The Electoral College has met to confirm Joe Biden as the president-elect.
Despite President Trump’s lawsuits challenging the results of the Nov. 3 election against Biden, 538 electors from all 50 states and Washington, D.C., convened Monday, and by Monday evening, they had given Biden the 270 votes he needed to claim the White House.
Biden was expected to end the meeting with 306 electoral votes to Trump’s 232, reflecting the popular votes from each of the jurisdictions.
The gathering garnered more attention this cycle after key Republicans, such as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, made it the deadline for him to acknowledge Biden as the president-elect.
“The Electoral College will determine the winner,” McConnell said.
Outside of legal challenges, there is still one mechanism Trump allies can use to thwart Biden temporarily: a House lawmaker and a senator can question the election results during a joint session of Congress on Jan. 6.
Alabama Republican Rep. Mo Brooks has already indicated he’s likely to challenge the results. The strategy, however, requires the support of the House, which is controlled by Democrats, though with a narrow margin.
While McConnell had yet to comment, other congressional Republican leaders weighed in on tensions. Senate Majority Whip John Thune suggested it was “time for everybody to move on.” Senior Texas Sen. John Cornyn signaled he was against lawmakers questioning the vote on Jan. 6 but seemed more open to lawsuits.
“I think he’s president-elect, subject to whatever additional litigation is ongoing,” Cornyn said of Biden.
As of 5 p.m., there had been no faithless electors, nor a group of pro-Trump alternative electors alluded to Monday morning by White House adviser Stephen Miller.
Miller told Fox and Friends that Trump would likely dispute the election in courts until Biden’s inauguration on Jan. 20.
“We have more than enough time to right the wrong of this fraudulent election result and certify Donald Trump as the winner of the election,” he said. “As we speak today, an alternate slate of electors in the contested states is going to vote, and we’re going to send those results up to Congress.”
Texas electors also voted 34-4 to push Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan, and Wisconsin’s Republican-led legislatures to appoint their more pro-Trump electors despite Biden taking those states.
