***Live Updates*** Congress Meets to Certify Electoral College Votes

The Rotunda of the US Capitol is seen on July 28, 2009 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.
KAREN BLEIER/AFP via Getty Images
Tony Lee

Congress will meet in a joint session on Wednesday to certify the Electoral College votes from the 2020 presidential election.

Stay tuned to Breitbart News for live updates.

All times Eastern.

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2:00 AM:

12:40 AM:

12:30 AM:

12:25 AM:

 

12:14 AM: Pennsylvania: 80 House Members and a Senator object. Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) and Sen. Hawley (R-MO) sign on to the object. Senators go back to their chamber to debate. Senators will reportedly yield back all two hours of debate. House has a maximum of two hours of debate.

12:13 AM: New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon certified.

12:06 AM: Nevada certified after no Senators sign on to objections from House Members.

12:05 AM: Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska certified.

12:01 AM: Michigan certified after no Senators sign on to objections from House Members.

11:59 PM: Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts certified before midnight.

11:48 PM: Georgia Reps. along with 70+ House Republicans object to Georgia’s certification. No Senators have signed on with the House Republicans. Georgia’s Electoral College votes certified.

11:47 PM: Connecticut, Delaware, D.C., Florida certified.

11:43 PM: Colorado certified.

11:42 PM: Arkansas certified. California certified.

11:37 PM: Pence getting ready to gavel in the joint session of Congress.

11:15 PM:

11:10 PM: Arizona objection fails in the House (121-303).

10:50 PM:

10:45 PM:

10:38 PM: Sen. Hirono says you can tell a lot about a person by how they handle defeat. She says the Trump presidency has been a moral failure

10:30 PM: Time for debate has ended in the house. Despite an overwhelming number of “no” votes, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) asks for a roll-call vote.

10:20 PM:

10:15 PM:

9:58 PM: Time has expired on debating the Arizona objection in the Senate. Objection fails 93-6.

9:57 PM: On the Senate floor, Graham says Hayes-Tilden led to Jim Crow and this is not the proper analogy. Graham says “count me out” and he accept all the Circuit Court rulings against Trump. Graham says the mob has done something nobody else could do — to get him to agree with Rand Paul. He tells Pence to hang in there. Graham says Biden is the “legitimate president of the United States.”

9:55 PM:

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9:47 PM:

9:45 PM: Rep. Roy points out it is hypocritical to decertify the election results while accepting the election results of themselves.

9:40 PM:

9:26 PM: In the Senate, Romney says today was “heartbreaking” and he was “shaken” to his “core.” He talks about everyone who looks at America as a place of hope. He thought about his 25 grandchildren who were wondering if their grandfather was okay.

Romney says they are gathered because of a “selfish man’s injured pride.” He says what happened today was an “insurrection incited by the president of the United States.” He says those who continue to object will forever be seen as being “complicit” in an “unprecedented attack on democracy.” He says that will be their legacy. He salutes Senators like Loeffler, Braun, Lankford who have withdrawn their objections. Romney says no Congressional audit will convince people who think the election was stolen because Trump will be spewing the same claims over and over. He says the best thing is to tell them the truth. He urges his colleagues to refrain from further objections and to unanimously affirms the results of the presidential election.

9:25 PM: In the House, McCarthy says today was the saddest day he has ever had in the House. He thanks House Members who worked with police officers to ensure the chamber was not breached.

9:20 PM: Sen. Casey says he rises to defend the voters of Pennsylvania and the “condemn” the attempt to disenfranchise the voters of Pennsylvania based on lies.

9:16 PM: In the Senate, Hawley thanks the Capitol Hill police and the National Guardsmen and the Metropolitan Police.

Hawley says it is vital to register objections because “this is the place where those objections are to be heard,” debated, and resolved without violence and bullets. He is registering his objections about Pennsylvania. He calls for electoral security reforms so everyone has confidence in elections.

9:10 PM: In the Senate, Paul says he had written a speech saying he feared the chaos that could result from establishing a precedent of overturning elections. Paul says the vote today is “literally to overturn elections.” He says it’s not about a protest or an Electoral Commission. He says it would be the opposite of what states’ rights Republicans have always been about if Republicans overturned state-certified elections and destroy the Electoral College, which he says was created to devolve the power of selecting electors to the states.

