U.S. House rejects attempt to overturn Biden victory in Arizona

WASHINGTON: The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday night joined the Senate in rejecting a move by allies of President Donald Trump to overturn Democrat Joe Biden’s victory in Arizona, a vote delayed by rioters earlier pushing their way into the U.S. Capitol.

The Democratic-led House voted 303-121 against the measure. A similar vote rejecting the objection to Arizona’s election results occurred earlier in the Republican-controlled Senate.

After gaveling the House vote, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the two chambers of Congress would resume their joint session to consider election results from other states.

Hundreds of President Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol in a bid to overturn his election defeat, occupying the symbol of American democracy and forcing Congress to suspend a session to certify President-elect Joe Biden’s victory.

Police evacuated lawmakers and struggled for more than three hours after the invasion to clear the Capitol of Trump supporters, who surged through the hallways and rummaged through offices in shocking scenes of chaos and disorder.

Also Read: Four deaths, 52 arrests made after Trump supporters storm U.S. Capitol

The assault on the Capitol was the culmination of months of divisive and escalating rhetoric around the Nov. 3 election, with Trump repeatedly making false claims that the vote was rigged and urging his supporters to help him overturn his loss.

The chaotic scenes unfolded after Trump, who before the election refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he lost, addressed thousands of supporters near the White House and told them to march on the Capitol to express their anger at the voting process.

He told his supporters to pressure their elected officials to reject the results, urging them “to fight.”