McConnell spent much of his speech praising Trump's time in office,saying:"The outsider who swore he would shake up Washington and lead our country to new accomplishments at home and abroad proceeded to do exactly that."

A growing number of Republicans in Congress have begun recognising Biden as the President-elect in recent days.

On Monday John Thune,the Republican Party's Senate Whip,said:"I understand there are people who feel strongly about the outcome of this election.

"But in the end,at some point,you have to face the music. And I think that once the Electoral College settles the issue today,it’s time for everybody to move on."

Republican Senator Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia said that"it’s time to turn the page and begin a new administration"while colleague Rob Portman of Ohio said the Electoral College had made it clear that Biden was the President-elect.

But some Republicans in Congress continue to reject the election outcome. Mo Brooks,a congressman from Alabama,told Fox News Business that he would not be part of what he deemed the"surrender caucus".

"I’m quite confident that if we only counted lawful votes cast by eligible American citizens,Donald Trump won the Electoral College,and we should not be counting illegal votes and putting in an illegitimate president of the United States,"Brooks said.

On Wednesday (AEDT) Biden will travel to Georgia to campaign for Democrats competing for two Senate seats there.

If Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock win both seats on January 5,Democrats will take control of the Senate;if Republicans win one or both seats they will remain in control of that chamber.

In a speech after he was declared the winner,Biden offeredhis sharpest criticism of Trump since the election,saying:"In America,politicians don’t take power – the people grant power to them."

Biden described the Republicans'legal argument to change the election outcome as"a position so extreme we’ve never seen it before – a position that refused to respect the will of the people,refused to respect the rule of law,and refused to honour our constitution".