The US Congress on Thursday certified the Electoral College vote that gave Democrat Joe Biden his presidential victory – after a day in Washington that was marked by pro-Trump protesters who invaded the U.S. Capitol.
Vice President Mike Pence, who had announced that he would not change voters’ will, confirmed Biden’s victory at 3:41 am ET.
Lawmakers returned to the chamber in an act of defiance, with some Republicans who initially pledged to challenge state results due to concerns about voter fraud, announcing that they would prefer to vote to certify.
Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Called the Capitol violation a “failed uprising”, adding that those who “tried to disrupt our democracy” were unsuccessful.
“The United States and the Senate will not be intimidated,” he tweeted. “We are back at our posts. We will do our duty according to the Constitution for our nation. And we will do that tonight.”
McConnell previously announced that, once the Senate voted 92 to 7 to reject the Republican effort to overthrow the Pennsylvania vote, the way would be clear for Biden to claim the White House on January 20.
Despite growing support among Republicans to challenge the election result, the effort has always been seen as having little chance of success.
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Dan Scavino, the White House deputy chief of staff, posted a statement from President Trump on Twitter that seemed to call for calm among Americans and demonstrate functional government to opponents.
“Although I totally disagree with the result of the election and the facts confirm it, there will be an orderly transition on January 20,” says the statement. “I always said that we would continue our fight to ensure that only the legal votes were counted. While this represents the end of the greatest first term in presidential history, it is only the beginning of our struggle to Make America Great Again!”
The political consequences of Wednesday’s chaos seemed to cast serious doubts about President Trump’s future as leader of the Republican Party. Senator Lindsey Graham, the Republican of South Carolina, addressed the Senate, saying that Trump was a “consistent” president for four years in office “but today … tell me out. Enough.”
Senator Kelly Loeffler, who is expected to lose her second round in Georgia against Rev. Raphael Warnock, was among the senators who said they had changed their minds about challenging Biden’s victory.
“When I arrived in Washington this morning, I fully intended to oppose the certification of electoral votes,” said Loeffler, R-Ga., In comments from the Senate floor. “However, the events that have occurred today have forced me to reconsider and I cannot now, in good conscience, object.”
Senator Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., Also announced that she would vote to certify the results.
There seemed to be a sense of sadness among lawmakers, as it arrived late at night. Senator Mike Rounds, RS.D., told reporters that it was probably one of the saddest days he experienced as an elected official.
“What would normally have been a tradition in the step towards the peaceful transition of power from one government to another has been marked by violence, bandits, misinformation and clearly it should never have happened in the first place,” he said.
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Detractors of the president criticized him for inciting anger among his supporters and said that a violent incident was inevitable. They say the president has been promoting the false narrative about electoral interference last month and that his presidency was doomed to chaos.
Twitter, Facebook and Instagram temporarily suspended the president from posting on their platforms. The Associated Press reported that it was the most aggressive action that social media companies have ever taken against the president.
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Trump supporters noted that the president called for calm. They say that Trump never had his day in court and that there were enough voting irregularities to warrant further inspection. They also criticized media coverage of Capitol disturbances and criticized the media for essentially turning a blind eye to the violence that broke out in major cities last summer.
Donald Trump Jr. also called for calm in a previous tweet.
“This is wrong and not who we are,” he wrote. “Be peaceful and use your 1st Amendment rights, but don’t start acting like the other side. We have a country to save and it doesn’t help anyone.”
Washington DC police said at a news conference late on Wednesday that there were four deaths – including a woman who was shot dead – and at least 52 arrests during the day’s interruption.
Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat who clashed with Trump, ordered an extension of the public emergency that was already in place for the next 15 days, which will override Biden’s tenure.
The woman who was shot was Ashi Babbitt, a veteran of the United States Air Force from San Diego, California, a friend told Fox News. DC police confirmed that she had been shot by one of their officers.
The other three deaths were health related, according to reports.
Senator Ted Cruz, R-Texas, told Fox News last Sunday that the Supreme Court was a “better forum” than Congress for examining electoral issues, but the court did not accept the cases.
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Cruz wanted a 10-day audit of the results by an election commission.
“Electoral fraud represents a persistent challenge in our elections, although its breadth and scope is contested,” lawmakers said on Saturday in a statement.
“By any measure, the allegations of fraud and irregularities in the 2020 elections exceed any in our lives,” said Cruz.
The senator condemned those who invaded the Capitol in a post on Twitter. He said the constitution “protects peaceful protest, but violence – from the left or from the right – is ALWAYS wrong.”
He issued a statement on Thursday that called the incident an “despicable act of terrorism and a shocking attack on our democratic system”. He said he asked the electoral commission to give confidence to millions of Americans in the election and “I very much wish that Congress had not put these concerns aside.”
But he said he respects his positions.
“The debate in the two houses of Congress is the proper way to resolve our political differences, not by means of violent attacks,” he said.
Chad Pergram, Brie Stimson and David Aaro of Fox News contributed to this report