Biden Election Certified After A Day Of Violence On Capitol Hill

Updated at 11:44 a.m.

WASHINGTON, DC — Hours after angry insurrectionists loyal to President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol, Congress overcame some lawmakers' objections and certified Joe Biden early Thursday as the winner of the 2020 election and the nation's 46th president.

The extraordinary joint session of the Senate and House, which had been interrupted Wednesday afternoon by violent protesters who mobbed the Capitol building, resumed into the night to continue acting as the Electoral College and formally count the electoral votes officially making Biden president and Kamala Harris vice president.

Trump, who was widely condemned by members of his own party for encouraging his supporters to march to the Capitol, committed to a peaceful transition of power but took no responsibility for the melee in an overnight statement dispatched on Twitter. The statement was dispatched by a spokesman on Twitter, a platform he is temporarily locked out of for making unfounded claims. He again falsely claimed the facts bear out his rejection of the election results and vowed to "continue our fight to ensure that only legal votes were counted."

Trump's Facebook and Instagram accounts were locked through at least Inaugration Day, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Thursday.

“We believe the risks of allowing the President to continue to use our service during this period are simply too great,” Zuckerberg wrote in a statement posted to his personal page. “Therefore, we are extending the block we have placed on his Facebook and Instagram accounts indefinitely and for at least the next two weeks until the peaceful transition of power is complete.”

Overnight, formal objections to the electoral votes of Arizona and Pennsylvania — two key battleground states won by Biden — each halted the count for a time as the Senate and House adjourned to meet and debate those objections. However, a mostly unanimous Senate and House rejected objections to counting Arizona's 11 electoral votes, despite an effort spearheaded by Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona and Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas.

Among others, longtime Trump ally Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina urged colleagues to forget objecting to the election results, which he said made Biden "the legitimate president of the United States." Added Graham, "Enough is enough."

The same process occurred following objections to Pennsylvania's 20 electoral votes, backed by Rep. Scott Perry of Pennsylvania and Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri, but both chambers ultimately rejected those objections as well.

Expected objections also were made to the electoral votes of four other battleground states Biden also won — Georgia, Michigan, Nevada and Wisconsin — but those objections dissipated because they were made verbally and not formally presented for lack of support by a specific senator. The violent protesters who mobbed the Capitol on Wednesday afternoon led some of the dozen senators and 100 House Republicans who had planned to object to the results to reverse course.

A political showdown on this level hadn’t been seen since the aftermath of the Civil War. Even with the formal objections protracting the process, Trump's long-shot effort had almost no chance of succeeding.

Vice President Mike Pence, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and other lawmakers strongly condemned the violence that interrupted the certification of Biden as the winner.

Pence, who earlier Wednesday defied Trump and refused to go outside his constitutional duties and overturn the election results, condemned the violence in which four people were killed, but didn't say if he thought objections in what is typically a routine proceeding should be allowed.

"We grieve the loss of life in these hallowed halls, as well as the injuries suffered by those who defended our capital today," Pence said as he reopened the joint session. "And we will always be grateful to the men and women who stayed at their post, to defend this historic place."

Capitol Complex Rioting: The Latest

To the rioters, he said: "You did not win. Violence never wins. Freedom wins. And this is still the people's house. As we reconvene in this chamber ... the world will again witness the resilience and strength of our democracy."

In opening remarks, McConnell said the United States and Congress have "faced down much greater threats than the unhinged crowd we saw today" and that "the failed insurrection only underscores how crucial the task before us is, for our republic."

"We will not be kept out of this chamber by thugs, mobs, or threats," McConnell said. "We will not bow to the lawlessness or intimidation. We will be back at our post. We'll discharge our duty under the Constitution and for our nation. And we're going to do it tonight."

In an emotional floor speech before the Capitol came under siege, McConnell said "democracy would enter a death spiral" and "damage our republic forever" if Congress overturned the election results, and reportedly urged lawmakers to resume the session in a show of strength. McConnell's remarks were a rare rebuke of the outgoing president.

As a parade of lawmakers condemned both the rioters who stormed the Capitol in the most significant breach since British troops stormed it and set it on fire during the War of 1812, members of Trump's Cabinet were meeting to discuss invoking the 25th Amendment, multiple news outlets reported. The 25th Amendment outlines the removal of a president by the vice president and Cabinet members if deemed unable to carry out the duties of the presidency.

