4 years after Jan. 6 insurrection, Kamala Harris certifies Trump’s election win
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(WASHINGTON) — House and Senate lawmakers on Monday met for joint session to certify President-elect Donald Trump’s 2024 victory.
Vice President Kamala Harris, who presided over the ceremony, read the results aloud.
Republicans cheered loudly as she announced Trump’s 312 electoral votes, while Democrats did the same for her 226 electoral votes.
The vote count occurred exactly four years after thousands of pro-Trump supporters violently stormed the U.S. Capitol, temporarily disrupting lawmakers affirming President Joe Biden’s 2020 win.
Monday’s events marked a return to the traditional ceremonial task that had long been a subdued affair until Trump’s challenge of his loss to Biden, though heightened security measures remain in place.
A winter snowstorm blanketed Washington but lawmakers forged ahead with the constitutionally mandated responsibility. The House floor was packed with lawmakers for the count, which was the final step in validating Electoral College results.
This year, President Biden emphasized the importance of America’s bedrock principle of a peaceful transfer of power but urged the country to never forget what happened in 2021.
“We should be proud that our democracy withstood this assault,” Biden wrote in an op-ed published late Sunday by the Washington Post. “And we should be glad we will not see such a shameful attack again this year.”
Harris, too, called it a “sacred obligation” — one she said she would “uphold guided by love of country, loyalty to our Constitution and my unwavering faith in the American people.”
As she made her way to the House chamber, Harris was asked what people should take away from Monday’s events.
“Democracy must be upheld by the people,” she said, raising one finger in the air.
Speaker Mike Johnson, who was just elected to a second term to lead the House with Trump’s assistance, and Vice President Harris called the chamber to order shortly after 1 p.m. ET after the procession of ballots and senators through the Capitol.
Harris opened the votes from each state and handed them to the House tellers, who read aloud the result.
Unlike in 2021, there were no objections to the results. Harris conceded to Trump the day after Election Day, and no Democrats have challenged the outcome as many Republican allies of Trump did in 2020.
Vice President-elect JD Vance, who was a senator from Ohio when he was tapped to be Trump’s running mate, was seated in the front row during the count.
Trump, ahead of the certification, posted on his social media platform that it will be “A BIG MOMENT IN HISTORY. MAGA!”
The president-elect will be sworn in on Monday, Jan. 20.
Trump has claimed his win is a “mandate” from the American people to implement his agenda for the economy, immigration and more.
He is returning to the White House with Republicans controlling both the House and Senate. The 119th Congress was sworn in last Friday.
ABC News’ Allison Pecorin and John Parkinson contributed to this report.
Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — As President-elect Donald Trump fills out his Cabinet and chooses his closet advisers ahead of Inauguration Day, many African American leaders are asking why more Black people haven’t been appointed to key positions.
ABC News spoke to more than a half dozen longtime and new African American conservatives and Republicans within Trumpworld, in and outside of Washington.
Last month, the president-elect appointed Scott Turner, who was executive director of the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council during Trump’s first term, to serve as secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
One area of frustration for many Black Republicans was speculation that if Trump did nominate an African American to his administration, it would be at HUD, the department that has had the most Black secretary appointments of any.
One Black Southern Republican told ABC News, “Why is every Black person given HUD?” adding that it was “the literal Black job of the administration.”
ABC News reached out to Trump’s transition team for comment on his selections but did not get a reply.
Six African Americans have served as HUD secretaries, including Robert Weaver, the first. His appointment in 1966 by President Lyndon B. Johnson also made him the first African American appointed to a Cabinet-level position.
The first African American woman to serve in a presidential cabinet was Patricia Roberts Harris, who was the first African American Health and Human Services director and later HUD secretary. She served under President Jimmy Carter.
Former HUD Secretary Samuel Pierce was the only Black Cabinet official in the Ronald Reagan administration. Dr. Ben Carson at HUD was Trump’s sole Black cabinet member in his first term.
In mid-November, Carson posted that he was “excited to speak with President Trump about how I will continue to advance the America First agenda, and I am meeting with him in the near future.”
“However, contrary to reports, I will not be serving as the Surgeon General,” he said.
The departments of Treasury and Interior remain the only departments that have never had a Black secretary.
Another key position Black conservatives believe needs to be filled by an African American is assistant to the president, a senior-level role within the White House. Trump previously appointed Omarosa Manigault Newman, a contestant on his “The Apprentice” TV series, as the sole Black assistant to the president.
