| | | | | |  | | By Renuka Rayasam and Myah Ward | Presented by |  | | | TODAY IN 180 SECONDS — Watch this video of Donald Trump, Mitch McConnell, Joe Biden and a pro-Trump riot that interrupted the congressional certification of Biden's Electoral College victory. Congress is scheduled to reconvene at 8 p.m. ET.
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| THE VIEW FROM THE FLOOR — Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.), a former CIA operations officer, spoke to Nightly about how her day unfolded. She called from a secure location as she awaited the next steps for the Electoral College certification. Her account has been edited: I knew today was not gonna be an easy day. I had instructed my team that unless they have a need to be on Capitol Hill, I didn't want them coming in. I instructed my staff that anyone who was, to dress in jeans or workout clothes so that up until the point where they're presenting their bags, they aren't necessarily identifiable as Hill staffers. They just look like people. So I was just wearing black pants and a black turtleneck with a blazer, although I was wearing a hot pink blazer. Once it became clear that there was a problem, I took off the blazer because I don't wanna be the one in the hot pink shirt. We got alerts that Cannon was being evacuated. Then we got an alert that the Capitol compound was under lockdown and no one could leave, no one could enter. At one point in time, Capitol police somewhat unceremoniously led the Speaker out and then led House leadership out. And that's when it became clear that things were really escalating. @sarahnferris, 1:14 p.m.: WOW Hill staff just got this alert "Madison: EVACUATE. Proceed to your designated assembly area. USCP" It's never ideal to see the Speaker whisked away. So it was clearly indicative that there was a problem. Then from there, we were told to get our gas masks ready. They had deployed chemical irritants in Statuary Hall is what we were told. We wanted to make sure we could be evacuated through potential chemical irritants. So first it was, "Put them on." And then it was, "You don't need to have them yet." It was a little bit of a process.
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| At one point, it started getting really pretty tense because there were people banging on the House door, the chamber door. They broke through glass. The Capitol police have barricaded the door with benches and tables, and barricading with benches and tables clearly isn't an everyday protocol. That's not great. And then they're telling us to get down. Everybody was getting down. And trying to make sure everybody was listening to the officers who were working to make sure that they were helping to get — you know there were members of the press there as well — to get people out. So we spent some time on the floor, and then ultimately when they had secured a route out for us, we got out of there quickly and made our way to another secure location. I'm in a secure location now. Maybe three hours ago, they said it would be an hour before we got out. Some people are chit chatting. There is a lot of pacing. I think everybody seems to be in pretty good spirits. Somebody found that they have come through with pitchers of water, so we do have water. If you've heard me somewhat rudely chewing — I'll be honest, one member has walked through with a box of chocolates and has given everybody a little chocolate. So I did get a little chocolate, which was lovely, and I couldn't even wait to consume it. But you'll forgive me. I'm in the same place as Liz Cheney and Hakeem Jeffries. I'm getting it directly from the leadership of the caucuses. They're just sort of figuring out where they can do this. The way you stand up to those who would wish to undo our democracy is by affirming that our democracy cannot be deterred and that we, as lawmakers, cannot be threatened out of doing our jobs and our duty. It's a shameful day. This better be our rock bottom.
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Supporters of President Donald Trump clash with Capitol police at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021. | Stephen Voss for POLITICO | Welcome to POLITICO Nightly. North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper told me that the country needs "aggressive healing." Seems very appropriate today. Reach out at rrayasam@politico.com and mward@politico.com or on Twitter at @renurayasam and @myahward.
| | | | A message from Salesforce: The most extensive vaccine program in history is upon us. Distributing COVID-19 vaccines to the public fast and at scale can make a difference for hundreds of thousands of lives. That is why Salesforce is helping provide digital vaccine management using data-driven information powered by its trusted Customer 360 platform. Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, is using Saleforce's platform to help equitably distribute billions of vaccines to 190 countries. Learn about secure digital vaccine management solutions at Salesforce.com/vaccines. | | | | | | THE LATEST — POLITICO's coverage of today's historic events: — All members of the D.C. National Guard have been mobilized to help federal law officers control violent protests in Washington, Pentagon spokesperson Jonathan Hoffman said. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser mobilized 350 D.C. National Guard troops on Tuesday in anticipation of the expected riots, but those troops are tasked with crowd control and have not been at the Capitol. — Former President George W. Bush condemned the mob of rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol — and the Republican lawmakers who sought to delegitimize the presidential election. — Acting Attorney General Jeff Rosen also condemned the rioters today and said federal agents were being deployed to quell the conflict. — YouTube, Twitter and Facebook clamped down on one of Trump's posts today after he called for rioters to "go home" but repeated baseless allegations of a rigged election that drew scores of his supporters to Washington. Twitter has now locked the president's account for 12 hours, following the removal of three tweets. — Photos from D.C.: Steven Voss captured the chaos on the streets of Washington, shown in this photo gallery.
