After a bitterly contested election, Vice President Al Gore presides over a joint session of Congress on January 6, 2001, that certifies George W. Bush as the winner of the 2000 election—an election Gore had lost. In one of the closest Presidential elections in U.S. history, George W. Bush was finally declared the winner more than five weeks after the election due to the disputed Florida ballots.
Gore became the third Presidential candidate to win the popular vote but lose the election after the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 to halt Florida’s manual recount. The ruling in effect gave Florida’s 25 electoral votes to Bush giving him 271 to Gore’s 266—where 270 is needed to win the election. George W. Bush took the oath of office on January 20, 2001, to become the 43rd President of the United States.
Four years later, Bush was re-elected, beating out Democratic Senator John Kerry.
