With all electoral college votes counted, the US Congress has certified Joe Biden's win in the election. Biden and Kamala Harris will take over as president and vice-president on 20 January. The confirmation of the vote was delayed when pro-Trump rioters stormed the Capitol building in the afternoon of 6 January
Pro-Donald Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol building in Washington DC on Wednesday, breaking into the debating chambers and clashing with armed police. Four people died during the unrest, three from medical emergencies and one woman was shot dead in circumstances that are unclear. The siege came on the day the electoral college votes confirming Joe Biden's victory were to be affirmed by members of the House and Senate. The chaos erupted after Trump addressed thousands of protesters near the White House, repeating false claims the election had been stolen.
While the electoral vote certification continues on the senate floor, there appears to be a number of resignations happening at the White House in the wake of the Capitol riot:
One source also said Chris Liddell, the deputy chief of staff, will resign tomorrow. 2/2
The White House social secretary Rickie Niceta has submitted her resignation tonight in reaction to today's protest, a source with direct knowledge tells @ABC
Per multiple sources familiar, NatSec Adviser @robertcobrien and DepNatSec Adviser Matthew Pottinger are considering resigning after today’s events and Trump’s actions. O’Brien still mulling, Pottinger more sure.
As with all things, it’s possible they stay in the admin. 1/2
.@WhiteHouse Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Matthews resigns from the Trump Administration in response to today’s events. I have always known her to be a good person who has the best interests of the nation at heart. pic.twitter.com/4ZMfmM2Zl3
Former president Barack Obama has issued a statement on today’s events, calling the storming of the Capitol “a moment of great dishonor and shame for the nation”.
Read his full remarks below:
Here’s my statement on today’s violence at the Capitol. pic.twitter.com/jLCKo2D1Ya
Continue reading...President-elect Joe Biden denounces the violence at the Capitol, after a mob of Trump supporters storm the building. 'This is not dissent, it's disorder, it's chaos, it borders on sedition, and it must end now,' Biden said. He then called on outgoing US president Trump to publicly 'demand an end to this siege'
Protesters swarmed the Capitol on Wednesday, putting it on lockdown, as Mike Pence rebuffed Donald Trump's demand to overturn his loss to Democrat Joe Biden and the Senate's Republican leader denounced a bid in Congress to undo the election outcome.
Trump supporters overturned barriers and clashed with police on the US Capitol grounds and streamed inside the building. The demonstrations flared as lawmakers met inside to formally certify Biden's victory over Trump in November's election. Law enforcement authorities struggled to maintain order.
Biden won the election by 306-232 in the electoral college and by more than 7m ballots in the national popular vote, but Trump continues to falsely claim there was widespread fraud and that he was the victor
Continue reading...The rantings of a president unable to accept defeat have gained traction, and are embraced by a majority Republican voters as fact
Americans’ confidence in their democracy has been eroded for years by a system that has, at various junctures, delivered victory to Republican presidents who lost the popular vote, permitted industrial-scale gerrymandering of electoral maps, and is built around a Congress rigged in favour of conservative states.
Related: Trump supporters storm Capitol as McConnell warns of democracy 'death spiral' – live
Continue reading...Normally, Congress simply receives results from states and announces them to the US – but this year may include some twists
A joint session of Congress is scheduled to begin meeting on Wednesday at 1pm to finally certify Joe Biden as the winner of the 2020 presidential election.
Never in the modern political history of the United States have these proceedings been notable. For 150 years, Congress has acted in accordance with the constitution and the 1887 Electoral Count Act to simply receive election results from the states and announce them to the nation. It usually takes a couple hours on a weekday, and does not make many headlines.
Continue reading...Donald Trump should not be prosecuted once he leaves the White House no matter how much evidence has been amassed against him, the former FBI director James Comey writes in a new book.
Related: Trump call to Georgia secretary of state electrifies voters in Senate runoffs
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Shortly before polls are set to close in Georgia, Barack Obama offered this reminder to voters: if you are in line at a polling place by 7 pm ET, do not leave.
Georgia voters—If you're in line before the polls close at 7 pm, stay there. You have the right to vote, no matter how long it takes. If you have questions, call the Georgia voter protection hotline at 1-888-730-5816. Let's bring this home.
That’s all from me today. I’m handing over to my colleague Joan E Greve, who will be with you as the polls close in Georgia and throughout the evening. Here’s a rundown of the day’s biggest stories so far:
Continue reading...Joe Biden’s priorities could scupper extradition of WikiLeaks co-founder, says departing Virginia attorney
The American prosecutor seeking to put Julian Assange on trial in the US has said he is uncertain if Joe Biden’s incoming White House administration will continue to seek the extradition of the WikiLeaks co-founder.
Zachary Terwilliger, who was appointed by Donald Trump, made the comments as it was announced that he was stepping down as the US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.
