Congress Finalizes Joe Biden’s Victory Over President Trump
After a day defined by fear, violence and unprecedented chaos, Congress officially confirmed President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in the wee hours of Thursday morning.
Republican attempts to contest the results of the election served only to delay the inevitable. Vice President Mike Pence officially pronounced Biden the President-elect and Kamal Harris the Vice President-elect. They will be sworn in and assume office at noon on Jan. 20.
President Trump, after weeks of making baseless claims about election fraud—and inciting the mob of supporters who stormed the U.S. Capitol Wednesday, finally promised an orderly transition of power, in a statement released immediately after the results were certified.
The tally tipped the win to Biden and Harris at 3:31 a.m. ET. The counting finally ended at 3:40 a.m.
The final proclamation on what is supposed to be a routine Congressional procedure capped off the most intense day on Capitol Hill in living memory. Shortly after lawmakers gathered in a joint session to certify Biden’s victory Wednesday, Trump supporters who had packed the streets of Washington, D.C., turned violent, breaching police barricades and storming the Capitol building.
One woman was killed by U.S. Capitol police and lawmakers were forced to shelter in place for hours after marauding supporters of the president forced their way into halls of Congress—ransacking offices and carrying off souvenirs, all in plain view of social media, photographers and TV cameras.
For the next several hours, the building was locked down, as lawmakers and staff were evacuated to undisclosed locations. For too many on Capitol Hill, the consequences of the incendiary rhetoric stoked by the president transcended into reality.
President Trump, temporarily banned from firing off tweets after inciting the violent mob, released a statement immediately after the results were certified and pledged an orderly transition of power moving forward—though he said he still disagreed with the outcome.
The violence did not deter a last-ditch effort by a handful of U.S. Senators and half of the GOP caucus in the House to contest the results of the elections in Arizona and Pennsylvania—two states that Biden won by narrow margins. But the number of naysayers in the Senate shrunk by half in the wake of the violence. —Alana Abramson
1:30 a.m.: 1 killed by police, 3 died in medical emergencies during U.S. Capitol siege
U.S. Capitol police shot and killed one protester as she tried to enter the building Wednesday and three other people died from “separate medical emergencies” during the siege on the halls of Congress, according to Washington D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department.
A mob of President Donald Trump’s supporters were able to break through police lines and smash their way into the U.S. Capitol Wednesday afternoon—raising questions about security for the nation’s lawmakers.
Members of Congress have vowed to investigate the security failures, focusing especially on the U.S. Capitol Police—the federal agency of 2,300 that is charged with protecting Congress.
Metropolitan Police Chief Robert Contee said in a press conference Wednesday night that his agency, which has jurisdiction over Washington, D.C., worked closely with Capitol Police in planning for Wednesday’s protests.
Contee said a Capitol police officer shot a woman when she tried to enter the Capitol shortly after 2:45 p.m. Wednesday. The woman, whose name has not been released, was taken to a hospital, where she died.
Contee said 14 Metropolitan Police officers were hurt, including one who was seriously injured when he was pulled into a mob of protesters and beaten. He was hospitalized on Wednesday night for treatment.
Metropolitan Police had arrested 52 people as of 9:30 p.m. ET Wednesday—including four for carrying a handgun without a license. The department also recovered two pipe bombs—one at the headquarters of the Republican National Committee and the other at the Democratic National Committee.
Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser instituted a 6 p.m. curfew for the city on Wednesday and declared a public emergency—which she extended for 15 days to last through the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden.
Bowser, at the Wednesday night press conference, blamed Trump for the violence. “To our fellow Americans, I know that I speak for all of us when I say that we saw an unprecedented attack on the american democracy, incited by the United States President, and he must be held accountable,” she said. “His constant and divisive rhetoric led to the abhorrent actions we saw today. And sadly, it led to a loss of life that will forever stain what could have been and should have been a peaceful transfer of power.”
12:45 a.m.: Hawley’s objection to Pennsylvania vote forces more debate in Congress
Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley, one of the leaders of the futile Republican effort to block the certification of Joe Biden’s victory, joined 80 members of the House of Representatives in objecting to Pennsylvania’s election result, further dragging out the day.
Speaking on the Senate floor Wednesday night, Hawley said violence by the pro-Trump mob had not quelled his concerns about the election in Pennsylvania. “For those who have concerns about what happened in November, this is the appropriate means, this is the lawful place where those objections and concerns can be heard.”