Shaken Congress Certifies Biden's Victory; Trump Promises 'Orderly Transition'

San Diego CA

07 January, 2021

4:30 PM

Description

By Chris Jennewein, Times of San Diego January 07, 2021 Hours after hundreds of President Donald Trump's supporters stormed the Capitol in a harrowing assault on American democracy, a shaken Congress on Thursday formally certified Democrat Joe Biden's election victory. Immediately afterward, the White House released a statement from Trump in which he pledged an "orderly transition" when Biden is sworn into office on Jan. 20, although he repeated his false claim that he won the November election. The Republican president on Wednesday incited his supporters to overturn the election result before a mob swarmed the Capitol. The destructive and shocking images at the Capitol of what other Republicans called an "insurrection" filled television screens in the United States and around the world, a deep stain on Trump's presidency and legacy as his tenure nears its end. The FBI asked the public for tips on people involved in the violence. In certifying Biden's win early Thursday morning, longtime Trump allies such as Vice President Mike Pence and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell rejected Trump's pleas for intervention, while the violence at the Capitol spurred several administration officials to quit. Among them was Mick Mulvaney, a former White House chief of staff who resigned his post as a special envoy to Northern Ireland. "I wouldn't be surprised to see more of my friends resign over the course of the next 24 to 48 hours," he said on CNBC. A source familiar with the situation said there have been discussions among some Cabinet members and Trump allies about invoking the 25th Amendment, which would allow a majority of the Cabinet to declare Trump unable to perform his duties, making Pence the acting president. A second source doubted the effort would go anywhere given Trump has less than two weeks left in office. Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar said Trump's Cabinet should be ready to act, as Trump could stir up more trouble ahead of Biden's inauguration. "They better be ready to do that if it continues because you cannot have a president basically leading an insurrection against our own country's government," she said on CBS. After the chaos on Capitol Hill, Congress late on Wednesday resumed its work certifying Biden's Electoral College win: normally a formality but which included efforts by some Republican lawmakers to stall the process. As the sometimes tense debate stretched into the early hours of Thursday, the Senate and the House of Representatives rejected two objections to the tally and certified the final Electoral College count with Biden receiving 306 votes and Trump 232 votes. — Reuters Times of San Diego is an independent online news site covering the San Diego metropolitan area. Our journalists report on politics, crime, business, sports, education, arts, the military and everyday life in San Diego. No subscription is required, and you can sign up for a free daily newsletter with a summary of the latest news.