Electoral College confirms Biden

The Electoral College on Monday formally voted for Democrat Joe Biden as the winner of the US presidential election, ending President Donald Trump's campaign that the election was "rigged" and riddled with fraud.

Hours later, Biden said it was "time to turn the page" and "to unite'' and "heal''.

"We the People voted," Biden said in brief remarks from Wilmington, Delaware, Monday night.

"Faith in our institutions held. The integrity of our elections remains intact. And so, now it is time to turn the page, as we've done throughout our history. To unite. To heal.

"We need to stand in solidarity, as fellow Americans, to see each other, our pain, our struggles, our hopes and our dreams," he said. "We're a great nation. We're good people.

"We may come from different places, hold different beliefs," he added. "But we share a common love for this country, a belief in its limitless possibilities for we, the United States of America, as always, set the example for the world for a peaceful transition of power."

Trump has refused to concede the election to Biden and has sought for weeks to reverse the outcome with unproven claims of voter fraud in the swing states that gave victory to Biden.

In statehouses across the country on Monday, 538 electors formally cast their votes based on the popular votes in their states in the general election on Nov 3.

Biden and Vice-President-elect Kamala Harris received 306 electoral votes, topping 232 for Trump and Vice-President Mike Pence. The electoral votes will now be counted at a special joint session of Congress on Jan 6 before Biden and Harris are inaugurated Jan 20.

As the electors gathered, Trump tweeted about a "Rigged Election!" and "massive fraud," allegations that Twitter labeled as "disputed''.

The Electoral College vote on Monday is set by law. Those who voted in last month's presidential election voted to appoint electors pledged for either Biden or Trump. Those electors formally vote for president, and a state's population determines how many electors it has.

After the Electoral College vote, several Republican members of Congress said Biden is president-elect.

"Vice-President Biden is the president-elect," Senator Roy Blunt of Missouri told reporters.

West Virginia Senator Shelley Moore Capito was asked if Biden could now be called president-elect.

"It certainly looks that way, and I think it's time to turn the page and begin a new administration," she said.

On Monday, Trump announced that Attorney General William Barr had submitted a letter of resignation.

He said that he and Barr had a "nice meeting" at the White House and that Barr would "be leaving just before Christmas to spend the holidays with his family".

Barr's letter said he was "greatly honored" to have served in the administration, and praises Trump for his "many successes and unprecedented achievements". Trump on Twitter wrote, "Our relationship has been a very good one, he has done an outstanding job!"

Barr has been one of Trump's biggest supporters, but critics have said Barr used the Justice Department to aid Trump's allies.

Earlier this month, Barr publicly angered Trump when he told The Associated Press that the Justice Department had found no widespread election fraud that would change the outcome of the election.

In recent days, Trump had expressed frustration with Barr because he didn't reveal before the election that Hunter Biden, President-elect Biden's son, was under investigation by the Justice Department.

He told Fox News this weekend that Barr "should have stepped up" on the matter.

"All he had to do is say an investigation's going on," Trump said, adding later, "When you affect an election, Bill Barr, frankly, did the wrong thing."

Trump said Deputy Attorney General Jeff Rosen, whom he labeled "an outstanding person," will become acting attorney general.

Agencies contributed to this story.