| | | | GET THE BIG PRE-INAUGURATION SCOOPS IN TRANSITION PLAYBOOK: Inauguration Day is quickly approaching. Is the Biden administration ready? Transition Playbook brings you inside the transition and newly forming administration, tracking the latest from Biden world and the transition of power. Written for political insiders, this scoop-filled newsletter breaks big news and analyzes the appointments, people and emerging power centers of the new administration. Track the transition and the first 100 days of the incoming Biden administration. Subscribe today. | | | | | | | | Nightly asks you: Were you at the Capitol today? Tell us what you saw using this form. Responses may be published across POLITICO.
| | | |   | | | | | | THE VIEW FROM ABROAD — NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg lamented "shocking scenes in Washington, D.C.," and added that "the outcome of this democratic election must be respected." Josep Borrell, the EU's chief diplomat tweeted: "In the eyes of the world, American democracy tonight appears under siege." Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney called today "a deliberate assault on Democracy by a sitting President & his supporters." Kyriakos Mitsotakis, prime minister of Greece, the birthplace of democracy: "Extremely troubled by the violence and horrible events taking place in Washington D.C. American democracy is resilient." Monica Frassoni, the president of the European Center for Electoral Support told our Ryan Heath that America "should take much care of its democracy: it is fragile as all the others. And should train better its police which is quick to shoot lonely Black passers-by but rather ineffective with white mobs." Marietje Schaake, president of the Cyber Peace Institute and a former member of the European Parliament, called today "historic, deeply tragic, destructive and a breaking point." She described American polarization as "taking on scary characteristics. The attacks on democracy will ripple deep and wide. I can only hope it serves as a rallying cry to work to defend democracy." Many Hungarians compared the scenes to how elements of their democracy began to unravel starting in 2006, while others compared the scenes to Latin American banana republics. Headlines around the world focused on the Trump supporters "storming" or "invading" Congress. Le Monde led with Biden's denunciation of "unprecedented aggression" at the Capitol, while Europe's biggest circulation paper, the German tabloid Bild, took over its home page to run live nonstop video of the extraordinary scenes, and Australian networks provided round-the-clock coverage. Britain's ITV network — its equivalent of NBC — filmed hopelessly overwhelmed police officers and followed the mob all the way to the Speaker's Office as one man shouted "the government did this to us!" Washington correspondent Robert Moore surmised, "In no way is this a surprise, it has been fueled by the president's rhetoric," adding, "America's long journey as a stable democracy appears to be in genuine doubt."
| | | | A NEW YEAR MEANS A NEW HUDDLE IS HERE: Huddle, our daily congressional must-read, has a new author! Olivia Beavers took the reins this week, and she has the latest news and whispers from the Speakers' Lobby. Don't miss out, subscribe to our Huddle newsletter, the essential guide to all things Capitol Hill. Subscribe today. | | | | | | | | | | 12 The number of electoral votes the joint session of Congress got through, from Alabama and Alaska, before the objection to Arizona's votes, which was later stopped when the Senate went into recess. Alabama and Alaska both voted for Trump. | | | | | | 
Supporters of President Donald Trump clash with Capitol police at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021. | Stephen Voss for POLITICO | | | | | A message from Salesforce: There are many challenges while delivering vaccines to fight the global COVID-19 pandemic, and technology will play a critical role in helping governments and healthcare organizations distribute billions of doses worldwide. Distributing COVID-19 vaccines to the public fast and at scale will make a difference for hundreds of thousands of lives. That is why public health officials around the world are turning to Salesforce to help securely manage their vaccine distribution programs. Salesforce is proud to help provide premier digital vaccine management solutions, which use data-driven information powered by its trusted Customer 360 platform. Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, is relying on Salesforce's cloud-based services to manage information that will help equitably distribute billions of vaccines to 190 countries. With Salesforce, public health providers have a trusted partner for administering vaccine programs. Learn about secure digital vaccine management solutions at Salesforce.com/vaccines. | | | Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here. | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |
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