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(CNN) – Majority Leader in the US Senate, Mitch McConnell, first acknowledged Joe Biden’s victory and referred to him as president-elect, six weeks after Election Day and amid continued refusal. President Donald Trump to accept defeat.
“The Electoral College has spoken,” McConnell said in statements from the Senate at the US Capitol, adding: “Today I want to congratulate President-elect Joe Biden.”
McConnell’s comments are significant given that many Senate Republicans still did not acknowledge Biden’s victory Monday night, even after the Electoral College made the victory official.
Democrats have criticized the Republicans’ refusal to accept the election result, noting that it took more than 40 days since Americans went to the polls for many Republican members of Congress to speak.
“The fact that it took my colleagues six weeks to recognize reality and stop undermining our Democratic process is sad and disappointing,” Democratic Senator Dick Durbin said in a speech Tuesday following McConnell’s remarks.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Tuesday that Trump should “follow the lead of Leader McConnell, that it is time to end his term,” in a plenary speech and also asked his Republican colleagues to follow his example.
“Our Republican colleagues, for the sake of our democracy, for the sake of the peaceful transition of power, should stop the bullshit,” Schumer said. “Stop the misrepresentations and acknowledge that Joe Biden will be our next president.”
McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, made his remarks after praising Trump’s presidency in the past tense, touting his administration’s achievements, including the country’s “economic prosperity,” “foreign policy,” judicial appointments, and “changes. Bold Regulations ”in a plenary speech.
“It would take a lot more than one speech to catalog all the great victories that the Trump administration has helped to achieve for the American people,” he said. “He stranger who vowed to shake up Washington and lead our country to new achievements, both at home and abroad, proceeded to do exactly that. President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence deserve our thanks and gratitude for their tireless work and essential roles in all of these victories and many more. “
In her remarks, McConnell also congratulated Vice President-elect Kamala Harris for the first time.
“I also want to congratulate the vice president-elect, our colleague from California, Senator Harris,” he said. “Regardless of our differences, all Americans can be proud that our nation has a vice president elected for the first time.”
McConnell said that while millions wished the elections had yielded a different result, “our system of government has processes to determine who will take office on January 20. The Electoral College has spoken.
Trump, even in defeat, has enormous influence over his party, to the point that many refuse to publicly accept electoral reality or raise any concerns as the president continues to undermine the integrity of American democracy by lying that the elections were manipulated and stolen. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy has yet to acknowledge Biden’s victory.
