US Senate rejects first objection to Biden certification after pro-Trump mob invades Capitol

The United StatesSenate on Wednesday rejected thefirst objection forcertifying Joe Biden's presidential election victoryafter hundreds of supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the USCapitol on Wednesday in a bid to overturn his election defeat.

The lawmakers voted 93 to 6 against the effort to reject Arizona's electoral count, overcoming the first of what may be multiple hurdles to the November presidential election's certification.

The House of Representatives will also vote on Arizona, and the effort is expected to fail there too, before Congress continues its process to certify the electoral votes of all 50 states.

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Bringing the Senate into session Vice President Mike Pence said, "As we reconvene in this chamber, the world will again witness the resilience and strength of our democracy."

"To those who wreaked havoc in our Capitol today, you did not win. Violence never wins, freedom wins," Pence added. "And this is still the people's house."

Police evacuated lawmakers and struggled for more than three hours to clear the Capitol of Trump supporters, who surged through the halls and rummaged through offices in shocking scenes of chaos and mayhem.

One woman died after being shot during the mayhem, Washington police said. The FBI said it had disarmed two suspected explosive devices.

Police declared the Capitol building secure shortly after 5:30 p.m. (2230 GMT), and lawmakers reconvened shortly after 8 p.m. (0100 GMT on Thursday) to resume the election certification.

"To those who wreaked havoc in our Capitol today - you did not win," Vice President Mike Pence said as the session resumed. "Let's get back to work," he said, drawing applause.

"We will certify the winner of the 2020 election," Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell added, calling the assault by Trump supporters a "failed insurrection."

Lawmakers were debating a last-ditch effort by pro-Trump lawmakers to challenge the results, which was unlikely to succeed. But some who had planned to object said they would cut their effort short and perhaps only challenge the results in one state instead of multiple states.

Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser ordered a citywide curfew starting at 6 p.m. (2300 GMT). National Guard troops, FBI agents and U.S. Secret Service were deployed to help overwhelmed Capitol police, and Guard troops and police pushed protesters away from the Capitol after the curfew took effect.

Former President Barack Obama blamed Donald Trump and Republicans for the attack on the US Congress Wednesday, calling it "a moment of great dishonor and shame for our nation."

"But we'd be kidding ourselves if we treated it as a total surprise," Obama said, adding that it was "incited" by Trump, "who has continued to baselessly lie about the outcome of a lawful election."

Obama also singled out the Republican party and its media supporters, whom he said have "too often been unwilling to tell their followers the truth" about Democrat Joe Biden's strong victory in the November 3 election.

"Now we're seeing the consequences, whipped up into a violent crescendo," he said in a statement.

Trump supporters broke windows and police deployed tear gas inside the building. Washington Metropolitan Police Chief Robert Contee said members of the crowd used chemical irritants to attack police and several had been injured.

It was the most damaging attack on the iconic building since the British army burned it in 1814, according to the USCapitol Historical Society.

The chaotic scenes unfolded after Trump, who before the election refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he lost, addressed thousands of supporters near the White House, repeating unfounded claims that the election was stolen from him due to widespread fraud and irregularities.

Trump told the supporters they should march on the Capitol to express their anger at the voting process and pressure their elected officials to reject the results, urging them "to fight."

Biden, a Democrat who defeated the Republican president in the November3 election and is due to take office on January20, said the activity of the protesters "borders on sedition."

The chaos at the Capitol came a day after Biden enjoyed a new triumph, with his Democratic Party projected to win two Senate runoff seats, handing them full control of Congress.

Historians said it was the first time that the Capitol had been taken over since 1814 when the British burned it during the War of 1812.

For more than two centuries, the joint session of Congress has been a quiet, ceremonial event that formally certifies the election winner -- but Trump urged members of his Republican Party to reject the outcome.