Late-Night Chaos Erupts As Congress Debates PA Electoral Vote

PENNSYLVANIA — With tensions running high following an unthinkable day that saw rioters supporting President Donald Trump storm the U.S. Capitol, the mood in the House of Representatives was uneasy. Delegates from around the nation went back to work in the late hours of the night to accomplish what they'd originally set out to do early in the afternoon: certify the Electoral College vote naming Joe Biden president, the last step before his inauguration on Jan. 20.

While unified against the displays of violence Wednesday, the simmering resentments from an interminable election season didn't take long to rise to the surface.

And like everything about the 2020 election, Pennsylvania was at the heart of this, too.

As they had promised they would do, eight of the nine Republican Congressmen in Pennsylvania voted to object to certifying the vote, citing the long-reiterated claims about election fraud that comprised dozens of dismissed lawsuits in federal and state court. In a fiery speech on the House floor following the objections, Pennsylvania U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb (D-17) of Allegheny County said Republicans had "inspired" the attack with lies.

"These objections don't deserve an ounce of respect," he said. "Not an ounce. A woman died out there tonight, and you're making these objections. Let's be clear about what happened in this chamber today: invaders came in for the first time since the War of 1812. They desecrated these chambers and practically every inch of ground where we work."

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A moment later, Lamb added that the protesters were able to enter the U.S. Capitol largely unbothered Wednesday "because of the way they looked." That caused commotion from the Republican side of the aisle, and shortly thereafter Maryland Rep. Andy Harris interrupted and that asked Lamb's words be struck from the record. When Speaker Nancy Pelosi rejected the request, there were increased shouts.

"It's sad but it's true," Lamb raised his voice, as Pelosi tried to gain control of the growing disorder.

Things devolved from there, and C-SPAN video feed of the hearing showed the benches clearing on either side of the U.S. House of Representatives like dugouts clearing before an incipient brawl at a Major League Baseball game.

PBS political reporter Lisa Desjardins, who witnessed the scene, said that the deputy sergeant at arms in the chamber had to get involved to help separate what quickly became a group of dozens of members of Congress on their feet, yelling, in the area of where Harris had been sitting.

The Pennsylvania Republicans were among 138 in the House of Representatives who objected, splitting the Republican Party; 64 joined Democrats to certify the vote. Similar formal objections were also made to the electoral votes in another battleground state won by Biden, Arizona.

Both objections halted the count and the session for a time as the Senate and House adjourned to meet and debate those objections. However, a mostly unanimous Senate and House rejected objections to counting Arizona's 11 electoral votes and Pennsylvania's 20.

Leaders from around Pennsylvania like Gov. Tom Wolf joined Lamb in blaming the actions of the rioters on President Trump and his supporters.

“Republican legislators enabled this every step of the way," Wolf said. "They've held show trials to gin up President Trump's supporters. They've intentionally spread disinformation. The actions of Republicans in Pennsylvania and across the country have led to violence. It is their fault. There should be no equivocation."

Pennsylvania's Lieutenant Gov. John Fetterman said that Pennsylvania had been "smeared like no other, and we responded like no other."

"PA’s election was always free and fair," Fetterman said. "Two months of lies + viscous smears couldn’t change that. The results held. There never was any fraud or conspiracy."

RELATED: PA's GOP State Legislators Join Fight Against Electoral Vote

Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro said that the Republicans objecting to the vote count knowingly lied.

"Remember: the Trump enablers who raised objections yesterday knew their attempts were futile & lacked any evidence—yet they proceeded to lie," Shapiro said.

Expected objections also were made to the electoral votes of four other battleground states Biden also won — Georgia, Michigan, Nevada and Wisconsin — but those objections dissipated because they were made verbally and not formally presented for lack of support by a specific senator.

The overnight proceedings in Congress came just hours after representatives from around the nation sheltered in place or were evacuated from the Capitol as protesters stormed and breached the building. In the ensuing melee, one woman was shot and killed.