After a vicious attack at the U.S. Capitol, members of Congress affirmed the Electoral College win of Joe Biden. Republicans intended to dispute Electoral College votes in several states. After supporters of Trump savagely attacked the Capitol, GOP senators only challenged two states, Arizona and Pennsylvania, instead of the six to eight states that they originally planned to challenge. Lawmakers voted down both of those disputes.
Wednesday’s riots delayed the congressional session for hours.
After the Capitol was deemed safe, Vice President Mike Pence, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and the rest of the congressional leadership decided to continue the ceremony. “Today, a shameful assault was made on our democracy. It was anointed at the highest level of government. It cannot, however, deter us from our responsibility to validate the election of Joe Biden,” Pelosi said.
Trump and his supporters’ attempt to disrupt democracy failed. “To those who wreaked havoc in our Capitol today, you did not win. Violence never wins. Freedom wins. This is still the people’s house,” Pence said during the Senate reopening.
Senators didn’t support House objections to votes from Georgia, Michigan, and Nevada. With a vote of 93 to 6 in the Senate and a vote of 303 to 121 in the House, Congress rejected the objection to Arizona. Both houses also rejected Sen. Josh Hawley’s challenge on Pennsylvania’s count after a two-hour debate. The Senate voted 92 to 7, and the House voted 282 to 138. After 21 long hours, lawmakers of the joint session confirmed Joe Biden’s presidential victory with a final electoral vote count of 306 for Biden and 232 for Trump.
Shortly after, Trump released a statement on Twitter 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.”
…fight to ensure that only legal votes were counted. 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!”
— Dan Scavino Jr.🇺🇸🦅 (@DanScavino) January 7, 2021
