Vice President Kamala Harris is about to join a rare group of vice presidents. She will preside over her own defeat in a White House election, something only two others have done.
On Monday, Harris will oversee a joint session of Congress. Lawmakers will certify President-elect Donald Trump’s win over her in the November election.
Harris said her goal is clear. "A peaceful transfer of power" is her mission, she stated firmly.
In a video message released ahead of the session, Harris called this moment a "sacred obligation." She said she is "guided by love of country, loyalty to our Constitution, and unwavering faith in the American people."
She reflected on the Capitol attack four years ago. "As we have seen, our democracy can be fragile," Harris warned. She urged everyone to protect the nation's core values.
That attack followed Trump’s rally, where he repeated unproven claims of voter fraud. He pressured then-Vice President Mike Pence to reject the election results.
Harris now steps into history. She becomes the first vice president since Al Gore in 2001 to certify their own electoral defeat. Gore had lost to George W. Bush in the contested 2000 election.
Four decades earlier, Richard Nixon had a similar moment. He certified his loss to John F. Kennedy in the tight 1960 election.
President Biden echoed Harris’s call for respect. On Sunday, he promised to honor the peaceful transfer of power. He also urged Congress to stand firm against rewriting history. "You remember what happened," Biden said, referring to January 6, 2021. "I won’t let it be erased."