Trump the winner. Trump and his allies spent days in a futile bid trying to convince Pence that the vice president had the power to reject electors from battleground states that voted for Biden, even though the Constitution makes clear the vice president’s role in the joint session is largely ceremonial, much like a master of ceremonies.
Pence acknowledged that reality in a lengthy statement to Congress. He laid out his conclusion that a vice president cannot claim “unilateral authority” to reject states’ electoral votes. He gaveled in the joint session of Congress on Jan. 7, 2021, to certify for Biden.