Vice-president speaks to reporters after joint session to certify results exactly four years after Trump’s supporters stormed Capitol

• Congress certifies Trump’s election win amid unprecedented security measures

Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, the Democratic Party representative from Massachusetts and member of the small group of progressive lawmakers known as The Squad, has put out a stinging statement saying she will vote to certify Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential election victory today, while echoing others in warning that he remains a threat to American democracy.

“Four years ago, threatened by a violent mob incited by Donald Trump, our democracy was under attack. And today, our democracy is still threatened by the harm he has promised to deliver in his next term,” she said.

Biden wrote an opinion piece for the Washington Post, in which he warned against efforts to downplay the severity of the 2021 insurrection at the Capitol.

The Capitol is surrounded by fencing and guarded by lots of police, both changes from four years ago. Mother Nature has also weighed in, dumping snow on the Washington DC region and a host of eastern and midwestern states.

Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic House speaker during the insurrection, and Hakeem Jeffries, the current House minority leader, both avoided mentioning Trump in statements marking the anniversary of the attack, while signaling the importance of today’s joint session.