–Mob of Trump supporters raged the Capitol, forcing lawmakers to vacate and disturbing the proceedings
–The Senate resumed late on Wednesday evening, hours after lawmakers evacuated from a Capitol
–Republicans and Democrats locked arms to condemn the violence
After a mob of Trump supporters raged the Capitol, forcing lawmakers to vacate and disturbing the proceedings, Congress rejected Republican challenges to Mr. Biden’s Electoral College victory.
Congress confirmed President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s victory early Thursday morning, hours ahead of a mob of loyalists commended on by President Trump stormed and occupied the Capitol, disrupting the final electoral count in a shocking display of violence that shook the core of American democracy.
There was no parallel in modern American history, with insurgents acting in the president’s name vandalizing Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office, smashing windows, looting art and briefly taking control of the Senate chamber, where they took turns posing for photographs with fists up on the dais where Vice President Mike Pence had just been presiding.
The Senate resumed late on Wednesday evening, hours after lawmakers evacuated from a Capitol flooded by rebels carrying pro-Trump paraphernalia, one of the nation’s most polarizing moments yielded an unexpected window of solidarity.
Republicans and Democrats locked arms to condemn the violence and express their determination to carry out what they called a constitutionally sacrosanct function.
“To those who wreaked havoc in our Capitol today, you did not win,” Mr. Pence said in a sharp break from Mr. Trump, who had praised the mob. “Violence never wins. Freedom wins. And this is still the people’s house.”
Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky and the majority leader, said the “failed insurrection” had only clarified Congress’s purpose.
“They tried to disrupt our democracy,” he said. “They failed.”
The disturbance unfolded on a day when Democrats secured a stunning pair of victories in runoff elections in Georgia, winning effective control of the Senate and the complete levers of power in Washington. It arrived as Congress met for what would normally have been a perfunctory and ceremonial session to declare Mr. Biden’s election.
In other news, President-elect Joe Biden named Wednesday for the restoration of “just simple decency” as a crowd driven by his predecessor stormed the U.S. Capitol and hindered Congress from confirming the results of November’s election in which Biden won the White House.
Biden planned to deliver a speech focused on how to resuscitate an economy and provide financial aid for small business owners stumbling from the coronavirus pandemic from his native Delaware.