Earlier Wednesday, former Defense Secretary of Defense William Cohen told CNBC that the Cabinet should invoke the 25th Amendment and remove Trump from office.

“I don’t know where his Cabinet has been all this time, but it’s long overdue for the 25th Amendment because this man is no longer capable of serving the United States of America,” Cohen, who led the Defense Department during Bill Clinton's presidency, told the network.

Jay Timmons, the head of the National Association of Manufacturers, made a similar call, asking Vice President Mike Pence to consider removing Trump from office. Timmons blasted the "armed violent protesters who support the baseless claims" by Trump "that he somehow won an election that he overwhelmingly lost."

Timmons, a former high-level Republican congressional aide who led the National Republican Senatorial Committee in 2004, said that "throughout this whole disgusting episode, Trump has been cheered on by members of his own party, adding fuel to the distrust that has enflamed violent anger."

"This is not law and order. This is chaos. It is mob rule. It is dangerous. This is sedition and should be treated as such," Timmons said.

U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist, a Democrat from Florida, also called for Trump's removal.

“The 25th Amendment allows for the removal of a President. It’s time to remove the President,” he tweeted, describing the events at the Capitol as “heartbreaking, anti-American events.”

He added, “The dissemination of violent rhetoric and dangerous misinformation before and after President-elect Joe Biden’s win in November laid the groundwork for this attack on our democracy.”

Minnesota Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar wrote on Twitter that she is drawing up articles of impeachment against Trump.

"Donald J. Trump should be impeached by the House of Representatives & removed from office by the United States Senate," she wrote on Twitter. "We can't allow him to remain in office, it's a matter of preserving our Republic and we need to fulfill our oath."

Some Republicans reversed course after the mob overtook the Capitol and said they no longer planned to object to counting the electoral votes of a handful of battleground states, saying their aim was to raise questions, not overturn the election results. But it was unclear as the joint session resumed if any in the coalition of about a dozen Republican senators, led by Ted Cruz of Texas and Josh Hawley of Missouri, and up to 100 House Republicans remained committed to their objections.

Hundreds of protesters stormed the Capitol following a rally held by Trump earlier in the day. The surge of protesters overwhelmed Capitol Police, who evacuated members of Congress as violence escalated. At least 30 people had been arrested by Wednesday evening as police braced for a long night in Washington, D.C.

Trump, who had told the teeming crowd of protesters earlier that he would never concede, seemed to capitulate to critics who said he had fueled the insurgents and later told his supporters to "go home in peace."

"This was a fraudulent election," he said in a tweeted video at 4:17 p.m. ET, "but we cannot play into the hands of these people."

Many of his tweets were disputed by Twitter, which suspended his account for 12 hours and warned that he could be banned from the social media platform. Facebook also locked out his account, for 24 hours.

Counting and confirming the Electoral College is a typically routine proceeding upended by Trump’s extraordinary efforts to overturn the election.

The proceedings were stopped, however, when Sen. James Lankford, an Oklahoma Republican, was interrupted by an aide who said protesters were in the building. The House doors also were closed.

In a notification, U.S. Capitol Police said no entry or exit is permitted in the buildings within the Capitol Complex. “Stay away from exterior windows, doors. If outside, seek cover,” police said.

Prior to the start of the proceedings, Trump said in a noontime rally that he would "never concede" and urged his supporters to march to the Capitol, where hundreds had already gathered under tight security.

“We will never give up,” Trump said.

Electoral votes in Alabama and Alaska, both states won by Trump, were certified first as the process was going alphabetically by states. The first of what is expected to be at least three objections made by the GOP came when Arizona came up.

The Senate and House had convened separately to debate the validity of the objection before the protesters stormed the building.

Trump supporters clashed overnight with National Guard troops summoned to the city by Mayor Muriel Bowser, who called on residents to stay home to avoid confrontations with anyone who is “looking for a fight.”

On Wednesday as the vote count began, Capitol police evacuated two buildings as protesters packed close together between the Washington Monument and the Ellipse, The Washington Post reported.

Adding to the chaos are the results of two Georgia Senate runoff races that will hand Biden a unified government when he is inaugurated on Jan. 20. The

Adding to the chaos are the results of two Georgia Senate runoff races that could give Biden a unified government. The Associated Press and other news organizations projected Democrats Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff won their races against incumbent Republican Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, respectively. Their victories will result in a 50-50 even split in the Senate, where Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will have the tie-breaking vote.

