Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi presiding over a a joint session of Congress on Jan. 6. Photo: Kevin Dietsch-Pool/Getty Images
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a statement to lawmakers Wednesday that Congress will finish certifying President-elect Biden's Electoral College victory after a mob supporting President Trump violently breached the Capitol Building and prevented lawmakers from certifying the vote earlier that day.
The big picture: Pelosi said the joint session of Congress will reconvene after the building is cleared for use again and work through the night, adding that the mob assault cannot "deter us from our responsibility to validate the election of Joe Biden."
Vice President Mike Pence returned to the Senate Wednesday evening and will "finish the People’s business" after he left the chamber when the mob breached the building, Devin O’Malley, the VP's press secretary, said on Twitter.
What they're saying: "Today, a shameful assault was made on our democracy," Pelosi said. "It was anointed at the highest level of government."
- "We always knew this responsibility would take us into the night. The night may still be long but we are hopeful for a shorter agenda, but our purpose will be accomplished."
- "We also knew that we would be a part of history in a positive way, today, despite ill-founded objections to the Electoral College vote. We now will be part of history, as such a shameful picture of our country was put out to the world, instigated at the highest level."
- "Today, January 6 – the Feast of Epiphany – let us pray that this instigation to violence will provide an epiphany for our country to heal."
Go deeper: Trump defends mob that stormed U.S. Capitol