President Donald Trump early on Thursday committed to "an orderly transition" of power soon after Congress confirmed President-elect Joe Biden's election win, and following the storming of the Capitol by a mob of violent Trump supporters.
In a statement released by the White House, the president again made false claims about the outcome of the election. Twitter suspended Trump's account for 12 hours Wednesday after he continued to push conspiracy theories about the election after the chaos at the Capitol.
Overnight, Congress reconvened and counted the electoral votes Biden's victory. After some objections, the count of Biden's 306 votes to President Donald Trump's 232 was finished in proceedings that lasted until 3:40 a.m.
This live coverage has ended. Continue reading about the aftermath of the rioting at the Capitol.
Read the highlights:
-The woman shot in the Capitol amid violent breach of the complex has died.
-Biden condemns "insurrection."
-Jon Ossoff defeats David Perdue in Georgia, handing control of the Senate to Democrats, NBC News projects.
-Defying Trump, Pence says he won't overturn the 2020 election.
Photo: Workers build a wall around the Capitol
Trump says 'there will be an orderly transition on January 20th'
President Donald Trump early Thursday said there would be "an orderly transition on January 20th."
The president released the statement through the White House minutes after Congress confirmed President-elect Joe Biden's win.
In his statement, the president again made false claims about the outcome of the election but said that this month will bring to end "the greatest first term in presidential history."
Congress confirms Joe Biden's Electoral College win
Early Thursday, Congress finished counting the Electoral College votes and confirmed President-elect Joe Biden's win after a chaotic day that resulted in four deaths and forced lawmakers to evacuate the Capitol.
Despite the disruption and objections from Republicans to election results in Arizona and Pennsylvania, members of the House and the Senate were able to certify the Electoral College more than 14 hours after the process began.
Biden is scheduled to be inaugurated as the 46th president on Jan. 20.
Pennsylvania objection fails in the House
The objection to Pennsylvania’s Electoral College votes failed in the House, moving the counting process along after a series of delays during what was previously thought of as a simply ceremonial event.
A total of 138 House members voted to sustain the objection, and 282 members opposed the motion.
While the Senate decided to forgo any discussion on the objection before voting to strike the motion, House members engaged in two hours of debate. Legislators from both chambers can now resume their joint session and finish counting the Electoral College votes.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., previously said he did not expect any more votes for the evening.
Oregon's Merkley shows damage to Senate office
Capitol Complex declared all-clear
Early Thursday morning, Capitol Police declared the Capitol Complex all clear.
A notice was sent to congressional staff about 1:15 a.m. indicating that officials had cleared the security threat after a mob stormed the Capitol on Wednesday afternoon.
The official notice indicating that normal operations could resume came as the House debated objections to the election results in Pennsylvania.
Rep. Grace Meng on being barricaded in the Capitol: 'I texted everyone I loved'
Pennsylvania objection fails in the Senate with no debate
Senators chose to skip all debate and immediately voted to strike down an objection to Pennsylvania's Electoral College certification early Thursday.
Only seven senators voted to sustain the objection, while 92 opposed the motion.
The objection, raised by Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., and co-signed by Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., came after no senators co-signed objections to three other states' votes.
Hawley and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, both voted to sustain the objection. Sens. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi, Rick Scott of Florida, Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming and Roger Marshall of Kansas also voted in favor of the objection.
Members of the House continue to debate before voting on the objection.
Hawley objects to Pennsylvania certification
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., joined Republican House members in objecting to Pennsylvania's Electoral College certification, forcing the congressional chambers to split into individual sessions.
Although senators withdrew their objections for Georgia, Michigan and Nevada, Hawley co-signed the opposition to Pennsylvania, as he had told his fellow lawmakers he planned to do when the Senate reconvened earlier in the evening. But Hawley also said he intended to yield his time in the two-hour debate.
It's unclear how long each chamber will debate the objection before moving to a vote.
Congressional rules say any objection to an Electoral College ballot certification must be signed by both a senator and a member of the House. Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., joined Hawley's challenge.