Former Vice President Mike Pence released a statement praising Vice President Kamala Harris and members of Congress for a peaceful transfer of power after certifying Donald Trump’s victory in the 2024 election.
“The peaceful transfer of power is the hallmark of our democracy,” Pence, also the former Republican Governor of Indiana, wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter. “Today, members of both parties in the House and Senate, along with the vice president, certified the election of our new president and vice president without controversy or objection.”
On Monday, January 6th, Trump’s victory was certified by Congress, with Vice President Harris presiding over a joint session of Congress four years after the Capitol Riot.
Harris is the first presidential candidate to preside over her opponent’s election certification since 2000 when former VP Al Gore oversaw the certification after he lost to George W. Bush.
“I welcome the return of order and civility to these historic proceedings and offer my most sincere congratulations and prayers to President Donald J. Trump and Vice President J. D. Vance on their election to lead this great Nation,” Pence wrote in his post.
The former VP posted his statement to the social media website four years after rioters stormed the capital during the certification of President Joe Biden’s victory during the 2020 election.
It’s “particularly admirable that Vice President Harris would preside over the certification of a presidential election that she lost,” he continued.
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On Wednesday, Jan. 6th, 2021, a group stormed the Capitol during the certification of Biden’s 2020 election victory.
Rioters attempted to block Biden’s certification, emboldened by unfounded claims alleging the election was stolen from Trump.
In 2021, the certification process took over 12 hours.
It began at 1 p.m., and minutes into the ceremony, Arizona objected to the election results. An hour after it began, rioters stormed the building, and lawmakers were evacuated.
The building was secured at 8 p.m., and the session resumed at 9 p.m., but more Republican lawmakers objected to the election results.
Biden’s victory was not certified until 3 a.m. the following day.
By comparison, Trump’s certification, which began at the same time, took around 30 minutes on Monday.
During Trump’s 2025 campaign, he chose incoming VP J.D. Vance as his running mate, which wasn’t a surprise after the falling out he had with his former VP, who held the position from 2017 to 2021, and was loyal to Trump until almost the very end.
The two parted ways after Pence refused to stray from his duty and certified President Joe Biden as the winner of the 2020 election on January 6, 2021, after Donald Trump lost his election bid.
Trump took to social media to post about Pence, and the rioters began chanting, “Hang Mike Pence!”
Pence later ran for the 2024 Republican presidential primary unsuccessfully.
The former VP said he would not endorse Trump as the next president because of their “profound differences.”
Contributing: Michael Collins, Rebecca Morin, Riley Beggin, Cybele Mayes-Osterman, Sudiksha Kochi; USA TODAY
Julia is a trending reporter for USA TODAY. You can connect with her on LinkedIn, follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, Instagram and TikTok: @juliamariegz, or email her at jgomez@gannett.com
