The U.S. Congress on Thursday certified the Electoral College vote that gave Democrat Joe Biden a victory in the 2020 presidential election after a restless joint session riddled by violent attacks on the Capitol. This was the first time the Capitol was breached since 1812.
Biden’s bid for the Oval Office garnered 304 electoral votes to President Trump’s tally of 227. In fact, it was the inverse total the longtime American businessman defeated Democratic challenger Hillary Clinton by in 2016.
The total affirmed by vice president Mike Pence hands back control of the presidency to the Democrats after Trump served a single term in office. In what is considered a formality for most presidential elections, many GOP legislators said they would formally object to the official count in an effort to overturn the results.
The electoral votes were opened before a joint session of Congress with several objections from Republicans for the vote of Arizona, Pennsylvania and others, but none carried any merit after debate.
Lawmakers’ commitment to uphold the will of the voters and the peaceful transfer of power was what kept them in Washington throughout the night. Trump, who still refuses to concede the election, said in a statement there will be a smooth transition of power on Inauguration Day.
“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,” Trump said in a statement posted to Twitter.