9:07 PM: Washington Post Editorial Board:

9:05 PM: House now back in session. Pelosi says never could they have imagined the assault that took place on our democracy today.

In the Senate, Duckworth:

8:59 PM:

8:55 PM:

8:49 PM: Sen. Sasse (R-NE) thanks Pence for fulfilling his Constitutional duties today. Sasse says he intended to celebrate the country’s history of peacefully transferring power. He says it “was ugly today.” But he says talking about beauty is obligatory when things get ugly because kids need to know that what happened today is not what America is.

8:42 PM: Sen. Kaine (D-VA) applauds Loeffler’s remarks and says so many people of color in the South have been disenfranchised in the country’s history. He says Senators should be coming together today to affirm the votes of all the cast ballots in November. Instead, he says, Senators are pondering a “massive disenfranchisement” of American voters.

8:40 PM: Loeffler says she came to D.C. this morning fully intending to object, but after this afternoon’s lawlessness, she cannot in good conscience object.

8:36 PM:

8:35 PM:

8:29 PM: Sen. Lee (R-UT), after Sen. Cortez Masto (D-NV) warns about the “dire and dangerous consequences” associated with opposing the election results, says the Constitution confines and constrains Congress’s authority. He says Congress’s jobs is to open and count the Electoral votes, and that’s all there is.  He there aren’t competing slates of Electors. He says that being the case, their job is a “very simple one.”

8:26 PM:

8:22 PM:

8:19 PM: Sen. Lankford (R-OK) says rioters and thugs don’t run the Capitol. He says the commission they ask for is not going to happen and we on the way to certifying Biden’s win.

8:15 PM:

8:13 PM: Schumer says today will go on the shortlist of days that will live in “infamy” like Dec. 7.  He says this will be a “stain” on the country “not so easily washed away.” He says those who performed these “reprehensible acts” cannot be called protesters. He says they are rioters, insurrectionists, goons, thugs, domestic terrorists. He says they should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Schumer says Trump bears a lot of the blame.

8:10 PM: On the Senate floor, McConnell says he will not bow to lawlessness or intimidation. McConnell says the country has faced greater challenges than the “unhinged” mob that “failed to obstruct” the Congress. He calls it a “failed insurrection.” McConnell says Congress will certify the winner of the 2020 election, and “criminal behavior will never dominate the United States Congress.”

8:08 PM:

8:07 PM: Pence says those who wreaked havoc “did not win” today after thanking police officers. He condemns the violence in the “strongest possible terms.”

8:06 PM:

8:05 PM: Sen. Cotton: “No quarter for insurrectionists.”

Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) released the following statement after violence broke out at the U.S. Capitol earlier today:

“Last summer, as insurrection gripped the streets, I called to send in the troops if necessary to restore order. Today, insurrectionists occupied our Capitol. Fortunately, the Capitol Police and other law-enforcement agencies restored order without the need for federal troops. But the principle remains the same: no quarter for insurrectionists. Those who attacked the Capitol today should face the full extent of federal law.

It’s past time for the president to accept the results of the election, quit misleading the American people, and repudiate mob violence. And the senators and representatives who fanned the flames by encouraging the president and leading their supporters to believe that their objections could reverse the election results should withdraw those objections. In any event, the Congress will complete its constitutional responsibilities tonight.”

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5:05 PM:

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4:50 PM: Growing calls for impeachment:

4:35 PM: Calls for expulsion:

4:30 PM:

4:20 PM: Biden calls on Trump to go on national television and demand his mob put “an end to this siege.”

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3:59 PM:

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2:59 PM: 6 PM Curfew for D.C.

2:50 PM: Historian Beschloss:

2:47 PM:

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2:30 PM:

2:17 PM: House is now in recess.

2:15 PM: On the House floor, Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) wonders why Arizona Reps. objecting November’s presidential election did not question their own election results.

2:07 PM: On the House floor, Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) claims the slates of electors in certain states are “invalid on their face.”And that’s why he has to object.

