Congress

Jan. 6 Is Just Another Day Now — Except for the Lawmakers Who Refuse to Forget

“I don’t think people have moved on. I think the Republicans have been trying to rewrite what happened,” Rep. Pramila Jayapal told NOTUS on Monday.

A bird flies framed by security fencing in front of the U.S. Capitol.

A bird flies framed by security fencing in front of the U.S. Capitol, which has been put up in a perimeter around the complex. Jacquelyn Martin/AP

By Katherine Swartz, Mark Alfred, Reese Gorman, Samuel Larreal and Helen Huiskes

January 06, 2025 04:33 PM

Four years ago, on Jan. 6, 2021, many businesses near the U.S. Capitol were closed. Those who could work from home were sheltering inside. And lawmakers in Congress were busy certifying the presidential election.

Aside from those similarities, Jan. 6, 2025, couldn’t have been more different.

Exactly four years after one of the darkest days in American democracy, the certification of the electoral votes went about as smoothly as possible on Monday — or as smoothly as any congressional session could go after a rare snowstorm battered the region.