Liveblog: Congress Affirms Biden’s Victory

J. Scott Applewhite/AP

Let our journalists help you make sense of the noise: Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily newsletter and get a recap of news that matters.Nearly 14 hours after Congress convened to certify the 2020 election results, Joe Biden was affirmed as the next president of the United States, closing out a day of unprecedented mayhem after pro-Trump insurrectionists breached the Capitol and engaged in a shocking, hours-long display of domestic terrorism incited by Donald Trump. If you somehow managed to miss it, you can catch up on the mob here.
We’ll be providing new updates throughout the day below:
8:00 a.m. ET: In a string of 11th-hour gestures of morality, Mick Mulvaney, Trump’s former chief of staff who has since served as a special envoy to Northern Ireland, is the latest Trump administration official to resign in response to Wednesday’s violence. “I just can’t do it,” Mulvaney told CNBC. “I can’t stay.” Others who have resigned include Melania Trump’s chief of staff, Stephanie Grisham. Here’s a reminder from our reporter Nathalie Baptiste on what Mulvaney had to say about a potential Trump concession just two months ago:

This was Mick Mulvaney in November. pic.twitter.com/umuCHpcID8
— Nathalie Baptiste (@nhbaptiste) January 7, 2021

4:20 a.m. ET: Trump, whose own Twitter account remains locked, released a statement through his aides saying there would be an “orderly transition on January 20th.” It’s the closest thing yet to a concession. But Trump still insisted that he “totally” disagreed with the election results, claiming falsely that the “facts” back him. As some have noted, Trump’s statement is likely a deflection in response to growing calls to invoke the 25th Amendment. 

…fight to ensure that only legal votes were counted. While this represents the end of the greatest first term in presidential history, it’s only the beginning of our fight to Make America Great Again!”
— Dan Scavino🇺🇸🦅 (@DanScavino) January 7, 2021