LIVE: Congress holds joint session to count Electoral College vote

[Donkees]

Watch PBS NewsHour special coverage of the joint session of Congress starting at 12:30 p.m. ET.

On Wednesday, the nation will tune in to a dramatic and historic, if mostly symbolic, joint session of Congress. Usually there would be relatively little fanfare over the counting of Electoral College votes by Congress — a necessary step in the presidential election process. But as the electoral votes from each state reach their final destination at the U.S. Capitol, Republicans in both chambers have declared that they will object to the counting of some states where President Donald Trump lost his closest races to President-elect Joe Biden.

[Donkees]

1. LIVE ...

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[Donkees]

2. Pence doesn't believe he has the "unilateral authority to decide which electoral votes ...

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[Donkees]

3. McConnell rebuking Trump and his enablers in unprecedented fashion.

McConnell rebuking Trump and his enablers in unprecedented fashion. The Voters have spoken. If we overrule them, we will damage our Republic.

"This election was actually not particularly close."

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[Donkees]

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[Donkees]

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Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell: "Voters, courts, and the states have all spoken. Have all spoken. If we overrule them, it would damage our Republic forever."

McConnell: "Self government, my colleagues, requires a shared commitment to the truth. And a shared respect for the ground rules of our system. We cannot keep drifting apart into two separate tribes with a separate set of facts, and separate realities."

McConnell decries division and tribalism, and "an endless spiral of partisan vengeance".... and then goes on to.... criticize Democrats and the media.

McConnell --> "I believe protecting our constitutional order requires respecting the limits of our own power. It would be unfair and wrong to disenfranchise American voters and overrule the courts and the states on this extraordinarily thin basis."

Leader Mitch McConnell ends with this: "I will not pretend that such a vote will be a harmless protest gesture while relying on others to do the right thing. I will vote to respect the people's decision and defend our system of government as we know it."


Libby Casey
@libcasey

[Amishman]

4. This is going to be a circus

but remember that after a couple of nights, the circus packs up and the clowns leave town

[Donkees]

6. And someone then has to clean up after the elephants