News analysis

Storming of Capitol and Senate swing to Democrats shake up US politics

Republicans break ranks with Trump; Senate flip could signify fundamental political shifts

Nirmal Ghosh
US Bureau Chief
Above: Members of Congress being evacuated from the House chamber as a mob attempted to enter during a joint session of Congress on Wednesday. Left: A protester hanging from the balcony in the Senate chamber. Above: A Trump supporter with his foot up
US Capitol police officers with their guns pointed at a door that was vandalised by protesters during a joint session of Congress on Wednesday in Washington. Following the storming of the Capitol by President Donald Trump's supporters, several lawmakers dropped their opposition to the Electoral College results. PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Above: Members of Congress being evacuated from the House chamber as a mob attempted to enter during a joint session of Congress on Wednesday. Left: A protester hanging from the balcony in the Senate chamber. Above: A Trump supporter with his foot up
A Trump supporter with his foot up on the desk in US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office after a mob breached the US Capitol building. PHOTO: EPA-EFE
Above: Members of Congress being evacuated from the House chamber as a mob attempted to enter during a joint session of Congress on Wednesday. Left: A protester hanging from the balcony in the Senate chamber. Above: A Trump supporter with his foot up
Members of Congress being evacuated from the House chamber as a mob attempted to enter during a joint session of Congress on Wednesday. PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Above: Members of Congress being evacuated from the House chamber as a mob attempted to enter during a joint session of Congress on Wednesday. Left: A protester hanging from the balcony in the Senate chamber. Above: A Trump supporter with his foot up
A Trump supporter walking away with a podium inside the US Capitol building. PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Above: Members of Congress being evacuated from the House chamber as a mob attempted to enter during a joint session of Congress on Wednesday. Left: A protester hanging from the balcony in the Senate chamber. Above: A Trump supporter with his foot up
A protester hanging from the balcony in the Senate chamber. PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Updated
Jan 08, 2021, 05:00 AM
Published
Jan 08, 2021, 05:00 AM
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Two political earthquakes have hit the United States - one the storming of the Capitol by a mob of Trump supporters, the other the Republicans' loss of the party's majority in the Senate.

Both have shaken up the country.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on January 08, 2021, with the headline Storming of Capitol and Senate swing to Democrats shake up US politics. Subscribe

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MCI (P) 066/10/2023. Published by SPH Media Limited, Co. Regn. No. 202120748H. Copyright © 2024 SPH Media Limited. All rights reserved.

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