President-elect Joe Biden officially reached 270 Electoral College votes on Monday, further solidifying his victory even though the outcome of the election has been known for weeks.
Why it matters: The Electoral College result affirms Biden as the next president after weeks of Trump's false accusations that the election was stolen from him, dozens of failed legal challenges from the Trump campaign, and protests threatening the safety of states' electors.
- The votes will still need to be certified by a joint session of Congress on Jan. 6 overseen by Vice President Mike Pence, where he will announce the winner.
- President Trump said in November that he will leave office if the Electoral College votes for Biden, but that it would have "made a mistake" because "this election was a fraud."
The big picture: Trump's legal team and allies have repeatedly attempted to change the Electoral College's outcome. The Supreme Court last week rejected a long-shot lawsuit backed by Trump and over 120 House Republicans seeking to challenge the outcomes in key swing states, including Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin.
- The last shot Trump has at trying to sway the election results would be for members of both chambers of Congress to challenge the certification of the Electoral College votes.
- Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) is plotting to contest the results from the House and has a small group of allies. But the effort still has no public support in the Senate.
What to watch: Biden plans to deliver an address on the Electoral College vote from Wilmington, Delaware, at 7:30pm ET.