3.35pm EST15:35
West Virginia legislator arrested for alleged role in Capitol riot
3.10pm EST15:10
Biden agrees with Trump’s decision not to attend inauguration
2.59pm EST14:59
Biden on Trump impeachment: ‘That’s a decision for the Congress’
2.53pm EST14:53
Perdue formally concedes to Ossoff in Georgia Senate race
2.19pm EST14:19
Biden introduces nominees to lead commerce and labor departments
2.05pm EST14:05
Biden offers sympathy to family of fallen Capitol Police officer
1.56pm EST13:56
Rioter from viral photo in Pelosi’s office arrested – report
4.45pm EST16:45
The White House has issued a statement on the prospect of an unprecedented second round of impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump.
“As President Trump said yesterday, this is a time for healing and unity as one nation. A politically motivated impeachment against a president with 12 days remaining in his term will only serve to further divide our great country,” it said.
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at 4.49pm EST
4.23pm EST16:23
Donald Trump will reportedly fly to Mar-a-Lago the day before Joe Biden’s inauguration, according to CNN.
Trump announced earlier today that he would not attend Biden’s inauguration, breaking 150 years of tradition of outgoing presidents attending their successors’ inaugurations.
It’s unclear whether Mike Pence will attend the inauguration, although Biden said today that the vice-president is “welcome” to be part of the event.
4.13pm EST16:13
A draft of House Democrats’ articles of impeachment against Donald Trump includes an article for “incitement of insurrection.”
The draft, obtained by CNN, accuses the president of having “gravely endangered the security of the United States and its institutions of government.”
“President Trump’s conduct on January 6, 2021 was consistent with his prior efforts to subvert and obstruct the certification of the results of the 2020 presidential election,” the draft says.
“He threatened the integrity of the democratic system, interfered with the peaceful transition of power, and imperiled a coordinate branch of government. He thereby betrayed his trust as President, to the manifest injury of the people of the United States.”
House Democrats could file the articles of impeachment as soon as Monday, according to multiple reports, potentially setting up a mid-week vote.
3.58pm EST15:58
Jen Psaki, the incoming White House press secretary, said Joe Biden will receive his second dose of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine on Monday.
During a virtual briefing with reporters, Psaki added that some members of the incoming administration, including close aides to Biden and Kamala Harris as well as cabinet secretaries, are starting to receive the vaccine as well.
3.35pm EST15:35
West Virginia legislator arrested for alleged role in Capitol riot
Derrick Evans, a newly elected legislator in West Virginia, has been arrested on federal charges related to the violent riot at the Capitol.
A reporter for the local NBC affiliate WSAZ shared a video of Evans, who serves in the West Virginia House of Delegates, being taken into federal custody.
A woman who identified herself as Evans’ grandmother confronted the reporter as he was put in a car.
Asked for a comment about the arrest, the woman said, “He’s a fine man, and thank you, Mr Trump, for invoking a riot.”
3.16pm EST15:16
Joe Biden said he believed the violent siege of the Capitol made it easier to unify the country because Americans of both parties were horrified by what took place.
“My overarching objective is to unify this country,” Biden told reporters in Wilmington, Delaware. “We must unify this country.”
The president-elect applauded Republicans who have denounced the violence and the baseless claims of widespread election fraud that helped spur it, such as Mitt Romney.
Biden noted he spoke to Romney this morning, and he applauded the Republican senator as “a man of enormous integrity”.
Asked whether senators Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz should resign for supporting Donald Trump’s lies about the election, as some Democrats have suggested, Biden said, “I think they should be just flat beaten the next time they run.”
The president-elect has now wrapped up his event in Wilmington.
Updated
at 3.22pm EST
3.10pm EST15:10
Biden agrees with Trump’s decision not to attend inauguration
Joe Biden said Donald Trump’s decision not to attend his inauguration is “one of the few things he and I have ever agreed on”.
“It’s a good thing, him not showing up,” the president-elect told reporters in Wilmington, Delaware. “He has exceeded even my worst notions about him. He’s embarrassed us around the world.”
Trump announced earlier today that he would not attend Biden’s inauguration, making him the first president since 1869 not to attend his successor’s inauguration.
Asked later about Mike Pence, Biden said the vice-president is “welcome to attend”.
Updated
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3.04pm EST15:04
Joe Biden condemned the rioters who stormed the Capitol as “a bunch of thugs,” “domestic terrorists” and “white supremacists.”
The president-elect specifically called out the rioters who wore shirts saying “6MWE.”
“6MWE” is an anti-Semitic phrase that stands for “Six million wasn’t enough,” referring to the six million Jewish people who were murdered during the Holocaust.
“These shirts they’re wearing? These are a bunch of thugs,” Biden said.
2.59pm EST14:59
Biden on Trump impeachment: ‘That’s a decision for the Congress’
Joe Biden is now taking questions from reporters at his event in Wilmington, Delaware, after introducing his nominees to lead the labor and commerce departments.
No surprise here: the first question (from CNN’s Arlette Saenz) was focused on House Democrats’ plans to file articles of impeachment against Donald Trump, after the president incited a violent mob to storm the Capitol.
