JOE Biden has been officially declared president elect after Congress certified the Electoral College count.
The confirmation came after lawmakers threw out Republican challenges to the results in several states following a day of violence that saw a mob of Donald Trump supporters storm Congress.
What is normally a ceremonial process became politically charged after the President failed to overturn the outcome in the courts and urged GOP lawmakers to object to the results in a handful of battleground states.
After sitting into the early morning Vice President Mike Pence finally certified the Electoral College count of 306 electors in favor of the Democrat Biden against 232 in favor of Trump.
Immediately after the certification, the White House released a statement from Trump in which he pledged an “orderly transition” on January 20 when Biden will be sworn into office.
Trump has been temporarily banned from Twitter in the wake of the riot so was forced to issue a statement via his social media director Dan Scavino.
“Even though I totally disagree with the outcome of the election, and the facts bear me out, nevertheless there will be an orderly transition on January 20th,” it read.
“I have always said we would continue our fight to ensure that only legal votes were counted.
The day of violence saw:
Protesters break down fences outside the US Capitol and storm the building
Capitol buildings put on lockdown amid the turmoil
Vice President Mike Pence, followed by Senators, evacuated
Trump tell those that sieged the Capitol to “go home in peace”
An IED was reportedly found on Capitol grounds
A woman shot dead confirmed as Air Force veteran Ashli Babbit, of San Diego, California
“While this represents the end of the greatest first term in presidential history, it’s only the beginning of our fight to Make America Great Again!”
Four people died and several others have been seriously injured during a violent siege on Capitol Hill in Washington DC.
Hundreds of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol building where bloody clashes erupted in Congress on Wednesday.
After the turmoil of the protests Congress began voting on Republicans’ efforts to object to the election results in several states including Pennsylvania, Georgia and Arizona.
All the bids were overturned allowing Mike Pence to announce Biden’s certification early this morning. As the night wore on emotions from earlier in the day appeared to spill over as members of the House nearly came to blows on the floor during the Pennsylvania debate.
The GOP’s Morgan Griffith objected after Democrat Conor Lamb said a breach of the Capitol by an angry mob earlier in the day was “inspired by lies, the same lies you are hearing in this room tonight”.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi shot down the objection, but a few minutes later Republicans and Democrats streamed to the middle aisle, with around a dozen lawmakers getting close to each other and arguing.
But the group quickly broke up when Pelosi called for order on the floor and staffers also intervened.
Trump had addressed the crowd earlier, once again claiming the presidential election had been rigged, but offered no evidence to back up his claims.
A mob of supporters then battled cops and forced their way into the Capitol building, halting Congress’s counting of the electoral votes.
Police ushered lawmakers, including Pence, to safety as the rioters took over the building.
For a while, senators and members of the House were locked inside their respective chambers.
SOURCE: the sun
