A joint session of Congress presided over by Vice President Mike Pence voted early Thursday morning to certify President-elect Joe Biden’s win against President Donald Trump after the Capitol was stormed earlier in the day by pro-Trump rioters.
Every state’s votes were verified throughout the night. The states that were objected to received enough votes to certify Biden’s win, despite a small group of Senate Republicans who objected against the certification of Arizona and Pennsylvania.
Just hours before the vote, pro-Trump rioters breached the U.S. Capitol and made their way onto the Senate floor, forcing lawmakers to go on lockdown.
Despite the chaos, Congress regrouped and voted to certify Biden’s victory after the building was cleared.
The Senate voted 93-6 against the objection to Arizona’s certification. The six senators to object were Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, Republican Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley, Republican Mississippi Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, Republican Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy, Republican Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall, and Republican Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville.
The Senate voted 92-7 against the objection to Pennsylvania’s certification. The seven senators to object were Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, Republican Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley, Republican Wyoming Sen. Cynthia Lummis, Republican Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall, Republican Florida Sen. Rick Scott, Republican Mississippi Cindy Hyde-Smith, and Republican Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville.
Vice President Mike Pence presides over a joint session of Congress with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) on January 06, 2021 in Washington, DC. Congress held a joint session today to ratify President-elect Joe Biden’s 306-232 Electoral College win over President Donald Trump. (Photo by Saul Loeb – Pool/Getty Images)
There were at least a dozen senators who said they would object during Congress’ counting of the Electoral College vote. Republican Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley was the first senator to make the announcement Dec. 30, citing Big Tech platforms’ alleged interference in the election in support of Biden and claiming election laws were broken in Pennsylvania.
Eleven Republican senators, led by Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, announced Saturday that they would also object to the certification of states’ Electoral College votes when Congress meets on Jan. 6. (RELATED: 11 Republican Senators – Led By Ted Cruz – Will Object To Electoral College Certification)
The riots changed several senators’ votes, including that of Republican Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler, who lost her runoff election Tuesday night against Democratic candidate Raphael Warnock. (RELATED: ‘Tried To Disrupt Our Democracy, They Failed’ — McConnell Slams Rioters Who Stormed Capitol Building)
The Trump campaign and Republican surrogates have filed around 40 lawsuits trying to overturn the election results since Nov. 3 without winning a single one for lack of evidence.
Pence announced Wednesday in a letter to Congress that he would not unilaterally attempt to overturn the results of the presidential election and returned to the Capitol Wednesday night after it was cleared by law enforcement.