At heated House debate, shouting and confrontation ensues for Md. Rep. Andy Harris

Rep. Andy Harris was reportedly involved in a heated exchange with fellow members of Congress early Thursday morning as lawmakers worked overnight at the U.S. Capitol to certify President-elect Joe Biden's electoral victory.

The scrum did not last long but brought another tense moment in a day full of them in D.C., where violent mobs swarmed the Capitol Wednesday afternoon in an attempt to subvert Biden's victory.

Multiple reporters present in the House chamber reported the altercation involving Harris, (R-1st Dist.), which came during comments from Rep. Conor Lamb (D-Pa.) at about 2 a.m.

Harris, the sole Republican member of Maryland's Congressional delegation, has backed President Donald Trump's unsupported claims of voter fraud in the general election even as they were dismissed by courts and refuted by state election officials across the U.S. 

After the afternoon's violent insurrection by Trump supporters, Harris wrote on Facebook that he continued to support forensic audits in search of evidence of voter fraud.

Congressional reporters said the confrontation involving Harris came after Lamb said that “the members who are repeating those lies should be ashamed of themselves, their constituents should be ashamed of them.”

Another member of the House, Rep. H. Morgan Griffith (R-Va.), objected and asked that Lamb's words be stricken from the record, CNN reported.

As Lamb continued to speak, Harris and Rep. Colin Allred (D-Tex.) shouted at each other from across the House floor, each demanding that the other sit down, according to the report.

Kristin Wilson, a CNN reporter, tweeted that at least a dozen other members cleared their benches during the incident and that the House's Deputy Sergeant-at-Arms appeared to help diffuse the situation.

The Washington Post reported that no punches were thrown. Another reporter tweeted that Rep. Al Lawson (D-Fla.) was also involved in the argument.

The chair of the Maryland Democratic Party, Yvette Lewis, released a statement Thursday calling on Harris to immediately resign after he "continued to legitimize and fuel the attempted insurrection, voting and speaking against the certification of the Electoral College."

"Representative Harris’ actions have been nothing short of an attack on our democracy, a betrayal of those who he represents, and an attempt to overturn a legitimate election in favor of a wannabe authoritarian. His conduct is a disgrace to the First Congressional District, and to all the people of Maryland. He should resign — immediately," Lewis said.

In a statement issued Thursday afternoon, Harris said he would not step down and reiterated his unproven concerns about the election. But he also acknowledged that Biden will become president.

"My colleagues and I held legitimate Constitutional concerns about how the November election was conducted in certain states and felt compelled to highlight those concerns during the formal vote count," he said in the statement. "We did not call for the overthrowing of an election. Joe Biden will be President on January 20th."

Madeleine O'Neill covers the Maryland State House and state issues for the USA Today Network. She can be reached at moneill@gannett.com or on Twitter at @maddioneill.