The US Congress on Monday certified the election of Donald Trump and his vice president JD Vance, a procedural step ensuring his return to the White House on a day that has come to symbolise harsh political divides in the US.
The US Constitution requires that on January 6 after a national election, Congress should certify the victory of the next president.
Mr Trump celebrated the milestone on his TruthSocial platform, calling it “a big moment in history.”
Mr Vance, still a Republican senator, sat in the first row listening to the Congress certify his vice presidency. Republican elation was palpable in the chamber, as the party rallied to bring it one step closer to their “trifecta” control in the new government.
Republicans clapped and cheered as Mr Trump's winning results were tabulated state by state, with the Democratic half of the chamber sitting solemnly. Both parties gave a standing ovation after departing Vice President Kamala Harris declared the final results.
Senate majority leader John Thune, new at the helm after Republicans regained control of the upper chamber, said “the Republican coalition is broad, and strong, and growing,” in a speech before the certification, promising swift Congressional approval of the Trump cabinet.
This year's certification stood in sharp contrast to that of President Joe Biden in 2021, when a deadly pro-Trump insurrection tried to stop the process and overthrow the 2020 election results.
Mr Biden published an opinion piece in The Washington Post marking the day, saying: “After what we all witnessed on January 6, 2021, we know we can never again take it for granted.
“And we should commit to remembering … it as a day when our democracy was put to the test and prevailed. To remember that democracy – even in America – is never guaranteed."
After thousands of pro-Trump loyalists thronged the Capitol on January 6, 2021, only one or two demonstrators showed up on Monday. Democrats have made it a point to distinguish themselves from the Republican election denialism of 2020, led by Mr Trump, that incited the insurrection at the Capitol.
After losing his 2020 re-election bid to Mr Biden, Mr Trump led a campaign of voter fraud conspiracy theories denying the results, and pressured local election officials in crucial states not to certify their vote tallies.
Democratic Senator Chris Murphy said in a post on X that Americans should not “take for granted how quiet the Capitol will be today … Had Harris won, today likely would have been another bloodbath".
Sebastian Gorka, Mr Trump's incoming counter-terrorism chief, meanwhile said he was spending the day “thinking about Ashli Babbitt", the pro-Trump rioter who was shot and killed by a police officer after breaching the Capitol.
Republican Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick issued a rare statement from his party commemorating the Capitol officers' “remarkable courage and sacrifice” during the 2021 attack.
“Their courage in the face of danger upheld the ideals of our nation and reminded us of the profound cost of defending freedom,” Mr Fitzpatrick wrote in a post on X.
But this year's certification came with its own hurdles – including a winter snowstorm. Large parts of the US are under severe winter conditions, and about 30cm of snow fell in Washington, leading to federal employees working from home. The Congress does not follow the same federal closing guidelines, nor does the Constitution give them discretion to reschedule the January 6 timeline.
Washington Police Chief J Thomas Manger warned that US elected officials “have faced a heightened threat environment” after 2021.
Mr Manger said the police department had spent the past four years focused on improving its “operational planning, intelligence, equipment, and training” for election certification day.
Graciela, a Peruvian-American, was working the front desk at a Washington hotel when the Capitol insurrection unfolded in 2021, and remembers “being worried about getting home safely”. But she was more worried about her mother, who was also working in the area at the time and “still has an accent”, she told The National.
“The fear of her being victim of a hate crime was the most present it had been since Trump won in 2016,” said Graciela.
Anti-immigrant sentiment has been a staple of Mr Trump's political career, and in his second term he has promised to enact a policy of mass deportations of undocumented immigrants on day one.
Graciela has since moved to the UK and says she sees “how events like this have influenced politics here and it's scary to witness”, but heading into the new Trump term, her greatest fear is for her mother's continued safety in the US.
David Ibata, a Washington painter and instructor at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts, remembers January 6, 2021 “like it was yesterday”, although he says that “these days it feels like 'the sixth' never happened”.
“It felt like the crescendo to the dystopian epic that was Trump's first term … but I don't live in constant fear” of another insurrection, Mr Ibata told The National.
Mr Trump and Mr Vance will be sworn into office on January 20.
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Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
- In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
Qosty Byogaani
Starring: Hani Razmzi, Maya Nasir and Hassan Hosny
Four stars
The years Ramadan fell in May
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
The specs: 2019 Subaru Forester
Price, base: Dh105,900 (Premium); Dh115,900 (Sport)
Engine: 2.5-litre four-cylinder
Transmission: Continuously variable transmission
Power: 182hp @ 5,800rpm
Torque: 239Nm @ 4,400rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 8.1L / 100km (estimated)
Episode list:
Ep1: A recovery like no other- the unevenness of the economic recovery
Ep2: PCR and jobs - the future of work - new trends and challenges
Ep3: The recovery and global trade disruptions - globalisation post-pandemic
Ep4: Inflation- services and goods - debt risks
Ep5: Travel and tourism
Army of the Dead
Director: Zack Snyder
Stars: Dave Bautista, Ella Purnell, Omari Hardwick, Ana de la Reguera
Three stars
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Company profile
Company: Verity
Date started: May 2021
Founders: Kamal Al-Samarrai, Dina Shoman and Omar Al Sharif
Based: Dubai
Sector: FinTech
Size: four team members
Stage: Intially bootstrapped but recently closed its first pre-seed round of $800,000
Investors: Wamda, VentureSouq, Beyond Capital and regional angel investors
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
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Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?
The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.
Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.
New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.
“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.
The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.
The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.
Bloomberg
MORE ON THE US DEMOCRATIC PRIMARIES
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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Book%20Details
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