Over a month after the US presidential elections, Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday congratulated President-elect Joe Biden for the first time and publicly acknowledged him in the position, after the US Electoral College on Monday officially certified the former Vice-President's victory in the polls.
"Many of us hoped that the presidential election would yield a different result, but our system of government has processes to determine who will be sworn in on January 20. The Electoral College has spoken. Today I want to congratulate President-elect Joe Biden," he said during a speech from the Senate floor, reported New York Times.
The Senator also congratulated Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. "Beyond our differences, all Americans can take pride that our nation has a female vice president-elect for the very first time," McConnell said.
According to CNN, McConnell talked about President Donald Trump's presidency in the past tense, praising the administration's accomplishments, including the country's economic prosperity, foreign policy, judicial appointments and bold regulatory changes.
"It would take far more than one speech to catalogue all the major wins the Trump administration has helped deliver for the American people. The outsider who swore he would shake up Washington and lead our country to new accomplishments, both at home and abroad proceeded to do exactly that. President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence deserve our thanks and our gratitude for their tireless work and their essential roles in all these victories and in many more," he said.
The majority leader did not directly address Trump's continued allegations of widespread voter fraud or his claims of winning the election by a wide margin.
The final Electoral College results are 306 for Biden and 232 for Trump. The electoral votes will be sent to the US Congress for verification at a joint session, the final stage of the election, which is scheduled for January 6.
Biden would become the 46th President of the United States next year.
( With inputs from ANI )
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