“I do think if you’re really talking about Black influence inside the White House, does Trump want his only legacy of having the only AP for two terms be Omarosa” one Black Republican strategist asked.
After Newman’s departure, Ja’Ron Smith served as a special assistant on legislative affairs before rising to deputy assistant to the president for domestic policy. Ashley Bell, a prominent Black Republican, served as a White House adviser on entrepreneurship and a regional administrator for the Small Business Administration. Bell’s former boss is former SBA Administrator Linda McMahon, who Trump announced as his pick for the Department of Education. McMahon also is co-chair of the Trump-Vance transition team.
Some of the former president’s most ardent defenders have grown restless with the lack of Black appointees, as Trump selected several others who would be firsts in those positions. If confirmed, Sen. Marco Rubio would be the first Hispanic secretary of state; Scott Bessent would be the first openly gay Treasury secretary; and Tulsi Gabbard will be the first Asian American and youngest-ever director of national intelligence.
“I can’t tweet that we need more Black conservatives because the left will attack me saying it’s a DEI hire,” the southern Republican said.
However, one Black Republican operative told ABC News it is still very early when it comes to appointments.
“The Republican Party has never really fallen into the category of ‘representation matters.’ Our strength comes from diversity, but that is not our bumper sticker slogan. We’re not going to nominate Black folks for the sake of nominating Black people,” the Republican operative said.
The operative noted that Black Republicans have made strides in leadership across the country. Sen. Tim Scott will chair the National Republican Senatorial Committee; Rep. Byron Donald is speculated as possibly running for governor or U.S. Senate in Florida; and Winsome Sears is seeking to become the first Black female governor in the country in Virginia.
Donalds on CNN last month took aim at President Joe Biden’s focus on diversity within his administration when asked about the lack of diversity among Trump’s nominees, saying “if you look at how the Democrats filled Joe Biden’s cabinet, they wanted to have a piece of every identity. But did they get the job done? Did they actually serve the interest of the American people?”
“What Donald Trump’s election is about, is bringing competency and reality back to D.C. in the White House, regardless of their race, regardless of their religion, regardless of their creed.” the Florida congressman added.
Although some Black leaders inside and out of politics are highly qualified, another barrier that Black conservatives face is added scrutiny because of their dual identity.
Dedrick Asante-Muhammad, president of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, a non-partisan organization that studies diversity in government and congressional staff, said that the Trump administration differs vastly from past Republican administrations.
“Trump isn’t a traditional Republican, he doesn’t use traditional Republican institutions in the same way that past presidential candidates have, so there isn’t a kind of pipeline, long-term relations,” Asante-Muhammad said.
“Being a part of Trumpworld isn’t easy. It is almost a personal blacklist thing in the outside world. So it is risky, in my opinion, to be a part of this organization for Black people that may want to be a part of the cause, but it’s not worth their bottom dollar,” one Black Republican strategist added.
“When Black people are put underneath this microscope of being Trump-affiliated, they look past your color and you are public enemy number one,” a Black Republican operative said.
The Republican strategist said Black Republicans face a different set of expectations — they don’t necessarily thrive in spaces that are massively disruptive, such as the second Trump term.
“I don’t think disruption really leans into our skillset the way things are currently set up, we have to play things a little bit differently. There’s no Black Republican version of Matt Gatez. They don’t last,” the strategist added.
“Those of us who have survived and been there for years and made it work have done so by being steady, consistent, reliable, and trustworthy, ” the strategist said.
The majority of Black Republicans who spoke to ABC News acknowledged that while the optics of Trump being surrounded by mostly white people aren’t ideal, they believe if Trump delivers on a better economy, securing the border, Second Step Act, and judicial reform it could be transformative for the Black community, but they do want the former president to hire more Black conservatives.
After an onslaught of criticism toward the insurance industry following the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., expressed sympathy for the victim, but acknowledged the debate it sparked over inequities in the health care system.
“There is no justification for violence,” Khanna told ABC “This Week” anchor Martha Raddatz. “But the outpouring afterwards has not surprised me.”
Thompson’s killing led to an ongoing massive manhunt for the suspected killer and sparked rampant discussion online about the cost of health care and the insurance industry in the United States.
Khanna said he agrees with the assessment of independent Sen. Bernie Sanders, who wrote: “We waste hundreds of billions a year on health care administrative expenses that make insurance CEOs and wealthy stockholders incredibly rich while 85 million Americans go uninsured or underinsured. Health care is a human right. We need Medicare for All.”
