Vice President Mike Pence.
Pence opened the resuming session, addressing the people who “wreaked havoc” on the Capitol.
“You did not win.Violence never wins,” he said. “Freedom wins. And this is still the people’s house. As we reconvene in this chamber, the world will again witness the resilience and strength of our democracy.”
“For even in the wake of unprecedented violence and vandalism at this Capitol, the elected representatives of the people of the United States have assembled again on the very same day to support and defend the Constitution of the United States,” Pence added, concluding, “let’s get back to work.”
“They tried to disrupt our democracy,“McConnell saidof the “unhinged crowd,” turning to look at other lawmakers silently listening on. “They failed.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer then spoke, saying that “January 6 will go down as one of the darkest days in modern American history,” adding that it’s a “final warning” amid Trump and his supporters' assault on democracy.
“While we [Congress members] disagree on things and disagree strongly at times, we do not encourage what happened today,” said Sen. James Lankford, a Republican who was interrupted mid-sentence when rioters broke into the Capitol earlier in the day. “Not ever.”
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“We are headed tonight towards the certification of Joe Biden as the next president of the United States,” Lankford said.
Sen. Kelly Loeffler, a fierce Trump loyalist wholost her runoff electionin Georgia Tuesday night, said she “fully intended” to object to the electoral count earlier in the day. However, after the earlier riots, she said, “I cannot in good conscience” move forward with the objection.
In the House of Representatives, Speaker Nancy Pelosialso addressed the rioting, saying, “we will not be diverted from our duty.”
“To those who strove to deter us from our responsibility: you have failed,” she said. “To those who engaged in the gleeful desecration to this, our temple of democracy, American democracy, justice will be done.”
Earlier on Wednesday, Pencecalled for rioters to leaveand said that “those involved will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
People in the mob werephotographedscaling the Capitol’s walls, breaking windows, roaming through the building, looting and vandalizing, including incongressional chambers and lawmaker offices. Rioters alsoripped an American flag off of a flagpoleoutside the Capitol building and replaced it with a Trump flag. Amid the rioting, a woman was shot andlater died.
source: people.com
