Harris calls it a 'good day' for democracy as she oversees peaceful certification of Trump's victory

Democratic presidential nominee U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks, Nov. 6, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

WASHINGTON -

There was no drama on Monday as Kamala Harris oversaw the ceremonial certification of her defeat to Donald Trump. The vice president kept her remarks perfunctory, and she stood with her hands clasped in front of her while the results from each state were read out loud.

After less than a half hour, she formally announced that Trump had won the election. She smiled tightly as Republicans applauded.

"The chair declares this joint session dissolved," Harris said. "Thank you."

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The process was vastly different than four years ago, when Trump's supporters rioted at the U.S. Capitol as lawmakers were certifying his defeat to Joe Biden. This time, everyone honored the results of the election.

"It's a peaceful transfer of power," Harris told reporters as she left the building on Monday. "It's a good day."

But the proceedings were still a bitter task for Harris. Instead of ascending to the White House as the country's first female president, she oversaw the constitutional machinery that will return Trump to power.

By doing so, Harris joined a short list of predecessors who played the same role as vice president, who presides over the Senate.

Richard Nixon did it after losing to John F. Kennedy in 1960. Al Gore followed suit when the U.S. Supreme Court tipped the 2000 election to George W. Bush.

However, no other vice president has been holding the gavel when Congress certified their loss to an incoming president who refused to concede a previous defeat. In addition to spreading lies about voter fraud, Trump directed his supporters to march on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The rioters attacked police officers, breached the building's security and sent lawmakers running to safety.

Harris was at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington that day. A pipe bomb was discovered nearby, and she was evacuated from the building.

During the campaign, she frequently invoked the Jan. 6 attack to warn voters of the danger of returning Trump to the White House. She described him as a "petty tyrant" and "wannabe dictator."

After Harris lost the election, she promised in her concession speech to honor the will of voters.

"A fundamental principle of American democracy is that when we lose an election, we accept the results," she said. "That principle, as much as any other, distinguishes democracy from monarchy or tyranny."

Karoline Leavitt, a spokesperson for Trump's transition team and the incoming White House press secretary, said there will be "a smooth transition of power."

"When Kamala Harris certifies the election results, President Trump will deliver on his promise to serve ALL Americans and will unify the country through success," she said in a statement.

Leavitt did not respond to a question about Trump's attempt to use the certification process to overturn his defeat four years ago. At that time, Trump encouraged his vice president, Mike Pence, to disqualify votes from battleground states based on false allegations of fraud.

Pence refused. Trump's supporters burst into the Capitol and halted the proceedings, forcing lawmakers to hide for their safety. Trump posted on social media that "Mike Pence didn't have the courage to do what should have been done."

Police eventually cleared the rioters from the building, and lawmakers reconvened to finish their certification. Scores of Republicans still voted to support challenges to the election result.

"I had no right to overturn the election," Pence said two years later. "And his reckless words endangered my family and everyone at the Capitol that day, and I know history will hold Donald Trump accountable."

Trump faced criminal charges for trying to stay in power despite losing. However, special counsel Jack Smith dropped the federal case against him after Trump defeated Harris since long-standing Justice Department policy says sitting presidents cannot face criminal prosecution.

A separate case in Georgia over Trump's attempts to subvert the 2020 election is mired in controversy over the Fulton County district attorney's romantic relationship with a prosecutor she hired to lead the case.

The most recent example of a vice president certifying their own defeat came after the 2000 election. The battle between Gore and Bush ended up in the courtroom as the campaigns argued over whether Florida should conduct a recount.

Bush won at the U.S. Supreme Court, preventing a recount and allowing his narrow victory to stand.

Congress certified the results on Jan. 6, 2001, over the objections of some Democrats.

"I rise to object to the fraudulent 25 Florida electoral votes," Rep. Maxine Waters of California said at the time.

Gore slammed the gavel and asked whether the objection met the requirements of being "in writing and signed by a member of the House and a senator."

"The objection is in writing, and I don't care that it's not signed by a member of the Senate," Waters responded.

"The chair will advise that the rules do care," Gore said.

After a few rounds of objections, Congress finished the certification.

"May God bless our new president and new vice president and may God bless the United States of America," Gore said after announcing the results.

Lawmakers gave him a standing ovation.

Associated Press writers Farnoush Amiri and Matt Brown contributed to this report.