In Georgia, Jon Ossoff has been projected the winner over David Perdue, shifting the Senate makeup to 50 Democratic Senators and 50 Republican Senators (including Independent Senators). Since the Democrats will now occupy the White House, Kamala Harris can cast a tie-breaking vote when necessary. The Constitution states that the “vice president serves as the president of the Senate and presides over the Senate's daily proceedings” (Senate.gov). Thus, the Democrats will now have a majority in the House of Representatives and Senate, and Chuck Schumer is expected to become the new Senate Majority Leader.
In Washington, riots and violent protests swarmed the capital, and the FBI and Secret Service responded to the chaos. As I stated in my previous blog, today marks the date when Congress certifies the results of the election. Protests were expected, but the peaceful demonstrations quickly became violent. Protestors smashed windows, broke into the Capitol buildings, and one even sat in Mike Pence’s chair, another at Nancy Pelosi‘s desk. Democrats and Republicans were outraged at the vandalism and trespassing happening. In fact, some of the Senators who initially supported Trump’s plan to challenge the election results changed their minds, pleading with the President to deescalate the situation. Eventually, Trump told his supporters that “We love you,” and sympathized with them, saying he “knows how they feel,” later urging them to “go home.”
More than anything, today reveals how divided our country is, The 2020 Election results are still a concern for many Americans, and despite evidence suggesting one outcome, many remain skeptical of the validity of the votes. Hopefully by the end of 2021, the vaccine will be distributed across the world and we can become unified as a country.