Watch Congress' contentious session to count electoral votes and formalize Biden's win

Vice President Mike Pence
(Image credit: Saul Loeb - Pool/Getty Images)

Members of Congress are meeting Wednesday afternoon to certify President-elect Joe Biden as the winner of the 2020 election.

Lawmakers will formalize Biden's victory Wednesday by counting electoral votes, as President Trump continues to challenge the results over baseless allegations of widespread voter fraud. Some Republicans are objecting to the tally in certain states, including House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.), who announced his plans to do so not long before the session began.

Trump had been pressuring Pence to take action during the session to overturn the election results despite his lack of authority to do so, but Pence in a statement Wednesday said his "oath to support and defend the Constitution constrains me from claiming unilateral authority to determine which electoral votes should be counted and which should not."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

According to The Washington Post, "what is a normally quick and easy process could get dragged into the wee hours," and The New York Times writes that "bipartisan majorities in both chambers are prepared to meet late into the night to beat back the challenges and confirm Mr. Biden as the winner." Watch the process play out below. Brendan Morrow

To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Brendan Morrow

Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.