McConnell, Pelosi Want Vote Count to Finish Tonight

'We must not be intimidated or prevented from fulfilling our constitutional duty,' Romney says
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 6, 2021 6:46 PM CST
McConnell, Pelosi Want Vote Count to Finish Tonight
Police stand outside the Capitol, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021.   (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Lawmakers including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell don't want an invasion of the Capitol by a mob of Trump supporters to stop them finishing their day's work. An aide to McConnell says the Republican wants senators to return Wednesday night to resume the electoral vote count, the Washington Post reports. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi later said that proceedings would resume when the Capitol has been cleared of protesters and declared safe to use, reports the AP. She said the decision was made after consulting the Justice Department, the Pentagon, and Vice President Mike Pence, who will preside over the proceedings. When the certification was halted Wednesday, both chambers were debating a Republican objection to the Arizona result.

House and Senate members were taken to a secure location after the Capitol was stormed and the certification came to an abrupt halt. Lawmakers from both parties said they wanted to complete the count, with Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth telling Fox News that it is "important for democracy—not just for the United States, but also for the entire world." Republican Sen. Mitt Romney called the violence "an insurrection, incited by the President of the United States." "We must not be intimidated or prevented from fulfilling our constitutional duty," he tweeted. "I urge my colleagues to move forward with completing the electoral count, to refrain from further objections, and to unanimously affirm the legitimacy of the presidential election." (More Election 2020 stories.)

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