Senators have confirmed Joe Biden as the 46th president of the United States, hours after a deadly siege of the Capitol Building in Washington DC by pro-Trump rioters.
The attack on the heart of US democracy has received international condemnation, while former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton have directly blamed Donald Trump’s incendiary and baseless claims of election fraud for the violent scenes.
Mr Trump was suspended from Twitter after he described protesters as “special”, told them “we love you” and repeated his false assertions over the election in a video message.
A raft of White House officials have resigned in wake of the violence, including Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Matthews, First Lady Melania Trump’s chief of staff Stephanie Grisham, and White House social secretary Rickie Niceta.
Members of Congress were cleared to return to the Capitol on Thursday, with senators certifying Joe Biden’s election victory.
Objections to the Electoral College votes from Arizona and Pennsylvania were rejected by both chambers of Congress.