Congress certifies Trump's 2024 victory four years after Capitol riot

• Trump has repeatedly said pardoning the Jan. 6, 2021, rioters is something he will consider on his first day back in the Oval Office.
• Many prominent Republicans have followed Trump's lead in the four years since the attack to downplay the violence of the day.

Driving the news: In a stark juxtaposition from the certification of the 2020 election, there were no disturbances or objections during Monday's joint session of Congress.

• Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance, who was present at Monday's certification, won the election with 312 electoral votes to Harris and Gov. Tim Walz's 226 votes.
• The whole count took roughly 30 minutes.
• Trump had called the certification "A BIG MOMENT IN HISTORY" in a Truth Social post before the process began.

Vice President Harris joined the small club of vice presidents throughout history who had to preside over the certification of their defeat — a duty she characterized as a "sacred obligation."

• "The chair declares this joint session dissolved," Harris said at the end of the session. "Thank you."
• She shook hands with members as she exited.

What they're saying: Former Vice President Mike Pence, who four years ago was the target of rioters' ire for refusing to interfere in the certification of President Biden's victory, applauded the peaceful count in a Monday X post.

• "I welcome the return of order and civility to these historic proceedings," he wrote, congratulating his former running mate and commending Harris as "particularly admirable" for overseeing the certification of her loss.

Zoom out: In response to Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election results, Congress passed legislation to reform an 1887 law that determined how presidential elections are certified.

• The Electoral Count Reform Act of 2022 made it more difficult to contest electors and clarified the vice president's role in the counting as purely ceremonial among other changes.

Go deeper: Johnson, Jeffries duel over certifying 2024 election

Editor's note: This story has been updated with comments from Harris and Pence.