Valley lawmakers oversee official count as Congress certifies Trump's win

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Congress officially cleared the way on Monday for Donald Trump to retake the Oval Office on January 20.

Newly elected Republican Representative Vince Fong from the South Valley was in the House Chamber Monday as lawmakers counted the Electoral College vote.

"Every single state was accounted for," Fong said. "President-elect Trump and Vice President-elect Vance are now officially certified, and now, we are going full steam ahead to January 20. It can't come soon enough."

The certification took less than 30 minutes, a far cry from the scene four years ago when an angry mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol.

That day, 147 Republican lawmakers objected to electoral votes in Arizona and Pennsylvania.

But this year, there were no disruptions as Vice President Harris opened the votes from each state, and House tellers read them aloud.

"The certificate of the electoral vote from the state of California seems to be regular in form and authentic, and it appears therefrom Kamala D. Harris of the state of California received 54 votes for president," one of the tellers said.

In certifying the votes, Republican Congressman Tom McClintock of Modesto says lawmakers followed the Constitution.

"Congress has no role in that except to actually count those votes, and it cannot refuse to count votes, even though it tries to assert that authority from time to time," he told Action News on Friday.

Democrats, like Senator Alex Padilla, have called the January 6, 2021, attack "a stain on American history."

The day still hangs over American politics.

President-elect Trump has vowed to pardon some convicted rioters on the first day of his administration.

It could include a Madera man, Benjamin Martin, who is among those in federal prison in connection with breaching the Capitol.

"I think some of the pardons need to be done," Fong said.

"You look at the politicization of the Department of Justice. You have a number of people that participated that did nothing wrong. And now, they're languishing in jail."

This weekend, lawmakers will meet with President-Elect Trump as the House prepares to move on key parts of his agenda.

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