Her voice even, her face calm and even smiling at times, Kamala Harris, acting in her capacity as President of the Senate, on Monday certified the presidential-election victory of her opponent Donald Trump before the US Congress.
There were no false notes in this procedural operation, which is usually purely formal, but which has taken on a whole new dimension since the storming of the Capitol just four years ago.
Back then, supporters of the former and now future Republican president sought to prevent the certification of the 2020 presidential election result, in order to block Joe Biden's path.
'American democracy is only as strong as our willingness to fight for it'
The Democratic vice-president, who was defeated on 5 November, read out the count of the electors.
After pointing out that the majority was set at 270 to win this election by indirect universal suffrage, Kamala Harris, standing at the podium, acknowledged her own defeat.
"Donald J. Trump, from the State of Florida, received 312 votes," she said, prompting Republican elected representatives to stand and applaud.
The Vice President paused briefly, then resumed: "Kamala D. Harris, from the State of California, received 226 votes." This time, legislators from the Democratic camp cheered her on.
"America's democracy is only as strong as our willingness to fight for it," Vice-President Harris commented afterwards to journalists. ‘Otherwise it is very fragile, and would not be able to withstand moments of crisis. And today, American democracy stood."
Kudos from former Vice President Mike Pence
She will hand over the reins of the Senate on 20 January to Donald Trump's running mate, J.D. Vance, who watched the parliamentary session on Monday with a smile from his seat in the front row.
It is "particularly admirable that Vice President Harris would preside over the certification of a presidential election that she lost," Mike Pence, who held the same position during Trump's first term, commented on X, hailing the "return of order and civility."
The praise did not come from just anyone: on 6 January 2021, Mike Pence certified Joe Biden's victory over Donald Trump, attracting the Republican's vindictiveness and death threats from some of his supporters.
On that day, the billionaire had whipped the faithful in Washington into a frenzy, insisting that the election had been stolen from him. A crowd then marched on Capitol Hill.
Kamala Harris entered the presidential campaign in a hurry at the beginning of the summer, after the sudden withdrawal of President Joe Biden, the Democratic Party's candidate.
She was soundly defeated on 5 November by her opponent, who won all the strategic ‘swing states.
