Harris says ‘democracy might be fragile’ as she prepares to certify Trump’s election victory
As we speak’s joint session of Congress to certify Donald Trump’s election victory shall be presided over by vice-president Kamala Harris, in her ceremonial capability as president of the Senate.
Harris, in fact, was Trump’s opponent within the November presidential election, and is now tasked with making official his victory. Such a situation has performed out earlier than – Al Gore licensed his opponent George W Bush’s victory in 2001, and Richard Nixon did the identical for John F Kennedy in 1961.
In a video launched earlier at the moment, Harris stated she was honored to play an element within the peaceable switch of energy between American presidents, whereas nodding to the January 6 revolt 4 years in the past. Right here’s what she needed to say:
As we speak, I’ll carry out my constitutional obligation as Vice President to certify the outcomes of the 2024 election. This obligation is a sacred obligation — one I’ll uphold guided by love of nation, loyalty to our Structure, and unwavering religion within the American individuals. pic.twitter.com/w21HzdNxGs
— Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP) January 6, 2025
Key occasions
Trump asks decide to pause sentencing in hush cash case
Attorneys for Donald Trump have requested a New York decide to delay the president-elect’s Friday sentencing in his case on costs associated to falsifying enterprise data to hide hush cash funds, the Related Press experiences.
Decide Juan Merchan final week scheduled Trump’s sentencing for 10 January however signaled he was unlikely to ship him to jail. The president-elect was convicted final 12 months on 34 costs associated to concealing a cost to an grownup movie actor forward of his 2016 election victory.
The AP experiences that Trump’s attorneys have stated they plan to attraction Merchan’s choice, and have requested the decide to place the sentencing on maintain whereas their movement performs out. Right here’s extra:
Trump’s attorneys stated they plan to ask a state appeals court docket to reverse Decide Juan M. Merchan’s choice final week, which set the case for sentencing on Friday — little over per week earlier than he’s sworn in for his second time period.
In a pair of rulings in current weeks, Merchan rejected Trump’s bid to throw out the decision and dismiss the indictment on presidential immunity grounds and due to his impending return to the White Home.
In a choice final week, the decide signaled he isn’t prone to sentence Trump, a Republican, to any punishment for his historic conviction on 34 felony counts of falsifying enterprise data. Acknowledging the calls for of the transition course of, he had given Trump the choice to attend in individual or seem just about by video.
Trump’s attorneys argued in court docket papers Monday that their deliberate attraction to the Appellate Division of the state’s trial court docket triggers what’s generally known as an automated keep, or pause, within the proceedings. If that doesn’t occur, they argued, Merchan ought to then grant a pause and stop sentencing from taking place on Friday as scheduled.
“As we speak, President Trump’s authorized crew moved to cease the illegal sentencing within the Manhattan D.A.’s Witch Hunt,” Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung stated. “The Supreme Courtroom’s historic choice on Immunity, the state structure of New York, and different established authorized precedent mandate that this meritless hoax be instantly dismissed.”
4 years in the past, the joint session of Congress to certify Joe Biden’s election victory was disrupted by an revolt carried out by violent supporters of Donald Trump, who unsuccessfully tried to stop the Democrat from taking workplace.
However earlier than the night was over, dozens of Republican lawmakers additionally made futile makes an attempt to formally object to the certification of Biden’s election victory in key states. Smaller teams of Democrats had executed the identical prior to now, equivalent to when Trump’s first victory was licensed in 2017, additionally to no avail.
Objecting to the rely of electoral votes is much less about stopping a president from taking workplace, and extra about signaling opposition to an incoming administration. This 12 months, there aren’t any indicators that any Democrats will object to Trump’s election victory.
“Home Democrats aren’t election deniers. That sentiment speaks for itself,” Home minority chief Hakeem Jeffries instructed Semafor, when requested if any of his lawmakers would at the moment lodge objections to Trump’s win.
Biden warns in opposition to makes an attempt to rewrite historical past of January 6 revolt
Writing within the Washington Put up, Joe Biden stated the violent revolt carried out by Donald Trump’s supporters 4 years in the past shouldn’t be forgotten, whilst he pledges to easily switch energy to his resurgent predecessor:
An unrelenting effort has been underway to rewrite — even erase — the historical past of that day. To inform us we didn’t see what all of us noticed with our personal eyes. To dismiss issues about it as some sort of partisan obsession. To elucidate it away as a protest that simply obtained out of hand.
