Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on December 15 publicly acknowledged the victory of the President-elect Joe Biden for the first time since President Trump’s contesting of the election results. The Kentucky Republican congratulated Joe Biden and Kamala Harris after the electoral college officially declared the two as the winner of the 2020 US election over incumbent Donald Trump. In his speech on the Senate floor, streamed live by C-Span, McConnell said that the Electoral College has spoken and he wanted to take an opportunity to congratulate President-Elect Joe Biden and Vice President elect Kamala Harris. Furthermore, he added, that the President-Elect Joe Biden was no stranger to the Senate and he had devoted himself to public service for several years.
The Senate session began with GOP lawmakers distancing themselves from US President Donald Trump’s incessant and groundless claims of voter fraud and the 2020 elections being stolen from the Republicans. Senate chaplain Barry Black, meanwhile, also acknowledged Joe Biden as the next president of the United States as he said that the senate members respected the conclusions of the Electoral College. His effort was joined by Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH), who said, that the lawmakers needed to respect the electoral process that the Founding Fathers had established, adding, that it was, in fact, a victory of the “will of the voters”.