It's a tense day that starts on Wednesday January 6 in Washington.

Congress is called upon to record the Electoral College vote making Joe Biden the next President of the United States.

But certain elected Republicans, minority, are determined to protest against the verdict of the voters of certain States.

An initiative which has almost no chance of success but which will slow down the procedure and offer an unprecedented spectacle of political division.

Here is what you need to know about this day.

  • Pro-Trump protests in Washington

After having already demonstrated on Tuesday, thousands of supporters of Donald Trump are due to gather on Wednesday morning near the White House.

The US president confirmed Tuesday evening that he would speak to his supporters at 11 a.m. (4 p.m. GMT).

Previous pro-Trump rallies in the US capital have resulted in violence, including involving far-right militias such as the Proud Boys.

Their leader was arrested Monday night on his arrival in Washington, before being released with orders to move away from the capital.

Mayor Muriel Bowser called on residents to avoid the city center and the National Guard was deployed in prevention.

Several gatherings are planned and should converge in the middle of the day towards Congress where a crucial session is scheduled.

  • Congress records electoral college results

A session of the two chambers of the Congress is held from 1 p.m. local (9 p.m. in France).

Objective: to record the results of the American presidential election as they were certified in each state through the vote of the large voters forming the electoral college.

By 306 votes to 232, the latter elected Joe Biden as President of the United States last month.

This meeting in Congress is usually only a formality before the inauguration of the new president scheduled for January 20.

But this year, the session could last until Thursday due to the expected challenge from a number of elected Republicans.

  • Republican elected officials contest the vote of the main voters

A dozen Republican elected officials in the House of Representatives are planning to challenge the votes of the major voters in several key states.

To be heard, they must have the support of at least one senator.

But a dozen Republican senators, including potential 2024 presidential candidates Josh Howley and Ted Cruz, have announced their intention to in turn challenge certification in states where they believe there has been fraud.

Their approach is more political than legal: they thus appeal to the pro-Trump base and show that they want to fight for the boss.

But the process has little chance of succeeding.

During each of the disputes, the elected representatives must meet in their respective chambers of Congress in order to debate - until two hours - and to vote by a simple majority.

Both the House of Representatives and the Senate must support the challenge for it to be successful.

However, Democrats are in the majority in the House of Representatives and, even in the Senate, the majority of elected Republicans seem for the moment to want to respect the vote of the large voters.

The challenges could however make the session in Congress last until Thursday.

  • Vice President Mike Pence under pressure

Donald Trump's Vice President Mike Pence will chair the joint session as President of the Senate.

However, the outgoing president, who is trying by all means not to leave the White House, has in recent days pressured his loyal ally to help him reject the results of the presidential election.

"The vice-president has the power to reject the fraudulently chosen voters," Donald Trump tweeted on Tuesday.

Mike Pence does not actually have that power, and the voters were not chosen fraudulently: all lawsuits alleging electoral fraud were dismissed for lack of evidence.

The role of the vice-president, Wednesday, will be purely formal: it is he who will open the certificates sent by each of the 50 states to transmit the votes of their grand voters.

It is also him who will announce, in fine, the victory of Joe Biden and of the one who will replace him in his post, Kamala Harris.

What anger Donald Trump and his supporters to the end.

The vice-president therefore finds himself caught between his constitutional duty and his loyalty to the billionaire.

According to the New York Times, he has already warned Donald Trump that he could not intervene in his favor.

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