Mitch McConnell finally recognizes Biden's win — leaving Trump dangling

On Monday, the Electoral College officially secured President-elect Joe Biden's victory, giving the former vice president the majority he needs to take control of the White House on Jan. 20. And Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell finally congratulated Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris publicly on Tuesday morning.

McConnell said on the Senate floor, "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. So today, I want to congratulate President-elect Joe Biden. The president-elect is no stranger to the Senate. He's devoted himself to public service for many years."

The Kentucky Republican said of Harris, "Beyond our differences, all Americans can take pride that our nation has a female vice president-elect for the very first time."

Before electors for the Electoral College met on Monday and cast their votes, McConnell stressed that Trump was entitled to vote recounts in key battleground states. And he made it clear that he wasn't going to congratulate Biden until the Electoral College cast its votes.

During McConnell's speech, reporter Nicholas Fandos notes in the New York Times, he spent several minutes praising Trump's presidency before he got around to congratulating Biden and Harris.

McConnell told senators, "The outsider who swore he would shake up Washington and lead our country to new accomplishments at home and abroad proceeded to do exactly that."

Despite these words, McConnell's acknowledgment was a clear break with the sitting president. Even as the senator was recognizing Biden's win, Trump was still baselessly attacking the election results on Twitter with lies and misinformation