House, Senate Reject Challenge to Biden Arizona Win

Congress did indeed return to work Wednesday night after the afternoon violence in DC. The Senate was gaveled back into session shortly after 8pm, about six hours after pro-Trump protesters forced them to flee the Capitol. "Let's get back to work," Vice President Mike Pence told senators after condemning the day's violence, per ABC News. The House also returned, with the goal of finishing the task of certifying the electoral college results in a matter of hours. “Violence never wins," Pence said from the dais, reports the Washington Post. "Freedom wins. And this is still the people’s house.”

The first order of business was to finish up debating the challenge already raised to Arizona's results, and the Senate overwhelmingly rejected the objection in a 93-6 vote. The AP notes that those 6 votes came from Republicans, but noted other GOP senators (it names Steve Daines of Montana, Mike Braun of Indiana, and Kelly Loeffler of Georgia) who had indicated they would join them changed their minds after the storming of the Capitol. The House followed suit, 303-121. It's possible that no further challenges will emerge, or at least fewer challenges than originally planned. Sen. Josh Hawley indicated he would object to the Electoral College results in Pennsylvania as he previously said he would. (More Congress stories.)