Congress certifies Joe Biden as president hours after storming of Capitol

Congress certified Joe Biden as the next president of the United States in the early hours of Thursday morning, after an insurgent 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 extraordinary scenes of chaos and violence that struck at the heart of American democracy, members of the House and Senate returned to the Capitol to continue the process of certifying the electoral college vote that would validate Biden’s victory. Several Republican senators, unsettled by the day’s events, which had seen them duck under tables and don gas masks, said they no longer supported a brazen but doomed effort to keep Trump in office by rejecting the results of the electoral college.

In late night speeches, lawmakers lamented the siege of the hallowed halls of Congress and the deep divisions – sharpened and exploited by the president – that led to this perilous moment.

“This failed attempt to obstruct the Congress, this failed insurrection, only underscores how crucial the task before us is for our republic,” Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell said, declaring that lawmakers would not be intimidated by “thugs, mobs, or threats”.

Speaking to both the would-be revolutionaries who stormed and occupied the Capitol and the rebels in his own caucus who supported an effort to throw out the election results, McConnell vowed to “certify the winner of the 2020 presidential election”.

Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer – who in the midst of the mayhem learned that 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”.

The uprising 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.

Traditionally a ceremonial affair, Trump convinced his allies on Capitol Hill to turn the pro forma ritual into what would be his last stand in an increasingly reckless effort to cling to power. The constitutionally-mandated joint session of Congress began at 1pm, with Pence presiding over the proceedings and each states’ electoral votes secured in mahogany boxes.

But the proceedings quickly devolved into a shocking 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, seemingly 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 changed remarkably from earlier that afternoon, when a band of Republicans arrived on Capitol Hill prepared to lead a futile rebellion against certification. Several senators reversed course and voted to uphold the results of the electoral college after saying they would object.

Others were undeterred. Republican Senator Josh Hawley, one of the Senate leaders seeking to overturn the results, argued that the earlier violence should not dismiss his concerns that fraud had occurred during the election. Just after midnight, he joined some House Republicans in seeking to throw out Pennsylvania’s electoral slate.

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”.

Congress voted down challenges to reject Biden’s wins in Arizona and Pennsylvania, based on spurious claims of widespread voter fraud. The House rejected the challenge to the Arizona result by a vote of 303-122 and the Senate voted it down 93-6. The Pennsylvania challenge was voted down 282-138 in the House and 92-7 in the Senate.

A majority of House Republicans voted to overturn the Pennsylvania result, despite no evidence of significant voter fraud in the state and multiple failed court challenges in past weeks.

Attempts by House Republicans to object to the electoral slate in Georgia, Michigan and Nevada failed to garner support from a senator and were not considered.

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 declaring “this is a time for strength” and urging his supporters to “walk down to the Capitol”, Trump later attempted to 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 claiming the election was “stolen.” Facebook and Twitter removed the video.

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.”

Several lawmakers said the day’s events were tantamount to an attempted coup. Teargas was deployed in the Capitol Rotunda. Rioters, who were mostly white men, streamed into the Senate chamber. One swung from the balcony above the floor. They trashed the office of the Senate parliamentarian and entered the private office of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, leaving behind a note that read: “WE WILL NOT BACK DOWN.” In a shocking episode, officers drew their guns on the floor of the House, where just outside an armed protester faced off with Capitol police.

Many blamed the president for stoking the violence by refusing to accept the reality of his decisive electoral defeat. Romney, who lost the 2012 presidential election to Barack Obama, described what transpired on Wednesday as the result of a “selfish man’s injured pride”.

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. Wednesday was to be his day of reckoning.

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 last weekend when he demanded the Georgia secretary of state, Republican Brad Raffensperger, “find” enough votes to reverse his defeat in the state.

His ire then turned to Pence, who he implored publicly to do “the right thing” and reject the electoral vote tally – a power the vice-president does not have. Pence’s decision not to interfere in the certification process infuriated Trump, who lashed out at him on Wednesday 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.

“Let me be very clear: if all we do is accept the certified electoral college results and go home, we would have failed our country,” Lieu said in a tweet calling for Trump’s removal office. “Congress cannot just go home like nothing happened.”