President-elect Joseph R. Biden said Wednesday it’s time to “turn the page” on the 2020 election after Congress affirms the final results in the presidential race.
“After the past four years, after the election, and after today’s election certification proceedings on the Hill, it’s time to turn the page,” Mr. Biden said in a statement.
He said the American people want both “action” and “unity.”
Mr. Biden said it appears that both Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff will win the Georgia Senate runoff elections this week, which would give Democrats effective control of the House, Senate and White House.
He said he’s pleased to be able to work with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California and Sen. Charles E. Schumer of New York, who is poised to become Senate Majority Leader.
“But I’m also just as determined today as I was yesterday to try to work with people in both parties — at the federal, state, and local levels — to get big things done for our nation,” Mr. Biden said.
He said he wants to work with both Mr. Schumer and Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican, to move forward with his Cabinet nominations as the results in Georgia are being tabulated.
Republicans currently hold an effective 51-48 majority; the U.S. Senate term of Republican David Perdue expired on Sunday.
The Associated Press called the race for Mr. Warnock over GOP Sen. Kelly Loeffler shortly after 2 a.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday.
Mr. Ossoff was holding a narrow lead over Mr. Perdue Wednesday morning with nearly all the ballots counted and a good chunk of votes from Democratic-leaning areas still to be tallied.
Some House and Senate Republicans are objecting to the Electoral College tally that is being announced in Congress on Wednesday, but they’re unlikely to change the ultimate outcome of the presidential race.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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