Congress has reconvened to certify Joe Biden as the next president of the United States late Wednesday, hours after a violent mob of supporters loyal to Donald Trump stormed the US Capitol in what lawmakers condemned as an attempted insurrection aimed at overturning the results of an American election.
Shaken by the unprecedented scenes of chaos that had consumed the seat of American government, members of the House and Senate returned to the Capitol to continue the process of certifying the electoral college vote that would ratify Biden’s victory. In speeches, they lamented the occupation of the hallowed halls and the deep divisions, exploited and sharpened by the president, that led to this moment.
Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, who had earlier sought to fend off a last gasp challenge to the results by Republican lawmakers, said Congress would not be intimated by “thugs, mobs, or threats”.
“This failed attempt to obstruct the Congress, this failed insurrection, only underscores how crucial the task before us is for our republic.”
Speaking to both the would-be revolutionaries and the rebels in his own caucus, McConnell vowed that the chamber would “certify the winner of the 2020 presidential election”.
Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer – who in the midst of the mayhem learned he would soon become the majority leader, after Democrats won a second runoff election in Georgia – said 6 January was a day that would “live forever in infamy”.
Trump had already turned what is traditionally a ceremonial affair into his last stand in an increasingly reckless effort to cling to power, pressuring his allies on Capitol Hill to object to the votes of some electors. Though drama was anticipated, the proceedings quickly devolved into an extraordinary series of events unprecedented in modern American history, as hundreds and then thousands of Trump supporters, many wearing red Maga caps and some armed, barrelled past security barricades and bashed through the Capitol doors. Some smashed windows and scaled the building’s exterior, waving Trump flags from a balcony, while authorities, outnumbered and unprepared, struggled to regain control.
By nightfall, authorities said the Capitol had been secured. Escorted by armed officers, Vice-president Mike Pence, who is presiding over the joint session of Congress, senators and members of the House returned to their chambers to resume debate over an objection to the electoral college count.
But the mood had shifted remarkably from that afternoon, when a band of Republicans arrived on Capitol Hill prepared to lead a brazen, if futile, rebellion against certification. Several Republican senators, unsettled by the violence that sent them scrambling under tables for protection, dropped their objections.
For those who planned to forge ahead with the plot, Republicans senator Mitt Romney warned in a floor speech that drew sustained applause that they would “forever be seen as being complicit in an unprecedented attack against our democracy”.
Republican Senator Josh Hawley, a ringleader of the challenge, was undeterred. The Missouri Republican said he would still object to the results in Pennsylvania, arguing that the earlier violence should not dismiss his concerns that fraud had occurred during the election.
The Senate overwhelmingly voted down a challenge to reject Biden’s victory in Arizona, the first state to sustain an objection based on spurious claims of widespread voter fraud. The House followed suit shortly thereafter, though 121 Republicans voted to toss out the state’s electors.
Earlier in the day, rioters for hours roamed the marbled halls of Congress shouting, “we want Trump”. Amid the bedlam, one woman was fatally shot, the DC police confirmed. The building was placed on lockdown, and the DC mayor imposed a rare 6pm curfew, as national guard troops were activated.
After initially urging his supporters to demonstrate at the Capitol, Trump, who has refused to commit to a peaceful transition of power, attempted to later appeal for calm. In a video taped from the White House, the president instructed his followers to “go home”. But he also fueled their grievances by again baselessly attacking the integrity of the election.
In remarks from Wilmington, Biden condemned what he called an “unprecedented assault and implored Trump to “fulfill his oath” and “demand an end to this siege”.
“This is not dissent. It’s disorder. It’s chaos. It borders on sedition,” said Biden, who is just two weeks away from being sworn in as the 46th US president. “The world is watching.”
In one stunning exchange, officers drew their guns on the floor of the House, where just outside an armed protester faced off with Capitol police. Teargas was deployed in the Capitol Rotunda as rioters shattered windows to enter the building.
Members of Congress were given gas masks and escorted from the Capitol to their offices nearby. Urgent warnings from Capitol police advised staffers to “hide or seek cover”.
“This is a coup attempt,” said congressman Adam Kinzinger, a Republican of Illinois and a veteran of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
The protests disrupted what was the early stages of a futile attempt by dozens of congressional Republicans to reject certification of the electoral college votes, that affirmed Trump’s defeat, 306-232.
The constitutionally-mandated joint session of Congress, traditionally a ceremonial affair, began auspiciously, Pence and McConnell relaying their intent to defy the president and uphold the democratic process.
In a scathing and emotional denunciation of the Republican effortMcConnell warned his party against rejecting the will of voters, saying it would “damage our republic forever”.
The alphabetical reading of elections results started without objection. When the roll call reached Arizona – a once conservative state that Biden won in 2020 – congressman Paul Gosar rose to object. His challenge was supported by the Texas senator Ted Cruz, which triggered a period of deliberation over the validity of the state’s slate oof electors. Rambunctious Republican applause filled the chamber.
Shortly thereafter, the session was suspended as flag-waving Trump supporters invaded the US Capitol, which has been closed to the public since last March because of the pandemic.
In his increasingly desperate bid to remain in power, Trump, who has yet to concede, spent the last several weeks attempting to enlist allies and pressure public officials to overturn Biden’s win. His machinations escalated this weekend when he pressured the Georgia secretary of state, Republican Brad Raffensperger, to “find” enough votes to reverse Biden’s win in the state.
Part of his efforts also included a public pressure campaign to persuade Pence to simply reject the vote count, a power the vice-president does not have. Pence’s decision not to interfere in the certification process infuriated Trump, who lashed out at his vice-president as he was being escorted from the Senate chamber out of concern for his safety.
“Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our country and our constitution, giving states a chance to certify a corrected set of facts, not the fraudulent or inaccurate ones which they were asked to previously certify. USA demands the truth!” Trump said in a tweet flagged by Twitter for amplifying falsehoods about the election. Twitter later suspended the president’s account.
Several House Democrats called for Trump’s removal from office, blaming Trump for fomenting the violence that unfolded. With two weeks left in his presidency, congresswoman Ilhan Omar, a Minnesota Democrat, said she was drawing up articles of impeachment and congressman Ted Lieu, a California Democrat, urged Pence to invoke the 25th amendment and remove him from office.
All 50 states have certified the election results after a number of closely contested states conducted post-election audits and recounts to ensure their accuracy. Courts at every level, including the supreme court, have rejected dozens of lawsuits filed by Trump and his allies to challenge the results.