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From the Liveblog of Thursday, January 7, 2021

Congress rejects Republican bid to overturn Pennsylvania votes

By AP 7 January 2021, 10:29 am Edit

Electoral college votes are brought in before House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Vice President Mike Pence resume presiding over a Joint session of Congress to certify the 2020 Electoral College results after supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol earlier in the day on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on January 6, 2020. (Erin Schaff / POOL / AFP)

The US House of Representatives has joined the Senate in turning aside Republican objections to Pennsylvania’s electoral vote for President-elect Joe Biden.

Lawmakers in the House vote 282-138 against the objection as the counting of Electoral College votes continues into the early hours of Thursday morning. The Senate shut down the same objection 92-7 just after midnight, and unlike the House, declined to debate before voting.

After a long day dominated by pro-Trump rioters’ deadly storming of the Capitol, it was the second state for which a group of Republicans tried and failed to reverse the will of voters. Some GOP lawmakers have backed President Donald Trump’s bogus claims that the election was fraudulent.

Those objecting to Pennsylvania’s votes included 80 House Republicans and Missouri GOP Sen. Josh Hawley, who is considered a potential 2024 presidential contender.