Continue reading...Talk of brotherly unity rather than lessons learned dominated the Gulf Cooperation Council summit
The meeting on Tuesday between Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, crown prince Mohammed bin Salman and his Qatari counterpart Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani was hailed as a breakthrough that brought together two feuding parties who were finally willing to resolve their differences.
But as the two leaders gathered at a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit in the north-western Saudi region of Al-Ula there was no mention of concessions, or further ultimatums, such as those that had led to the rift. The detente seemed borne more of exhaustion than compromise; the talk more of brotherly unity than lessons learned, and the end to it all more about the incoming US president than regional realpolitik.
Continue reading...President-elect speaks at Atlanta rally alongside Democratic candidates Jon Ossoff and the Rev Raphael Warnock
Joe Biden urged Georgia voters to surprise the nation once again by sending two Democrats to the US Senate, on the eve of a pair of critical runoff elections that will determine the balance of power in Washington and the scope of the president-elect’s ambitious legislative agenda.
Biden, speaking at a drive-in rally in downtown Atlanta alongside the Democratic candidates Jon Ossoff and the Rev Raphael Warnock on Monday afternoon, did not mention Donald Trump’s increasingly brazen efforts to overturn the results of the November election, which escalated this weekend when the president pressured Georgia’s secretary of state to “find” enough votes to reverse his defeat in the state. Instead, he focused on what Democrats could accomplish with control of the Senate.
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The Guardian’s Stephanie Kirchgaessner reports:
David Perdue, the Georgia Republican facing a Senate runoff election on Tuesday, has twice bought a significant number of shares in a US bank shortly after meeting with financial policy makers, raising more questions about his prolific stock trading while in office.
Related: Revealed: David Perdue bought bank stocks after meeting financial officials
DC mayor Muriel Bowser urged residents to avoid downtown in the next couple of days, as the city prepares for pro-Trump demonstrations in connection to Congress’ electoral vote count on Wednesday.
The Democratic mayor said at a press conference today, “We will not allow people to incite violence, intimidate our residents or cause destruction in our city.”
[Bowser] urged calm Monday as some 340 National Guard troops were being activated while the city prepared for potentially violent protests surrounding Congress’ expected vote to affirm President-elect Joe Biden’s victory.
According to a U.S. defense official, [Bowser] put in a request on New Year’s Eve to have Guard members on the streets from Jan. 5-7th, to help with the protests. The official said the D.C. National Guard members will be used for traffic control and other assistance but they will not be armed or wearing body armor. ...
Continue reading...In an hour-long phone call on Saturday, Donald Trump pressed Georgia secretary of state Brad Raffensperger to overturn Joe Biden’s victory there in the election the president refuses to concede.
Related: Healthcare to the electoral college: seven ways 2020 left America exposed | Robert Reich
Continue reading...Harris says her model will be Biden’s role as veep to Obama but the president-elect’s age means speculation about an eventual elevation to the Oval Office is intense
American vice-presidents occupy what can be one of the most powerful positions in all of the federal US government and yet it can also be one of the least powerful. Vice-President-elect Kamala Harris is going to soon find out where her tenure will land.
Continue reading...Contests will decide control of Senate and how far Biden can reach on issues such as pandemic, healthcare, taxation and environment
Campaigning continued in Georgia on Saturday in two Senate runoff elections which will define much of Joe Biden’s first term in office.
Related: Biden wants to fill federal court seats – but he needs to win the Senate first
Continue reading...Republicans join Democrats to push through bill against Trump’s strong objections
Donald Trump’s fellow Republicans in the US Senate on Friday took the atypical rebellious step of overriding his veto for the first time in his presidency.
The Senate pushed through a bill on defense spending against Trump’s strong objections – just 20 days before he leaves office.
Continue reading...Joe Biden is expected to receive Secret Service protection with a new team that is more familiar to him and replacing some agents amid concerns that they may be politically allied with Donald Trump.
Continue reading...The cover-up has to stop – and with it, the huge sums in aid for a country with oppressive policies towards Palestinians
Every recent US administration has performed a perverse ritual as it has come into office. All have agreed to undermine US law by signing secret letters stipulating they will not acknowledge something everyone knows: that Israel has a nuclear weapons arsenal.
Part of the reason for this is to stop people focusing on Israel’s capacity to turn dozens of cities to dust. This failure to face up to the threat posed by Israel’s horrific arsenal gives its prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, a sense of power and impunity, allowing Israel to dictate terms to others.
Continue reading...Democrats and Republicans are deploying their big guns for the state’s runoff elections that will decide who controls the Senate
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will travel to Georgia to campaign for next week’s high-stakes Senate runoff elections, it was announced on Wednesday, as Donald Trump called on the state’s Republican governor, Brian Kemp, to resign.
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