Washington: “President-Elect Biden has a strong mandate to lead,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. “This morning it is clear that the Biden-Harris ticket will win the White House,” Pelosi said in a press conference after Biden overtook President Donald Trump in the potentially decisive state of Pennsylvania.

It is “a happy day for our country. Joe Biden is a unifier, because he is determined to bring people together.” Pennsylvania would be enough to put Biden past the magic number of 270 votes in the state-by-state Electoral College, which determines the presidency.

Trump has angrily made unsubstantiated claims of fraud and sought to halt vote counting after prematurely declaring victory himself following the close of polls Tuesday. Pelosi played down the losses but said that the next House election in 2022 “will be a steeper climb” without Trump on the ballot.