The extraordinary attack on the symbolic epicenter of the U.S. s democracy left the building in tatters, at least one rioter dead and lawmakers in both parties shell-shocked by the unprecedented threat to their safety in a building previously thought to be virtually impenetrable.
Shortly before 4 a.m., after lawmakers formally tabulated each state s Electoral College votes, Vice President Pence announced before a joint session of Congress that Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris
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The images of chanting Trump supporters smashing windows, brawling with Capitol Police and marching unimpeded through the Rotunda quickly ricocheted around the globe, stunning Washington, the nation and the entire free world while leading to accusations from lawmakers in both parties that it was the president himself who had incited the riot.
Biden described the four individuals as “first-rate nominees” who would restore independence at the Justice Department.
“Our first-rate nominees to lead the Justice Department are eminently qualified, embody character and judgment that is beyond reproach, and have devoted their careers to serving the American people with honor and integrity,” Biden said in a statement.
“They will restore the independence of the Department so it serves the interests of the people not a presidency, rebuild public trust in the rule of law, and work tirelessly to ensure a more fair and equitable justice system,” he continued.
Then-President Obama selected Garland to the Supreme Court in 2016 to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell
What we saw yesterday in our nation’s capital was, as the president-elect has called it, an assault on the rule of law. And it has no place in our democracy, Harris said while speaking from Wilmington, Del. I believe we must ask ourselves two questions about what happened yesterday: What went wrong? And how do we make it right? she said. And I believe the answers require us to recognize that the challenge we re facing in our country is about more than the actions of the few we watched yesterday.
ADVERTISEMENT It s about how to reform, how to transform a justice system that does not work equally for all. A justice system that is experienced differently depending on whether you are white or Black, Harris said.
Not only did we see the failure to protect one of the three branches of our government, we also saw a clear failure to carry out equal justice, Biden said in Wilmington on Thursday.
Biden went on to recall receiving a text from his granddaughter showing an image of scores of armed officers on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during the Black Lives Matter protests over the summer.
ADVERTISEMENT She said Pop, this isn t fair, Biden said. No one can tell me that if that had been a group of Black Lives Matter protesting yesterday, they wouldn’t have been treated very, very differently than the mob of thugs that stormed the Capitol.