Joe Biden has been officially declared president elect after Congress certified the Electoral College count.
The confirmation came after lawmakers threw out Republican challenges to the results in several states following a day of violence that saw a mob of Donald Trump supporters storm Congress.
What is normally a ceremonial process became politically charged after the President failed to overturn the outcome in the courts and urged GOP lawmakers to object to the results in a handful of battleground states.
After sitting into the early morning Vice President Mike Pence finally certified the Electoral College count of 306 electors in favor of the Democrat Biden against 232 in favor of Trump.
Immediately after the certification, the White House released a statement from Trump in which he pledged an “orderly transition” on January 20 when Biden will be sworn into office.
Trump has been temporarily banned from Twitter in the wake of the riot so was forced to issue a statement via his social media director Dan Scavino.
“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,” it read.
“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!”
Four people died and several others have been seriously injured during a violent siege on Capitol Hill in Washington DC.
Hundreds of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol building where bloody clashes erupted in Congress on Wednesday.
After the turmoil of the protests Congress began voting on Republicans’ efforts to object to the election results in several states including Pennsylvania, Georgia and Arizona.
All the bids were overturned allowing Mike Pence to announce Biden’s certification early this morning.
As the night wore on emotions from earlier in the day appeared to spill over as members of the House nearly came to blows on the floor during the Pennsylvania debate.
The GOP’s Morgan Griffith objected after Democrat 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 and staffers also intervened.
Earlier on Wednesday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a letter to colleagues that the decision to “proceed tonight” had been taken after consulting with “the Pentagon, the Justice Department and the Vice President.”
Violent scenes erupted in Washington, DC, as supporters of Trump fought with police and armed guards, eventually storming the Capitol building and running riot.
Police responded by firing tear gas at the rioters.
During the disturbing scenes, one woman was shot and later died at a nearby hospital.
Pelosi described the riot as a “shameful assault on our democracy,” adding it was “anointed at the highest level of government.”