Impeachment article has 200 cosponsors: US rep.

The draft, citing "incitement of insurrection," could be introduced Monday.

Last Updated: January 11, 2021, 10:29 AM EST

President Donald Trump is slated to hand over control of the White House to President-elect Joe Biden in 11 days.

Jan 06, 2021, 2:47 PM EST

Certification vote paused as protesters breach Capitol

Sen. Chuck Grassley interrupted the proceedings, taking over for Vice President Mike Pence to preside over the Senate -- calling the Senate into recess subject to the call of the chair as protesters breached the inside of the U.S. Capitol building.

Pence appeared to have been moved out of the Senate chamber. The House of Representatives was being evacuated.

Trump supporters try to break through a police barrier, Jan. 6, 2021, at the Capitol in Washington, D.C.
Julio Cortez/AP

Jan 06, 2021, 2:34 PM EST

Trump attacks Pence as protesters storm the Capitol

As protesters of the Electoral College count and supporters of the president breached the Capitol building, Trump did not call for calm but attacked Vice President Mike Pence on Twitter.

"Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution, giving States a chance to certify a corrected set of facts, not the fraudulent or inaccurate ones which they were asked to previously certify. USA demands the truth!" Trump tweeted.

Supporters of President Donald Trump surround the U.S. Capitol following a rally on Jan. 6, 2021 in Washington, DC.
Samuel Corum/Getty Images

Jan 06, 2021, 2:13 PM EST

Pro-Trump protesters storm Capitol, some breach security to get near Senate chamber

Trump supporters were seen scaling the Capitol building steps as the proceedings continued inside. Some breached security to make it inside, to near the Senate chamber.

Supporters of President Donald Trump clash with police officers in front of the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., Jan. 6, 2021.
Stephanie Keith/Reuters

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer lectured lawmakers in the chamber, saying an element of the GOP "believes their political viability hinges on the endorsement of an attempted coup."

"By the end of the proceedings today it will be confirmed once again something that is well-known and well-settled: the American people elected Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to be the next president and vice president of the United States," Schumer said. 

Schumer said Republicans know this fact but will object to the counting of the vote anyway -- "and in the process they will embarrass themselves, they will embarrass their party, and worst of all they will embarrass their country."

"As we speak, half of our voters are being conditioned by the outgoing president to believe that when his party loses an election, the results must not be legitimate. As we speak the eyes of the world are on this chamber questioning whether America’s still the shining example of democracy, the shining city on the hills. What message we send today, what message will we send today to our people, to the world that has so looked up to us for centuries?”

As Schumer spoke, protesters breached the perimeter outside the U.S. Capitol Building and the building went on lockdown.

A notice from United States Capitol Police to all buildings within the Capitol Complex said, "Due to an external security threat located on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol Building, no entry or exit is permitted at this time. You may move throughout the building(s) but stay away from exterior windows and doors. If you are outside, seek cover."

-ABC News' Mariam Khan, Allie Pecorin and Trish Turner

Jan 06, 2021, 2:13 PM EST

McConnell rebukes efforts by GOP lawmakers to object to Biden’s win

Kicking off up to two hours of debate on the Senate floor after some GOP lawmakers objected to the electoral vote count in Arizona, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made an extraordinary speech rebuking his fellow Republicans for their actions. 

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell speaks during a joint session of Congress to count the electoral votes for president at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., Jan. 6, 2021.
Pool via ABC News

"We’re debating a step that has never been taken in American history – whether Congress should overrule the voters and overturn a presidential election."

Speaking directly to his colleagues, he reminded them he supported Trump's right to legal challenges, "But over and over, the courts rejected these claims including all-star judges whom the president himself has nominated."

"We cannot simply declare ourselves a national board of elections on steroids. The voters, the courts, and the states have all spoken,” he said. “If we overrule them, it would damage our republic forever."

“This election is not unusually close,” he added.

McConnell went on to say overturning the results would send the country on a "poisonous path” and into an "endless spiral of partisan vengeance” before calling on elected leaders to summon "patriotic courage" in both victory and in defeat.

"We must not imitate and escalate what we repudiate," he said.

"I will not pretend such a vote would be a harmless protest gesture while relying on others to do the right thing. I will vote to respect the people's decision and defend our system of government as we know it," McConnell said in closing.

-ABC News' Trish Turner

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