Congress finalizes Biden's win after riot disrupts Capitol

The House voted to reject an objection to throw out Pennsylvania's Electoral College votes for President-elect Joe Biden. The challenge failed by a vote of 282-138.

The measure was also dismissed in the Senate, with a 92-7 vote tally.

The House and the Senate will now reconvene in a joint session to continue to count the remaining Electoral College votes. Track the electoral vote count here. 

Pennsylvania will be the last state that will be debated. We expect Wisconsin to be challenged in the House, but there will not be a senatorial signatory to it.

There are 12 states to go.

Remember: Any further objections must be made in writing and backed both by a member of the House of Representatives and a senator, from any state.

Objections that are entertained by the chair — that’s Vice President Mike Pence, whose duties include serving as president of the Senate — will force both the House and Senate to withdraw for debate in each chamber, which will be capped at a maximum of two hours.

GOP Rep. Jake LaTurner of Kansas has announced via Twitter that he has Covid-19. He is not experiencing any symptoms, according to the tweet.

He voted in person four hours ago on the House floor per this vote tally.

See his tweets:

The House just wrapped up its debate over an objection on Pennsylvania's electoral votes for President-elect Joe Biden.

The objection is expected to fail. It already failed in the Senate, the vote was 92-7.

Two members of the House confronted each other on the House floor over a push to strike another members' remarks from the record.

It began when Rep. Morgan Griffith, a Republican from Virginia, objected to what Pennsylvania Democrat Rep. Conor Lamb said during the Pennsylvania Electoral College challenge debate.

This is what Lamb said that led to GOP members objecting:

Rep. Andy Harris and Rep. Colin Allred yelled at each other to “sit down” “no, you sit down!” from across the floor.

They both then confronted each other in the aisle. At least a dozen other members bench cleared from their sides. Rep. Al Lawson of Florida, Jamie Raskin of Maryland, and a senior Democratic staffer helped break up the confrontation.

According to CNN's Kristin Wilson, who was in the room, the situation diffused fairly quickly but tensions were high.

The deputy Sergeant-at-Arms showed up in the scrum.

Watch the moment:

Former Republican Rep. Charlie Dent expressed his disgust Wednesday over rioters who stormed the US Capitol building and President Trump's rhetoric that helped sparked the unrest. 

In an interview with CNN's Chris Cuomo and Don Lemon, the former Pennsylvania lawmaker conveyed his anger with a pro-Trump rioter carrying a Confederate flag inside the Capitol building, calling it a "desecration."

"I always proudly took my constituents to a plaque right by the east-front Capitol, right by the front door. It's a plaque dedicated to the honorary first defenders from Allentown, Pennsylvania, in Redding, Pennsylvania ... who went to the Capitol, at the call of Abraham Lincoln, to defend the Capitol during the Civil War. ... The confederates never got there. They were there to protect against the rebellion. And here we are, watching Confederate flags running through the Capitol. To see this desecration to me, it's so upsetting as an American, as a Republican. How could this happen?"

Democratic Rep. Madeleine Dean on Thursday joined calls for President Trump's removal from office by means of the Constitution's 25th Amendment. 

"I certainly hope it is [possible]," the Pennsylvania lawmaker said speaking on CNN. "...I think this President has proved himself day after day, month after month, year after year to be unstable and unfit."

"In these waning days of this disgraceful presidency I hope we will be able to invoke the 25th Amendment," she continued.

If not now, "when would you do it?" Dean asked.

Sen. John Cornyn, a member of the Senate GOP leadership team, said that today “we hit bottom,” before suggesting that the President Trump’s rhetoric led to the attack on the Capitol. 

Asked whether Trump hurt himself among rank-and-file Republicans with today's actions, Cornyn said he doesn't know because of Trump's strong support, but added that he thinks "this will, this will open up, I think, some backlash, because I don’t think anybody accepts this as a satisfactory outcome."

White House Deputy national security adviser Matt Pottinger resigned in response to President Trump’s reaction to a mob of his supporters breaching the US Capitol, a person close to Pottinger confirmed to CNN.

He told people there was very little for him to consider. 

CNN reported Wednesday night that several of President Donald Trump's top aides, including national security adviser Robert O'Brien and deputy chief of staff Chris Liddell, were considering resigning.

The US Capitol Police have sent out a message that the security threat has been cleared for all buildings within the complex following the violent riots.

Here's what they said:

What happened today: Four people are dead — including one woman who was shot — after supporters of President Trump breached one of the most iconic American buildings, engulfing the nation's capital in chaos after Trump urged his supporters to fight against the ceremonial counting of the electoral votes that will confirm President-elect Joe Biden's win.

The stunning display of insurrection was the first time the US Capitol had been overrun since the British attacked and burned the building in August of 1814, during the War of 1812, according to Samuel Holliday, director of scholarship and operations with the US Capitol Historical Society.