Donald Trump won the American presidential election at the polls this Tuesday, November 5, but his return to the White House will not be recorded until January. As usual, a certain number of stages await the teams of the 47th American president. L’Express takes stock.
The president’s brief
A transition period of two and a half months opens, until the inauguration on January 20, 2025, during which officials of the departing Biden administration are supposed to transmit to the new arrivals a quantity of files and documents. confidential information. The transition can be more or less rapid. In 2016, Donald Trump was received by Barack Obama at the White House on November 10. While in 2020, Joe Biden was entitled to a later and eventful transition, on November 23, and without reception by Donald Trump.
In addition, from November 11, the main federal agencies are supposed to begin preparing for the government transition with Donald Trump and his teams. It should be noted that if a clear winner had not emerged by November 11, both candidates would have been briefed. This last point comes from an electoral reform voted in 2022 by members of Congress to prevent a recalcitrant president from obstructing the transition process. When he refused to concede defeat in 2020, Donald Trump, then outgoing president, prevented Joe Biden from participating in these briefings.
Certification of votes by early December
Once the ballots are counted, the votes must be certified by federal authorities. Under the Electoral Count Act of 1877, states have a “safety period” of five weeks after election day – until December 11 – to resolve any disputes related to the vote and allow major voters of the electoral college to meet on December 17. Until then, the defeated Democratic candidate can increase her appeals before local courts. This is what Donald Trump did four years ago, when he accused Joe Biden and the Democratic camp of electoral fraud.
December 17, 2024: electoral college vote
The American presidential election is based on a particular one-round proportional system. At the heart of this system, there are the electors who make up the electoral college. In total, there are 538 large ones distributed between the States according to their population. This is how on December 17, these electors will meet in their respective states to officially vote for the president and the vice-president. The candidate who obtains an absolute majority (at least 270 votes) is declared the winner.
Each state must then communicate its final result to the electoral college and present a “certificate of ascertainment”. This is a document guaranteeing the validity of votes and counting operations. These certificates officially allocate the electors to this or that candidate. If the counting of votes continues in the United States, Donald Trump has already acquired a majority of these voters, 277, against Kamala Harris, 224.
January 20, 2025: the inauguration
Not until January 6, 2025 will electoral votes be officially counted in a joint session of Congress. It is up to the President of the Senate, in this case Vice President Kamala Harris, to announce the results of the elections.
Finally, a few days later, on January 20, the final stage of this election should take place: the nomination. It will take place in front of the Capitol in Washington, where the new president will take the oath of office declaring: “I solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States and that, to the best of my ability, I will preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.” It is on this date that Joe Biden will officially leave the White House, and that Donald Trump will be able to move there again. Alongside all these stages, the billionaire will have to put together his future government team, in order to be operational from day one. It remains to be seen what the first measures Donald Trump will take upon his accession to power.