Despite the theatrics by the Republicans objecting to the election results, Trump’s desperate attempt to stay in the White House for another four years has little chance of succeeding in a bipartisan vote in Congress to accept the results declaring Biden the winner of the Electoral College by a margin of 306-232. Biden’s inauguration is Jan. 20.

"The most important part is that, in the end, democracy will prevail here," Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, among those managing the proceedings, said in an interview.

The president’s grievances escalated over the weekend when he pressured Georgia’s Republican secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, to “find” enough votes to overturn Biden’s win in the state’s presidential election.

Pence, who is presiding over the session, has said he has no authority to overturn the election results, despite Trump’s call at a rally in Georgia this week and again Wednesday for him to do so. Pence's chief of staff, Marc Short, said the vice president “will uphold the Constitution and follow the statutory law."

"I hope that our great vice president comes through for us," Trump said ahead of Georgia’s Senate runoff elections Tuesday. "He's a great guy. Of course, if he doesn't come through, I won't like him quite as much."

Overnight, Trump stepped up his criticism of Pence, writing in a disputed claim on Twitter that if Pence “comes through for us, we will win the Presidency.”

Lawmakers have filed objections to Electoral College results in the past, but never with the intensity as Trump has in the extraordinary 2020 election cycle. Although a dozen Republican senators and as many as 100 House Republicans pledged to object to the results, others in their party warn their actions erode Americans’ faith in democracy.

"There is no constitutionally viable means for the Congress to overturn an election," said Republican Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, announcing his refusal to join the insurgent effort on the eve of the joint session.

To bring the objections to the election results to debate, at least one member each of the Senate or House of Representatives must make them in writing, according to the Congressional Research Service.

In that instance, the two houses separate and debate the question in their respective chambers for up to two hours; vote separately to accept or reject the objection; and then reassemble in the joint session, where their respective votes are announced. Both houses would have been required to vote to reject a state’s electoral votes for any contested votes to be excluded.

The last time a serious Electoral College results challenge was lodged was on Jan. 6, 2001, when then-Vice President Al Gore silenced objections to his defeat the previous November by President George W. Bush.

Gore, a Democrat, won the popular vote by about 543,895 votes, but a U.S. Supreme Court divided along ideological lines voted that Bush was entitled to Florida’s 25 electoral votes. He won with 271 electoral votes, one more than needed to win the presidency.

Members of the Congressional Black Caucus argued for 20 minutes to block the count of Florida’s electoral votes; but when no senator signed on to the debate, Gore brought it to a close with his gavel, and Bush was confirmed by Congress as the winner.

“The whole number of electors appointed to vote for president of the United States is 538, of which a majority is 270,” Gore said in declaring his opponent the winner. “George W. Bush, of the state of Texas, has received for president of the United States 271 votes. Al Gore, of the state of Tennessee, has received 266 votes.”

He magnanimously added: “May God bless our new president and our new vice president, and may God bless the United States of America.”

There have been some minor skirmishes before and since then.

James O’Hara, a congressman from Michigan, filed the first formal objection to the Electoral College count in a Jan. 6, 1969, joint session. Richard Nixon had defeated Hubert Humphrey in both the popular and Electoral College tallies the previous November, but O’Hara’s objection centered on a “faithless” North Carolina elector who was pledged to vote for Nixon but instead voted for segregationist George Wallace.

O’Hara’s objection was co-signed by Maine Sen. Edmund Muskie, Humphrey’s running mate on the Democratic ticket. O’Hara’s effort failed and, in the end, one of North Carolina’s 13 electoral votes went to Wallace.

On Jan. 6, 2005, after Bush overcame an election challenge by Democrat John Kerry, winning both the popular and electoral votes, California Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer joined Ohio Democratic Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones in an objection citing concerns about voting irregularities. Kerry did not support the objection, which sought to throw out all of Ohio’s electoral votes.

Boxer was the only member of the Senate supporting the objection, which was supported by 31 House Democrats.

Four years ago, on Jan. 26, 2017, then-Vice President Joe Biden declared that Congress had certified Trump’s Electoral College win — the one that matters — over Democrat Hillary Clinton, despite the fact that she received about 3 million more popular votes than Trump.

Half a dozen House Democrats objected to the Electoral College vote count, but no senators joined the effort. Because of that, Biden repeatedly said the objections could not be entertained, even as Democrats interrupted.

“There is no debate,” Biden said at the time. “There is no debate. If there is not one signed by a senator, the objection cannot be entertained.”

The Associated Press contributed reporting.

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