This isn’t what occurred.
In time, there shall be Individuals who didn’t witness the Jan. 6 riot firsthand however will find out about it from footage and testimony of that day, from what’s written in historical past books and from the reality we go on to our kids. We can not permit the reality to be misplaced.
1000’s of rioters crossed the Nationwide Mall and climbed the Capitol partitions, smashing home windows and kicking down doorways. Simply blocks away, a bomb was discovered close to the placement of the incoming vice chairman, threatening her life. Regulation enforcement officers had been overwhelmed, dragged, knocked unconscious and stomped upon. Some cops in the end died consequently.
As president-elect that day, I spoke to the nation and known as for peace, and for the certification to renew.
4 years later, leaving workplace, I’m decided to do every little thing I can to respect the peaceable switch of energy and restore the traditions we’ve lengthy revered in America. The election shall be licensed peacefully. I’ve invited the incoming president to the White Home on the morning of Jan. 20, and I shall be current for his inauguration that afternoon.
Trump says election certification ‘A BIG MOMENT IN HISTORY’
Over on Fact Social, Donald Trump had this to say about Congress’s upcoming certification of his election victory:
CONGRESS CERTIFIES OUR GREAT ELECTION VICTORY TODAY — A BIG MOMENT IN HISTORY. MAGA!
The president-elect additionally posted what appears like an image of the gang gathered for his first inauguration – the scale of which he famously exaggerated:
Harris says ‘democracy might be fragile’ as she prepares to certify Trump’s election victory
As we speak’s joint session of Congress to certify Donald Trump’s election victory shall be presided over by vice-president Kamala Harris, in her ceremonial capability as president of the Senate.
Harris, in fact, was Trump’s opponent within the November presidential election, and is now tasked with making official his victory. Such a situation has performed out earlier than – Al Gore licensed his opponent George W Bush’s victory in 2001, and Richard Nixon did the identical for John F Kennedy in 1961.
In a video launched earlier at the moment, Harris stated she was honored to play an element within the peaceable switch of energy between American presidents, whereas nodding to the January 6 revolt 4 years in the past. Right here’s what she needed to say:
As we speak, I’ll carry out my constitutional obligation as Vice President to certify the outcomes of the 2024 election. This obligation is a sacred obligation — one I’ll uphold guided by love of nation, loyalty to our Structure, and unwavering religion within the American individuals. pic.twitter.com/w21HzdNxGs
— Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP) January 6, 2025
Congress to certify Trump’s election victory 4 years after Capitol revolt
Good morning, US politics weblog readers. It’s January 6, the legally designated day when the Senate and Home of Representatives convene in a joint session to certify the outcomes of the presidential election – on this case, Donald Trump’s victory two months in the past. As we speak’s assembly comes 4 years after the then-president’s supporters stormed the Capitol after he addressed them exterior the White Home, a historic assault that Trump’s successor, Joe Biden, tried and in the end didn’t have him prosecuted over. There’s no signal {that a} repeat of these occasions will happen this 12 months. Washington DC is socked in by a snowstorm that’s snarled roads throughout components of the east coast and midwest, the Capitol is beneath heavy guard, and, not like the Republicans who in 2021 tried to used procedural strikes to dam Biden from taking workplace, no congressional Democrats have signaled plans to object to Trump’s re-election in the course of the session.
The session is ready to start at 1pm ET, with Kamala Harris presiding in her position as president of the Senate. As soon as Trump’s victory is licensed, it can clear the best way for his inauguration two weeks from at the moment, on 20 January.
Right here’s what else is occurring at the moment:
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Trump on Sunday stated he’ll help efforts by Republicans in Congress to go one large piece of laws that can enact a lot of his marketing campaign guarantees, together with higher fortifying the nation’s borders and eradicating taxes on ideas. There had been some debate among the many GOP over whether or not to separate these priorities up into separate payments, however with that determined (for now), count on Republicans to spend the subsequent a number of months getting that laws by way of Congress.
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Biden wrote on opinion piece for the Washington Put up, wherein he inspired Individuals to not neglect the revolt that happened 4 years in the past at the moment.
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Seven US states within the midwest and east coast have declared emergencies as a giant winter storm blows by way of. Observe our reside weblog for the most recent.