Khanna said that the U.S. should be moving toward Medicare for all.
“After years, Sanders is winning this debate,” Khanna said.
Khanna has said he supports Trump’s efforts to create a “Department of Government Efficiency” to cut wasteful federal spending. The president-elect appointed Elon Musk and Vivek Ramawamy to lead the effort and the pair was on Capitol Hill this week to discuss their plans.
Khanna told Raddatz that “they should look at the extraordinary waste,” examining Medicare and private health costs, as well as defense spending.
“I think when it comes to defense, getting better defense for value and cutting costs, there can be huge bipartisan cooperation,” said Khanna.
The congressman emphasized that cuts to Social Security, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and Medicare should not be on the table.
Despite bipartisan calls to address federal spending, the United States’ debt stands at more than $36 trillion.
Khanna said he has communicated with Musk regarding his cost-cutting efforts and praised the SpaceX founder’s work with the Obama administration for the private sector to engage in space exploration.
Khanna was also asked about his thoughts on the looming possibility of a ban of TikTok in the U.S. unless it finds a new owner following a Federal Appeals Court ruling on Friday that rejected TikTok’s bid to overturn the law.
In previous interviews on “This Week,” Khanna spoke about his opposition to a bill that would require TikTok to divest from its Chinese parent company or face a ban.
“I don’t think it’s going to pass First Amendment scrutiny because I think there are less restrictive alternatives,” he told “This Week” co-anchor Jonathan Karl in April.
On Sunday, Khanna said he still believes that TikTok won’t face a ban, noting how many politicians themselves are on the platform.
“Let’s see where it goes with the Supreme Court,” he said.
(WASHINGTON) — Sen.-elect Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., expressed concern Sunday that some of President-elect Donald Trump’s selections of national security Cabinet positions could be beholden to his political preferences rather than an objective interpreting of intelligence.
Slotkin, a current U.S. representative and former CIA officer and Pentagon official, told “This Week” co-anchor Martha Raddatz that selections like Fox News host Pete Hegseth for Defense secretary and former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard to head national intelligence should tell Trump precisely what they’re seeing in the world rather than what they think the incoming president “wants to hear.”
“I just need to know that the people who are in these jobs are not going to be guided by politics and what someone tells them they think they should be seeing in the intelligence or in the defense picture, but what is actually the truth on the ground,” Slotkin said.
“Speaking truth to power is one of the most important things the intelligence community does, and if you have someone in there who feels more beholden to telling the president what he wants to hear, I got a real problem with that.”
Slotkin’s remarks come as Trump moves at a rapid pace to announce his Cabinet picks. Among the more controversial nominees have been Hegseth, Gabbard, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services and former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., to lead the Justice Department.
Hegseth has raised concerns over his past comments that women should not serve in combat roles.
“I can tell you, because I was at the Pentagon on Thursday, and there is absolute like hallway, constant chatter and conversation and concern from senior women officers. But also I’ve heard from folks who I’ve recommended to service academies, young women who are just starting out their career, saying, ‘Am I going to actually be able to accomplish what I want to accomplish here?'” Slotkin said.
Trump’s pick for defense secretary has also repeatedly criticized “woke” policies in the Pentagon, and advocated for firing top officials in the armed forces who have backed the department’s diversity efforts.
“I think they’ve been very clear that they’re putting together some sort of panel that’s going to look at generals, people who have served their nation the — their entire lives over multiple administrations, Democrat and Republican in combat, they are now openly talking about dismissing them like some sort of kangaroo court. You can imagine the stress in the Pentagon about that, but also in the future of who we are as a military,” Slotkin said.
Slotkin did sound a more positive note about Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, who is Trump’s pick to lead the State Department and has a more conventional background as an advocate for muscular U.S. involvement in the world.
“We’re not perfect, but, man, I’d rather have American leadership over Chinese or Russian leadership any day of the week. And so, I hope that despite the impulses maybe of President-elect Trump, that we have Marco Rubio as a more traditional pick who’s going to understand that American role that leadership role is important,” she said.
Still, Slotkin declined to preview how she’d vote on any Cabinet nominee, despite her concern about people like Hegseth and Gabbard.
“In general, I’m a senator-elect, and advice and consent from the Senate is part of our constitutional process. So I’m going to try and meet with everybody, hear them out. But I also am a former CIA officer and Defense Department official. I know just how important these jobs are, not just for who gets what in Washington, but for the actual security of people in the United States,” she said.
