Congress officially affirms Biden's Electoral College victory

Congress has confirmed Democrat Joseph Biden as the winner of the Electoral College and the next president of the United States under dramatic circumstances. Biden was certified as the winner in the early hours of Thursday after Trump-supporters had stormed Capitol Hill and rioted to stop the counting of Electoral College votes. Incited by Donald Trump, a mob of MAGA extremists attempted a coup as they pushed their way past police into Capitol Hill forcing lawmakers to hide. Four people died in the riots including a woman who was fatally shot outside the House chamber. Law enforcement officials found two pipe bombs, and cooler containing Molotov cocktails, during the response to Wednesday's violence, which was confirmed by the D.C. Metropolitan Police Chief Robert Contee reports NPR.

The members of Congress returned to the chamber to confirm Biden as President shortly after the police with the help of the national guard had cleared Capitol Hill of the mob. Vice President Mike Pence, bringing the Senate session, announced, "Let's get back to work." Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer made no bones about who was responsible for instigating violence. "This will be a stain on our country not easily washed away, the final indelible legacy of the 45th president of the United States," said Schumer, reported The Huffington Post.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who encouraged conspiracy theories and Trump's delusion with his tacit silence, washed his hands off the insurrection and played the victim in a speech that was supposed to be a defense of the American democracy. "Whether our nation has been at war or at peace, under all manner of threats, even during an ongoing armed rebellion and Civil War, the clockwork of our democracy has carried on," said McConnell. "The United States and the United States Congress have faced down much greater threats than the unhinged crowd we saw today. We have never been deterred before, and we will not be deterred today." McConnell, like many other Republicans, distanced themselves from Trump and his rhetoric that fuelled this attack on Capitol Hill.

This attack has been nearly four years in the making and to those who say this was unexpected, I urge you to revisit the Charlottesville rally organized by Neo-Nazis and many other far-right extremists in 2017. Donald Trump stoked hatred and offered tacit approval when he described Neo-nazis and other extremists as "fine people." 

Following the riots, Trump committed to a peaceful transition of power. "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," said Trump in a statement released by the White House, reported NBC News.

Some Republicans came with the intention of overturning millions of votes to hand Donald Trump a second term. Many of those abstained from registering their objection to certifying the election results in Biden's favor after they returned to the chamber following the attack on Capitol Hill by MAGA extremists. There were still a few Republicans who ranted about fraudulent votes without providing any data or proof to back up their claims whatsoever. Jim Jordan, who had no proof, made a case about gut feeling. "Americans instinctively know there was something wrong with this election." In a democracy, votes trump intuition.

Some House Republicans objected to the certification of Georgia, Michigan, and Nevada but needed the signature of a Senator to trigger a debate and vote. When it came to Pennsylvania Senator Josh Hawley to announce he was objecting to the certification of the Electoral College, he failed in 7-92 in the Senate. The floor had almost witnessed a fist-fight between Representative Andy Harris and Representative Al Lawson after allegations were made that Republicans were lying about the election. "He called me a liar!" shouted Harris. The Senate and House rejected objections to throwing out Georgia and Pennsylvania's electoral votes for Biden. Donald Trump won 232 electoral votes while Joe Biden secured 306 votes. 

"The announcement of the state of the vote by the President of the Senate shall be deemed a sufficient declaration of the persons elected President and Vice President of the United States, each for the term beginning on the 20th day of January 2021 and shall be entered together with the list of the votes on the journals of the Senate and the House of Representatives," announced Pence following the count of all of the state's Electoral College votes, reported CNN.