George Bush Becomes President
Congressional leaders put pressure on the governors from states with "faithless electors," and those states, after some speedy internal political and legal fights, decide to find new electors. These new electors give their votes to Bush, in line with the majority of voters in their states.
On January 6, 2001, at precisely 1 p.m. Eastern Time, the House and Senate meet together to formally count the votes of the Electoral College. Much to the relief of the Congressional leaders, a major argument about whether to count those faithless ballots has been averted.
The count confirms that George Bush has been elected president. Because the President of the Senate is supposed to preside over this ceremonial count, and because the Vice President of the U.S. is also the President of the Senate, Al Gore has the dubious honor of presiding over his own defeat. (The last time a Vice President presided over his defeat was in 1960, when Vice President Nixon lost to Kennedy.)
At noon on January 20, 2001, Governor George Bush becomes the 43rd President of the United States. Since Bush is fully aware of the machinations that almost kept him from office (and that finally gave him the position), the theme of his inaugural address is conciliation.
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