Congress affirmed Joe Biden as President-elect early Thursday after lawmakers defeated challenges seeking to throw out votes from Arizona and Pennsylvania.
Vice President Mike Pence confirmed Biden’s win just after 3:40 a.m. Thursday after Congress completed counting the Electoral College votes. It’s the last step before Biden’s inauguration as the 46th president on January 20.
Following the congressional vote, President Donald Trump acknowledged his loss for the first time since the election, promising an “orderly transition.”
“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,” Dan Scavino, an aid to the president, posted to his personal Twitter account.
On Thursday, the White House Press Office said they were unaware the president released that statement. He later released a video on the official presidential Twitter account acknowledging Biden won and pledging a “smooth transition of power.”
He said serving as president has “been the honor of my lifetime” and went on to tell his supporters, “our incredible journey is only just beginning.”
Twitter temporarily blocked Trump’s personal account after removing three tweets the company said were a “severe violation” of Twitter’s rules. The social media company threatened to ban Trump if he does not stop breaking the platform’s rules,
What is normally a quick, ceremonial function was pushed into the early morning hours Thursday after Congress was forced to recess for nearly six hours Wednesday when an angry mob of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol.
Four people died in the melee, including one woman who was shot by police and three who died from “medical emergencies,” police say.
After Congress reconvened, dozens of Republican lawmakers persisted in challenging electoral votes, attempting to thwart Joe Biden’s win. They repeated unproven claims of voter fraud pushed out by the President and called on Congress to act to secure federal elections.
Outgoing Georgia Senator Sen. Kelly Loeffler withdrew her challenge of the Electoral College after the assault on the Capitol.
“The events that have transpired today have forced me to reconsider, and I cannot now, in good conscience, object to the certification of these electors,” she said to applause on the Senate floor. Vice-President Pence was among those who applauded Loeffler.
Trump tried to get the Vice-President to throw out electoral votes and hand him the presidency. Pence defied Trump and issued a lengthy statement saying he could not change the outcome.
This article has been updated to reflect the President’s tweet did not appear on the official White House Twitter account
