A statement has just been released from President Donald Trump promising an"orderly transition"of power to President-elect Joe Biden after Congress certified the Electoral College results of the 2020 election.

"Even though I totally disagree with the outcome of the election,and the facts bear me out,nevertheless there will be an orderly transition on January 20th,"Trump said in the statement,repeating the false claims he has been making about electoral irregularities.

"I have always said we would continue our fight to ensure that only legal votes were counted. While this represents the end of the greatest first term in presidential history,it's only the beginning of our fight to Make America Great Again."

The statement was tweeted by White House Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino. Twitter suspended Trump's account for 12 hours after the President violated its terms of service.

Congress has just affirmed President-elect Joe Biden's Electoral College victory over President Trump.

The Senate and House rejected objections to throw out Georgia and Pennsylvania's electoral votes for Biden.

Republicans also objected to Arizona,Nevada and Michigan's electoral votes,but the motions failed before they reached debate.

The certification comes after Pro-Trump rioters stormed the US Capitol earlier Wednesday.

The joint session of Congress,which is normally a ceremonial step,was halted for several hours when rioters breached the Capitol.

Proceedings resumed at about 8 p.m. ET with Vice President Mike Pence,bringing the Senate session back into order.

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

Lawmakers in the House voted 282-138 against the objection as the counting of Electoral College votes continued 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 Senator Josh Hawley,who is considered a potential 2024 presidential contender.

AP

A small group of House lawmakers came close to physically fighting early Thursday morning local time as the congressional count of electoral votes stretched into the wee hours and a Pennsylvania Democrat charged that Republicans had been telling “lies” about his state’s votes.

Republican Morgan Griffiths objected after Democrat Congressman Conor Lamb said a breach of the Capitol by an angry mob earlier in the day was “inspired by lies,the same lies you are hearing in this room tonight.”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi shot down the objection,but a few minutes later Republicans and Democrats streamed to the middle aisle,with around a dozen lawmakers getting close to each other and arguing. But the group quickly broke up when Pelosi called for order on the floor.

President Donald Trump has falsely claimed there was widespread fraud in Pennsylvania and other states and Republicans have echoed those claims as they have challenged electoral votes.

AP

The word"unprecedented"may be overused,but there is none other that quite covers what we've been following in Washington today.

Here are some of the most gripping images of the day,and our gallery.

The Senate has quickly killed Republican objections to Pennsylvania’s electoral vote for President-elect Joe Biden.

Senators voted 92-7 after midnight to derail the GOP attempt to overturn Pennsylvania’s support for the Democrat.

In a long day dominated by pro-Trump rioters’ deadly storming of the Capitol,it’s 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.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says he believes no other states’ votes will be challenged. That means Congress’ formal certification of Biden’s victory could finish quickly once the House votes on the Pennsylvania challenge.

The Senate rejected the effort to cancel Pennsylvania’s votes without any debate.

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

AP

The woman who was shot and killed during rioting in the Capitol has been identified as 35-year-old Ashli Babbitt,a California native and US Air Force veteran,by her former husband,The Washington Post reports.

“I feel absolutely terrible and sick to my stomach about it … she had a big head and a strong mind,” Timothy McEntee wrote in a text message to the masthead. “She was never afraid to speak her mind and in a way this was her way of speaking her mind (going to the rally).”

Babbitt was one of four people who died at the Capitol,with local police attributing the other three deaths to"medical emergencies".

Leaders around the world condemned the storming of the United States Capitol by supporters of President Donald Trump on Wednesday,expressing shock at the chaos unfolding in a country they once relied upon for global leadership.

But Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison stopped short of criticising Mr Trump for inciting the violence,saying"it is not for me to offer commentary on world leaders".

Mr Morrison said the storming of US Congress was"disgraceful","heartbreaking"and"terribly distressing,terribly concerning".

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the scenes in Washington were"disgraceful".

"The United States stands for democracy around the world and it is now vital that there should be a peaceful and orderly transfer of power,"he said on Twitter.

Other allies were similarly appalled at what they described as an attack on American democracy,though some said they believed US democratic institutions would withstand the turmoil. Some leaders singled out Trump for harsh criticism.

"Trump and his supporters should finally accept the decision of the American voters and stop trampling on democracy,"German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas wrote on Twitter."From inflammatory words come violent deeds."He added"contempt for democratic institutions has disastrous effects".

Fiji's Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama,who first seized power of the Pacific Island nation in a bloodless military coup in 2006,the country's third coup in six years,before winning two democratic elections,called the protesters actions"an affront to democracies around the globe".

"True and genuine democracy is a precious treasure that no nation should ever take for granted. We are confident the USA will soon close this ugly chapter once and for all,"he tweeted.

Read more:'Threat to democracy':World leaders appalled by storming of US Capitol