Trump pledges orderly transition after Congress certifies Biden win

United States President Donald Trump on Thursday morning committed to an “orderly transition” of power on January 20.

Trump made the promise in a statement after Congress certified Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as the country’s next president and vice-president.

“Even though I totally disagree with the outcome of the election, and the facts bear me out, nevertheless there will be an orderly transition on Jan. 20.

“I have always said we would continue our fight to ensure that only legal votes were counted.

“While this represents the end of the greatest first term in presidential history, it’s only the beginning of our fight to Make America Great Again!” he said.

The statement was released through his spokesperson’s Twitter account after the company blocked the president from using his own account.

READ ALSO: Top Georgia election official says White House pushed him to take Trump call

Facebook also suspended Trump’s account after using it to rally his supporters who invaded the Capitol Hill on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Congress approved the electoral votes after both chambers rejected objections by some Republican lawmakers to the votes in Pennsylvania and Arizona.

Debates of the objections to Arizona had barely started on Wednesday when Trump supporters stormed the building and disrupted the proceedings.

The session resumed and continued through the night after normalcy returned.

Meanwhile, U.S. President-elect Joe Biden has formally announced judge Merrick Garland as his nominee for attorney-general, a role that amounts to being the nation’s top law enforcement officer.

Garland, a Justice Department veteran, currently serves on the powerful U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.

He came to prominence in 2016 as former president Barack Obama’s choice to fill the Supreme Court seat left vacant after the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, a conservative icon.

But the Republican-controlled Senate at the time blocked the appointment of Garland, who is considered a political moderate, and he never had his nomination considered.

Republicans wanted to prevent Obama, a Democrat in the final months of his eight years in office, from filling the lifetime post.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had declared any appointment by Obama as invalid because it came in an election year, and used his influence to block a vote on Garland, infuriating Democrats.

Attorney-generals wield broad power in the U.S where they are traditionally seen as non-political actors in highly polarised Washington.

Over the course of his four years in office president, Donald Trump has come under fire for seeming to expect his attorney- generals to do his personal bidding.

In a statement on Thursday, Biden said Garland would help “restore the independence of the Justice Department so it serves the interests of the people, not a presidency.

“And also to rebuild public trust in the rule of law, and work tirelessly to ensure a more fair and equitable justice system.”