Congress to certify Trump’s election win as storm hits Washington

Summary
Vice President Kamala Harris will preside over the session on Monday at the Capitol.WASHINGTON—Four years ago, a mutinous mob descended upon the Capitol, delaying the certification of President Biden’s win. On Monday, as lawmakers prepared to certify President-elect Donald Trump’s victory, the biggest challenge to the democratic process came not from political foes but the weather.
Washington woke to its first snowstorm of the winter on Monday, hamstringing a city not accustomed to navigating the drifts. Although local schools and the federal government were closed, the joint session of Congress scheduled for midday to certify the electoral vote was set to go ahead under heavy security measures.
Federal law requires Congress to convene for a joint session on Jan. 6 to count and ratify the 538 electoral votes certified by the 50 states and District of Columbia. The vice president, serving as president of the Senate, has the duty to count the votes. That means Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, will preside over the certification of the election she lost.
“As we have seen, our democracy can be fragile," Harris said in a video released Monday morning. “And it is up to each of us to stand up for our most cherished principles."
In late 2022, Congress passed legislation in response to the 2021 attack that makes it clear that the vice president’s role is merely to count the votes publicly and that he or she has no power to alter the results. On Jan. 6, 2021, Trump pressured then-Vice President Mike Pence to reject some electors unilaterally to block Biden’s win, but Pence refused.
Democrats said they had no plans to follow Republicans’ lead from four years earlier and contest the result. Trump had falsely claimed the 2020 election was stolen, including at a rally the day of the Capitol riot at the Ellipse.
“I suppose it would be poetic justice if the proceedings were delayed not by a blizzard of lies and violence, but just by a blizzard," said Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee. But, he said, Democrats wouldn’t be an impediment to the peaceful transfer of power. “We don’t take the position that every election is either a victory for us or it was stolen."
A spokesman for House Speaker Mike Johnson (R., La.) said Sunday that “the House intends to certify President Trump’s election tomorrow as scheduled in accordance with federal law."
On Sunday, Biden praised the Capitol Police for their role beating back the mob in 2021.
“Our democracy was really, literally put to the test, and thankfully, our democracy held," Biden said during a reception for new Democratic lawmakers on Sunday. “It’s a day that most of our history we took for granted, the sixth, but I hope we never take it for granted again."
On Jan. 6, 2021, a swarm of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol, climbing its walls, ransacking its offices and forcing the evacuation of lawmakers as they worked to certify Biden’s electoral win. Lawmakers returned to the Capitol to complete the certification in the early-morning hours of the following day.
Later that month, the House impeached Trump for a second time, alleging he encouraged the mob to attack the Capitol. He was acquitted by the Senate.
Trump has said he is considering pardoning as early as his first day in office some of the more than 1,500 people who have been charged in connection with the Jan. 6 riot. A Trump transition spokeswoman has said Trump will make all pardon decisions on a case-by-case basis.
Some Republicans have indicated uneasiness in the past over Trump potentially pardoning Jan. 6 rioters who assaulted the police.
“That’s ultimately going to be a decision that President Trump is going to have to make," Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R., S.D.) said in an NBC interview aired Sunday.
In order to make it to the Capitol on Monday amid the snow, some lawmakers had chosen to remain in Washington over the weekend, rather than risk traveling home, colleagues said. Others had taken precautions to ensure their attendance.
Rep. Gerry Connolly of Virginia, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, said he had arranged to get a ride with a staffer whose car has four-wheel drive.
“I’m going to be there for sure," he said. “It will reset the model of certification that should’ve been the model four years ago."
Monday’s snowy proceedings posed an inconvenience to another constituency: school children.
One of Washington’s best sledding hills—from the west side of the House chamber down toward the U.S. Botanic Garden—isn’t open to the public because of the security measures surrounding the certification and inauguration.
Catherine Lucey and Richard Rubin contributed to this article.
Write to Kristina Peterson at kristina.peterson@wsj.com