U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican, on Tuesday congratulated Democratic President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on their November 3 election victories, ending his long silence on the outcome of the presidential race.

In remarks on the Senate floor, McConnell acknowledged the Democrats’ win of the White House following Monday’s formal result issued by the Electoral College.

In a nearly 10-minute speech that mainly praised Republican President Donald Trump’s tenure in office, McConnell closed by saying: “Today I want to congratulate President-elect Joe Biden,” adding that “he has devoted himself to public service for many years.”

McConnell, saying he had hoped for a “different result” in the November 3 election, also said, “All Americans can take pride that our nation has a female vice president-elect for the very first time.”

McConnell and his top deputies pressed other Senate Republicans not to join in with any House Republicans who may object to the presidential election results when Congress meets on January 6 to ratify the decision, the New York Times reported, citing three people familiar with the remarks.

Since early November, McConnell has ignored pressure to acknowledge Biden’s victory, saying Trump had the right to pursue legal challenges to the election outcome.

On Monday, the Electoral College confirmed results that were apparent since November 7 that Trump had no path to winning the election despite his repeated, unfounded claims of election fraud, which he reiterated on Monday.