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Congress has formally validated Joe Biden&rsquo;s presidential election victory on a day that saw a time-honored ceremony become a nightmare of unprecedented political terror.
				The House and Senate certified the Democrat&rsquo;s electoral college win early Thursday after a violent throng of pro-Trump rioters spent hours Wednesday running rampant through the Capitol. A woman was fatally shot, windows were bashed and the mob forced shaken lawmakers and aides to flee the building, shielded by Capitol Police.
				The rampage began shortly after President Donald Trump repeated his unfounded claims of election fraud to thousands of rallying demonstrators he&rsquo;d invited to Washington. Many then surged to the Capitol after he incited them to go there as lawmakers debated the electoral votes.
				More than six hours after the violence erupted, lawmakers resumed their session.
				Thirteen Republican senators and dozens of GOP representatives had planned to force debate and votes on perhaps six different states&rsquo; votes.
				The assault on the Capitol made some Republicans squeamish about trying to overturn Biden&rsquo;s win, and challenges were lodged only against Arizona and Pennsylvania. Both efforts lost overwhelmingly.
				Biden defeated Trump by 306-232 electoral votes and will be inaugurated Jan. 20.
				Pa. battle
				A small group of House lawmakers came close to physically fighting early Thursday morning as the congressional count of electoral votes stretched into the wee hours and a Pennsylvania Democrat charged that Republicans had been telling &ldquo;lies&rdquo; about his state&rsquo;s votes.
				Rep. Morgan Griffiths, R-Va., objected after Rep. Conor Lamb, D-Pa., said a breach of the Capitol by an angry mob earlier in the day was &ldquo;inspired by lies, the same lies you are hearing in this room tonight.&rdquo;
				House Speaker Nancy Pelosi shot down the objection, but a few minutes later Republicans and Democrats streamed to the middle aisle, with around a dozen lawmakers getting close to each other and arguing. But the group quickly broke up when Pelosi called for order on the floor.
				President Donald Trump has falsely claimed there was widespread fraud in Pennsylvania and other states and Republicans have echoed those claims as they have challenged electoral votes.
				The Senate, meanwhile, quickly killed Republican objections to Pennsylvania&rsquo;s electoral vote for Biden.
				Senators voted 92-7 after midnight to derail the GOP attempt to overturn Pennsylvania&rsquo;s support for the Democrat.
				In a long day dominated by pro-Trump rioters&rsquo; deadly storming of the Capitol, it&rsquo;s the second state for which a group of Republicans tried and failed to reverse the will of voters. Some GOP lawmakers have backed President Donald Trump&rsquo;s bogus claims that the election was fraudulent.
				The Senate rejected the effort to cancel Pennsylvania&rsquo;s votes without any debate.
				Those objecting to Pennsylvania&rsquo;s votes included 80 House Republicans and Missouri GOP Sen. Josh Hawley, who is considered a potential 2024 presidential contender.

Congress validates Biden’s presidential victory