US president-elect Donald Trump has had his victory certified by his defeated rival, Kamala Harris.
Under the tightest national security level, Ms Harris, who lost to Mr Trump following November’s election, presided over the certification of the 78-year-old Republican’s victory in Congress.
After Congress went through all the certificates for the 50 US states and Washington DC, it certified the election of Mr Trump and his running mate JD Vance.
Cheers broke out in the chamber as Ms Harris announced the tally of the electoral votes, with Mr Trump receiving 312, while her candidacy, launched following outgoing President Joe Biden’s decision in July to withdraw from the race, got 226.
In stark contrast to the certification of Mr Trump’s defeat against Mr Biden four years ago, when the Republican’s supporters stormed Capitol Hill to try and block the process, Ms Harris smiled tightly as she announced her rival’s victory – and as Republicans gave a standing ovation.
She ended the process, which lasted less than 30 minutes, saying: “The chair declares this joint session dissolved. Thank you”.
Ahead of senators and representatives gathering for the event, the outgoing vice president described her role in the certification as a “sacred obligation” to ensure the peaceful transfer of power.
Five people died in the hours and days following the riots on 6 January 2021, including a Trump supporter who was shot by Capitol police and one officer, Brian Sicknick, who was attacked as he responded.
His death was later attributed to the natural causes.
A further four police officers who responded to the riots took their own lives in the following months.
Ms Harris joined a short list of other vice presidents to oversee the ceremonial confirmation of their election loss as part of their role of presiding over the Senate.
In a video message earlier today, Ms Harris said: “As we have seen, our democracy can be fragile.
“And it is up to each of us to stand up for our most cherished principles.”
Mr Trump posted on his social media platform Truth Social today saying: “Congress certifies our great election victory today – a big moment in history. MAGA!”
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