Joe Biden

Speaking on Thursday after Biden introduced her as "one of the most respected civil rights lawyers in America", Gupta spoke of her parents as "proud immigrants from India", and the family's experience of bias, "an early memorybut one that is seared in my mind".

In a statement, Trump said: "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 January 20.

At about 4 a.m., Vice President Mike Pence announced before a joint session of Congress that Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris had won 306 votes over his and Trump's 232. Pence's announcement came after lawmakers formally tabulated each state's Electoral College votes, a final step before Biden will be inaugurated as the country's 46th President.

The US Congress convened in a joint session earlier in the day to certify Biden's victory, but both the House and the Senate, which were separately debating an objection to the counting of Arizona's electoral votes, had to recess and evacuate after thousands of Trump supporters breached the Capitol.

The reports on Wednesday also said that he will name Merrick Garland, a federal appeals court judge, as the attorney general. Gupta had served as the principal deputy assistant attorney general and head of the Civil Rights Division at the Justice Department in former President Barack Obama's administration when Biden was the Vice President.

Sitting President Donald Trump was roundly condemned for his role in instigating the rioters on Wednesday who stormed the Capitol, the domed building that houses Congress, resulting in the death of a woman from gunfire inside it and sending members of Congress to seek refuge in secure areas when mobs invaded.

"This is not protest, it's insurrection," Biden said in Wilmington, Delaware. "This is not dissent. It's disorder. It's chaos. It borders on sedition." The Democrat went on saying that he's calling the Republican incumbent, Donald Trump, to "go on national television now to fulfill his oath and defend the Constitution and demand an end to this siege".

Some Republicans have pledged to support Trump's efforts to overturn the result by formally objecting at the session, in a bid that is almost certain to fail. Hundreds of National Guard members are being mobilised. Supporters of Trump have begun gathering in Washington DC to rally against the certification of his defeat, and counter-protests are expected.

Two Senate races in Georgia are heading into 'runoffs' on January 5 because no candidate reached the 50 per cent mark needed to win multi-candidate races on election night last year. Republicans, who are already at the 50 seat mark in the 100 member Senate, need to win only one of those two Georgia seats to maintain Senate control and have the power to block Biden's legislative agenda.

Series of the events such as the release of the tape, scores of Republicans to challenge Joe Biden's victory, a pair of runoff elections in Georgia to decide control of the US Senate, and pro-Trump protests that are likely to be held in Washington, is going to set the phase of a fiery week in the US politics.