2:06 PM:

2:02 PM: On the Senate floor, Sen. Toomey (R-PA) says the objectors are asking Congress to federalize elections and have Congress select the president instead of the American people. He says there is no such authority under the Constitution because it assigns to the states the right to conduct elections. Toomey says there were two competing slates of electors that led to the Hayes-Tilden Compromise, and that’s not the case today.

2:01 PM:

1:59 PM:

1:55 PM: Klobuchar says she appreciates McConnell’s and Schumer’s words. She rips Cruz’s “unfounded conspiracy theories” and says high-ranking officials in Trump’s Department of Homeland Security said 2020 was one of the most secure elections. Klobuchar says she did not see Cruz asking for an audit when new Members of Congress were sworn in over the weekend.

1:52 PM:

1:51 PM: Cruz says we are gathered at a time when democracy is at a crisis. He says if Democrats all vote together, Biden will be certified as the next president. He asks Republicans to pause and think what it will say to those who believe Trump’s claims about election fraud if they don’t object. Cruz claims he is not arguing to set aside the results of the elections. Cruz asks for an electoral commission to conduct a 10-day emergency audit.

Castro rips Cruz:

1:50 PM:

1:40 PM: Schumer says the purpose of the joint session is for the tellers and to receive the announcement of a vote that has been certified by every state and confirmed by courts many times over. He says this is a solemn and august occasion that is a formality. He says Congress is not endowed with the power to administer elections. He says by the end of the proceedings today, it will be confirmed that the American people elected Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. He rips Republicans for undermining free and fair elections with no evidence of widespread voter fraud. He says they know they will lose these challenges and will embarrass themselves, their party, and their country. He says “this insurrection was fortunately discouraged by the leadership of the majority party,” but it was not quelled.

1:30 PM: In the Senate, McConnell says never has Congress debated whether Congress should overturn a presidential election. He says he has served 36 years in the Senate, and this will be the most important vote he has ever case. McConnell says Trump claims the election was stolen but nothing before them proves illegality on a massive scale that would have tipped the election. He says public doubt, incited without any evidence, is not enough for Congress to declare themselves the “national board of elections on steroids.”

McConnell says the courts have all spoken. He says the republic will be damaged forever if Congress overrules the courts. He says the election was “not unusually close” even compared to previous elections (1976, 2000, 2004). He warns of the nation going into a “death spiral” and the country never accepting any election ever again. McConnell says the Electoral College would cease to exist and many states would have no say at all in choosing a president. He says self-government requires a shared commitment to the truth and ground rules.

 

 

McConnell also says the media that are outraged today spent four years aiding and abetting Dem. attacks as well after Trump’s 2016 election. McConnell warns of going down a “poisonous path” where only winners accept elections. He says protecting the Constitutional order requires respecting the limits of Congress’s power.

“It would be unfair and wrong to disenfranchise American voters and overrule the courts on the states on this extraordinarily thin basis,” McConnell says. 

1:28 PM: Rep. Lofgren (D-CA) says if Congress selects presidents, there would be no need for the Electoral College.

1:22 PM: In the House, Scalise says he objects to a number of states that he says did not properly follow election procedures.

1:20 PM: Pelosi says a Representative has five minutes to speak to the objection but cannot speak more than once. Debate is limited to two hours.

1:15 PM: Pence says the House and Senate will debate in their separate chambers and report back in two hours.

1:11 PM: Arizona’s Electoral Votes: Rep. Gosar (R-AZ), on behalf of himself and 60 of his colleagues, objects to applause from Republicans. Sen. Cruz signs on to the objection.

1:10 PM: ALASKA’s Electoral Votes: No objections.

1:09 PM: ALABAMA’s Electoral Votes: No objections.

1:05 PM: Pelosi gavels in the session after going over social distancing requirements. Pence, hearing an objection, says debate is not allowed during this join session.

1:00 PM: Vice President Pence, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Senators enter the House chamber.

12:59 PM: Pence:

12:55 PM: Congress will meet in a joint session at 1 PM, as required by the Constitution, to certify the Electoral College votes.

 

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