WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - After the Electoral College confirmed Joe Biden's win over Donald Trump in the presidential election, the President-elect said it is 'time to turn the page' as 'the rule of law, the Constitution and the will of the people prevailed' over Trump's efforts to resist the results.
Earlier, in the voting held in state capitals and Washington DC on Monday, members of the Electoral College from all states cast their ballots in line with the original result, which went in favor of Biden, who won 306 votes against Trump's 232. The Democratic stronghold of California was one of the last states to vote, and as its entire 55 electors voted for Biden, he crossed the threshold of 270 Electoral College votes required to confirm presidential election victory.
The Electoral College votes will next be sent to the Capitol. A joint session of Congress, presided over by Vice-President Mike Pence, will count it formally on January 6. That will pave the way for the former Vice President to be inaugurated as the 46th President of the United States on January 20.
Last month, while answering questions from reporters for the first time since the November 3 election, Donald Trump had signaled that he will leave the White House if the Electoral College formally confirms Joe Biden as the winner of the presidential election.
Addressing a gathering in Delaware Monday night, Biden said, 'The flame of democracy was lit in this nation a long time ago. And we now know nothing, not even a pandemic or an abuse of power can extinguish that flame.'
'Respecting the will of the people is at the heart of our democracy, even when we find those results hard to accept,' he said, in apparent reference to Trump's continuing defiance of the election result.
He described it as an 'unprecedented assault on our democracy.'
'We the people voted. Faith in our institutions held. The integrity of our elections remains intact. And now it's time to turn the page as we've done throughout our history, to unite to heal,' said the 78 year old leader.
Meanwhile, in a surprise development, Republican Congressman Paul Mitchell of Michigan quit the party.
Attorney General William Barr, who dealt a major setback to Trump's claims of fraud in the presidential election last week, is stepping down.
Barr, who was seen as a top ally of Trump, said that the Justice Department has found no proof to support allegations of election rig.
Announcing this on Twitter, Trump said his relationship with Barr has been 'very good', and that he has done 'an outstanding job.' According to Trump, Barr will be leaving 'just before Christmas to spend the holidays with his family.'
Deputy Attorney General Jeff Rosen will become Acting Attorney General. Richard Donoghue will be taking over the duties of Deputy Attorney General.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2020 AFX News
