Lawmakers had been debating a last-ditch effort by pro-Trump lawmakers to challenge the results, an effort that was unlikely to succeed. The top two Democrats in Congress, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senator Chuck Schumer, called on Trump to demand that all the protesters leave the Capitol and its grounds immediately. Schumer called the challenges in Congress by Trump allies "an attempted coup" and said, "The Congress does not determine the outcome of an election. On Twitter, Trump called on protesters to stay peaceful. "We will never give up," Trump earlier told thousands of cheering supporters on a grassy expanse near the White House called the Ellipse.

Source: Otago Daily Times January 06, 2021 21:00 UTC