Here is how the scene is unfolding. All times Eastern.
Jan 07, 2021, 4:40 PM EST
Biden transition deflects on Trump's potential removal from office
The Biden transition is deflecting when asked questions about Trump's potential removal from office, saying both Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris are focused on their duties and taking office in less than two weeks.
A spokesperson said Biden and Harris will "leave it to Vice President Pence, the Cabinet and the Congress to act as they see fit," when it comes to Trump's removal, and again urged Trump stop blocking cooperation with the transition.
-ABC News' John Verhovek
Jan 07, 2021, 4:33 PM EST
McMaster condemns Trump in blistering statement
Former National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster on Twitter joined a growing list of former officials bluntly denouncing Trump's actions leading up to Wednesday's riot.
"The reasons for yesterday’s criminal assault on our Congress and election process are many. But foremost among them is the sad reality that President Trump and other officials have repeatedly compromised our principles in pursuit of partisan advantage and personal gain," McMaster said in a Twitter thread.
"Those who engaged in disinformation and demagoguery in pursuit of self-interest abdicated their responsibility to the American people. It was, in every sense of the phrase, a dereliction of duty," he continued, calling on the public to "reject conspiracy theories and false narratives designed to polarize us and pit us against each other."
Jan 07, 2021, 4:29 PM EST
Graham says breach of Capitol by 'domestic terrorists' will 'tarnish' Trump presidency
Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina forcefully condemned "domestic terrorists" who breached the Capitol Wednesday and said the events will "tarnish" the Trump presidency.
"A band of people who are terrorists -- not patriots -- literally occupied the floor of the house drove us out of this chamber and the question for the country is how could that happen 20 years after 9/11," Graham said to reporters at a press conference on Capitol Hill Thursday afternoon. "Yesterday they could have blown the building up. They could have killed us all."
Graham said he does not support invoking the 25th Amendment "right now" and is focused on peacefully moving through the next two weeks until Biden is sworn in.
Reflecting on his relationship with Trump, Graham said he does not regret supporting the president but believes Trump is frustrated and receiving bad guidance from some in his inner circle, adding that he "needs to understand that his actions were the problem, not the solution."
"It breaks my heart that my friend, a president of consequence, would allow yesterday to happen and it will be a major part of his presidency," Graham said. "It was a self-inflicted wound."
-ABC News' Allison Pecorin
Jan 07, 2021, 3:45 PM EST
Biden introduces DOJ nominees including Merrick Garland
Biden introduced his nominees to the Justice Department on Thursday afternoon with a message that his administration will restore the law enforcement agency's political independence, which he argued has been damaged during Trump’s tenure.
“I want to be clear to those who lead this department who you will serve: You won’t work for me. You are not the president or the vice president’s lawyer. Your loyalty is not to me. It is to the law, the Constitution, the people of this nation to guarantee justice,” Biden told the group.
On his nomination of D.C. Circuit Judge Merrick Garland to serve as attorney general, Biden praised Garland's experience, character and bipartisan credentials, noting that it was “no surprise” that then-President Barack Obama once put his name forward to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court.
Garland grew emotional when taking the podium, thanking his family with a quiver in his voice. He spoke about what drew him to the law, recalling the swearing in of former federal Judge Ed Leavy who said “our law is not an instrument of partisan purpose," and addressed Wednesday's chaos.
“As everyone who watched yesterday's events in Washington now understands, if they did not understand before, the rule of law is not just some lawyer's turn of phrase. It is the very foundation of our democracy," he said.
Garland committed, as Biden and Harris have, that the Department of Justice under his control would remain an independent entity.
Biden also introduced Lisa Monaco as his nominee for deputy attorney general, Vanita Gupta as his nominee for associate attorney general and Kristen Clarke as his nominee for assistant attorney general for the department's Civil Rights Division.
Before that, he squarely placed blame on Trump for Wednesday's events at the Capitol, calling the riots the "culmination" of Trump's "unrelenting attack" and "all-out assault on our institutions of democracy."
"They were a riotous mob, insurrectionists, domestic terrorists. It's that basic. It's that simple. And I wish we could say we couldn't see it coming. But that isn't true," Biden said.
-ABC News' John Verhovek, Molly Nagle and Beatrice Peterson