WASHINGTON DC (WSAU)– The Electoral College votes making Joe Biden and Kamala Harris the next President and Vice-President were certified in the early morning hours at the besieged US Capitol.
Current Vice-President Mike Pence fulfilled his constitutional duties and announced the certification after the Senate and House had voted down objections by Trump loyalists to the vote in Arizona and Pennsylvania.
According to a report in the Washington Post, Pence had sent a letter to lawmakers earlier in the day which said he would ignore the pressure from President Trump to help subvert the Electoral College count.
The objections over the Pennsylvania count were defeated in the Senate 92-7 and in the House 282-138.
The certification came after a 15 hour delay caused by rioters storming the Capitol Building in violence that left Americans and the world stunned. Earlier in the day Trump had appeared at a rally and told his followers he would “never concede” and urged them to march on the Capitol.
The mob breached Capitol security and broke windows and caused other damage throughout the building. One women was shot and killed and 3 other people died of health emergencies during the riot.
The mob violence and what many in Washington see as Donald Trump’s part in “inciting” it have led to some, including some former Trump supporters, to call for Pence and the Cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment to the Constitution saying Trump is not fit to carry out the duties of the Presidency.
Twitter “locked” Trump’s accounts for 12 hours and Facebook for 24 hours after what they said were “severe violations” of their rules. Twitter said it may boot Trump off the platform for good if “his sharing of election-relation disinformation and glorification of violence continue”.
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