USA. Congress approved the election of Donald Trump as president. Four years after the storming of the Capitol

The meeting formally ends the process of electing the president USA.

Led by Kamala Harris – who as vice president also serves as president of the Senate – members of Congress from both parties opened mahogany boxes containing the certificates of electoral votes from each state (in alphabetical order) and District Colombia. After counting them, the moderator Harris announced the victory of her rival in this year's race for the White House, Donald Trumpwhich won 312 votes to 226 for the Democratic candidate.

Monday's procedure – like every four years on January 6 – was held for the first time according to the new law adopted by Congress to avoid the chaos and uncertainty from four years ago and to make it more difficult to raise objections to the votes. According to the new law, for a protest to be considered, it must have the support of not one congressman or senator, but 1/5 of the deputies of both houses (20 senators and 87 members of the House of Representatives).

The act also confirmed and clarified the ceremonial role of the vice president, in response to pressure from Donald Trump and his supporters on Vice President Pence to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

So far, such formal objections have only been raised twice in history. In 2021, Trump supporters protested vote certificates from Pennsylvania and Arizona, but they were rejected by both houses by vote – although this happened after the attack on the Capitol by Trump supporters.

Earlier, in 2005, George W. Bush's victory in Ohio was challenged by two Democratic politicians, but their protest was also rejected in the same way.

In the attack on the Capitol by Donald Trump's supporters on January 6, 2021 – or shortly thereafter – five people, including a police officer, were killed and more than 140 officers were injured. Following the riot, one of the largest federal investigations in U.S. history was launched. Over the next less than four years – as stated in the announcement of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia (Washington) on November 6, 2024 – 1,561 people were charged with federal charges, courts resolved the cases of over a thousand defendants, and 645 of them received prison sentences.

SEE ALSO: Former Proud Boys leaders convicted of attacking the Capitol

Although this year's meeting was not marred by the same controversy and tension as in 2021, Capitol Police and city officials took enhanced security measures, erecting tall metal fences around Capitol Hill. The meeting took place despite the snowstorm forecast, which is expected to bring up to 60 centimeters of snow. Before the storm hit, it was decided to close all other federal offices in Washington.

The announcement of Donald Trump's victory by Congress is the last formal step before the new president is sworn in. The inauguration of Trump's second term will begin at noon on January 20.