Congress will convene Monday in a joint session to certify Donald Trump’s return to the presidency following his decisive victory in the 2024 election, the Associated Press reported.
The session, a constitutionally mandated formality, is the final step in officially affirming the president-elect after the Electoral College vote in December. Vice President Kamala Harris, who was defeated in the election, will preside over the proceedings in her capacity as Senate president—a ceremonial role underscoring her concession.
This year’s certification marks a stark departure from the chaos of Januaru 6, 2021, when a violent mob stormed the Capitol in an effort to overturn Trump’s loss to Joe Biden.
During the session, members of Congress will open sealed electoral vote certificates from each state. Bipartisan tellers will read the results aloud before officially tallying the votes. Harris will then announce Trump’s victory, with a final count of 312 to 226 electoral votes.
The process follows changes introduced in the 2022 revision of the Electoral Count Act, which clarified the vice president’s limited role in certifying electoral votes. The updated law also raised the threshold for objections to the results, requiring written support from one-fifth of each chamber, making challenges less likely.
If objections meet the threshold, the session would pause for separate debates and votes in the House and Senate. However, such a scenario is not anticipated this year given Trump’s clear win.
Following Monday’s certification, Trump is set to be inaugurated on January 20 on the Capitol’s west front. Harris has publicly conceded the election, paving the way for what is expected to be a routine and controversy-free session.