“I’ve thought for a long, long time that President Trump wasn’t fit to hold the job. That’s why I ran,” Biden said.
When pressed on whether he would advise a Democratic lawmaker to support impeachment, the president-elect dodged, saying, “That’s a decision for the Congress to make. I’m focused on my job.”
Biden noted he would be having a phone call with Democratic congressional leaders later this afternoon, when impeachment will likely come up.
2.53pm EST14:53
Perdue formally concedes to Ossoff in Georgia Senate race
Former Republican senator David Perdue has formally conceded to Jon Ossoff in their Georgia Senate runoff race.
“Although we won the general election, we came up just short of Georgia’s 50% rule, and now I want to congratulate the Democratic Party and my opponent for this runoff win,” Purdue said in a statement.
After a bitter campaign defined by sharp attacks from both candidates, Perdue did not mention Ossoff by name in his concession statement.
Purdue’s concession comes one day after Republican Kelly Loeffler conceded to Democrat Raphael Warnock in the other Georgia Senate race.
After the victories of Warnock and Ossoff, the Senate is now evenly split 50-50 between Democrats and Republicans. Once Kamala Harris is sworn in as vice-president, Democrats will take the majority.
2.37pm EST14:37
Joe Biden’s event is ongoing, but the blog is going to pivot back to Capitol Hill, where a prominent Democrat addressed calls for two of her Republican colleagues to resign.
Patty Murray, the third-ranking Senate Democrat, said she believed senators Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz should resign for their role in stirring up baseless doubts about the legitimacy of the election, after a violent pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol on Wednesday.
“I come to the Capitol every day to fight for what I believe in,” the Washington Democrat said in a statement. “I use my voice to tell people what I believe to be right, and I listen to the other side. We hear each other out, we vote, and whoever has the votes wins. And I accept that. Do I always like the outcome? No, but I accept it, because that is what our democracy requires.”
Murray condemned the rioters who stormed the Capitol on Wednesday, describing them as “people who don’t accept democracy, and want to take this country by use of force.”
“As a Senator, I respect every member who disagrees with my ideas. I reserve my right to use my voice to fight for what I believe in. But at the end of the day, our job is to keep this country a democracy where voices win, not brute force,” Murray said.
“Any Senator who stands up and supports the power of force over the power of democracy has broken their oath of office. Senators Hawley and Cruz should resign.”
2.24pm EST14:24
Joe Biden said he gave “serious consideration” to nominating Bernie Sanders as labor secretary, but the two agreed that it was too risky to jeopardize control of the Senate.
After Democrats swept the Georgia Senate races this week, they took control of the chamber, which will now be 50-50, with vice-president-elect Kamala Harris providing a tie-breaking 51st vote for Democrats.
Sanders has served as one of Vermont’s senators since 2007, and his cabinet nomination would trigger a special election.
The labor secretary nomination ultimately went to Marty Walsh, the mayor of Boston, and Biden said Sanders told him he had made a good choice.
Updated
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2.19pm EST14:19
Biden introduces nominees to lead commerce and labor departments
Joe Biden is now introducing his nominees to lead the commerce and labor departments, rounding out his cabinet nominations.
Gina Raimondo, the governor of Rhode Island, will be nominated to lead the commerce department, and Marty Walsh, the mayor of Boston, will be nominated as labor secretary.
Biden celebrated his nominees as the right people to help the millions of Americans desperately seeking financial assistance amid the coronavirus pandemic.
2.16pm EST14:16
Joe Biden said he would lay out the groundwork for the next round of coronavirus relief next week, emphasizing the need to offer more financial assistance to American families amid the pandemic.
“We need more direct relief flowing to families, small businesses,” Biden said. “Our focus will be on small businesses on Main Street.”
The president-elect also criticized the rollout of coronavirus vaccines so far. “Vaccines give us hope, but the rollout has been a travesty,” Biden said.
The Democrat previously pledged to distribute 100 million doses of the vaccine over his first 100 days in office.
2.11pm EST14:11
Joe Biden noted that, with his announcement today, he will have completed his cabinet nominations, and he called on the Senate to swiftly confirm his nominees.
The president-elect applauded himself for building a cabinet that “looks like America,” noting that this would be the first presidential cabinet to be evenly divided between men and women.
Updated
at 2.12pm EST
2.05pm EST14:05
Biden offers sympathy to family of fallen Capitol Police officer
Joe Biden has taken the podium in Wilmington, Delaware, for his event to introduce members of his economic team.
The president-elect opened his remarks by expressing his “deep sympathy” for the family of Brian Sicknick, the Capitol Police officer who died as a result of his injuries from the violent siege of the Capitol.
“The people responsible should be held accountable — and they will be,” Biden said.
Biden also said he would take reporters’ questions after he introduces his cabinet members, and he will likely be pressed on calls to remove Donald Trump from office.
Updated
at 2.06pm EST
1.56pm EST13:56
Rioter from viral photo in Pelosi’s office arrested – report
The rioter who was photographed sitting in the office of House speaker Nancy Pelosi amid the violent siege of the Capitol has been arrested, according to multiple reports.
Source: US Politics - theguardian.com