The nation is bracing today for a rumble in Congress and political theater in the streets of Washington, D.C. as the House and Senate hold a joint session today to certify the electoral college vote in the 2020 Presidential race.
A typically ceremonial session of counting the electoral votes submitted by each state has turned into high drama as numerous Republican members have viewed to contest the legitimacy of electoral votes in key battleground states.
The effort has been spearheaded by rising stars on the far right including Josh Hawley, who was elected to the Senate from Missouri in 2018, and Jim Jordan, who has represented the Columbus, Ohio area in the House since 2007. President Donald Trump has falsely claimed that the Nov. 3 presidential election was thrown to his Democratic challenger Joe Biden by widespread voter fraud, despite the lack of evidence and rejection of those claims by judges in multiple states.
Once the joint session of Congress begins at 10 a.m. PT, the spotlight will squarely on Vice President Mike Pence. Trump has publicly pressured Pence to take a step to impede the certification of the votes in his effort to bolster his claim that the election was “stolen” from him.
Meanwhile, thousands of Trump supporters have begun to gather in a park near the White House to take part in what has been billed as the March to Save America. Washington, D.C.-area law enforcement were on high alert for the threat of violence amid the bitter partisan tensions reflected by the turmoil in Congress. Demonstrations by Trump supporters are expected in other cities as well.
The activity in Washington, D.C. will command wall-to-wall coverage across all major TV news outlets. ABC, CBS and NBC plan to break into regular daytime programming to cover the vote in Congress.
More to come