CRACKS OPEN IN GOP EFFORT TO CHALLENGE POLL RESULTS
Senator Josh Hawley’s plan to object to the Electoral College votes on Jan 6 is exposing a rift among Republicans
Sen Ben Sasse on Thursday condemned a drive by his Republican colleagues in Congress to challenge the results of the 2020 election, rebuking the effort as a “dangerous ploy” led by lawmakers who are “playing with fire.” In a blistering open letter to his constituents, Mr Sasse of Nebraska became the first Republican senator to publicly condemn a decision by Sen Josh Hawley to challenge President-elect Joe Biden’s victory, saying it was intended to “disenfranchise millions of Americans.”
“Let’s be clear what is happening here: We have a bunch of ambitious politicians who think there’s a quick way to tap into the president’s populist base without doing any real, long-term damage,” Mr Sasse wrote. “But they’re wrong — and this issue is bigger than anyone’s personal ambitions. Adults don’t point a loaded gun at the heart of legitimate self-government.”
The remarks came a day after Mr Hawley, R-Mo, announced that he would object to Congress’ certification of the Electoral College results on Jan 6, the final procedural step in affirming Mr Biden’s victory.
Mr Hawley’s move ensures that the process, usually a formality, will force up-or-down votes on the House and Senate floors, requiring lawmakers to either show loyalty to President Donald Trump and object to the results or protect the sanctity of the electoral process.
There is almost no chance that the effort, led by Mr Hawley in the Senate and a small group of Republican lawmakers in the House, will succeed in reversing the outcome. But Mr Hawley’s decision to challenge the results is forcing a test of how far the Republican Party is willing to go to back Mr Trump’s false claims.
Sen Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader, has discouraged lawmakers from objecting to the results, and on Thursday he told members of his conference on a private call that he considered his vote on Jan 6 the most consequential one he would ever cast, according to two people familiar with the discussion.
Mr McConnell did not explicitly say how he would vote, and made clear he was not trying to sway senators to vote one way or another, the people said. But he framed the vote to certify the election results as a critical moment to defend the backbone of the electoral system and invoked votes he had taken on wars and impeachment to underscore its significance.
Mr Trump has continued to falsely claim that Mr Biden unfairly won the election because of widespread voter fraud and has demanded that congressional Republicans work to overturn the results. Attorney General William Barr has acknowledged that the Justice Department had uncovered no such fraud and the Supreme Court has refused or rejected challenges waged by the Trump campaign.
Still there is a substantial rift in the party. While a steady stream of House Republicans have announced their willingness to object to the electoral votes of critical states, Mr Hawley is the first senator to do so. He hinted on Wednesday that other senators could soon join his effort, telling reporters “a number of offices have reached out via staff to ours and said, ‘We’re interested.’”
On Thursday he blasted out a fundraising pitch highlighting his plan. “We must ensure that one vote means one vote in America,” read the message, which was positioned alongside a photo of Mr Hawley and Mr Trump. “I plan to object to the results of the Electoral College on Jan. 6th, but I need your help.”
His announcement on Wednesday was met with a distinct lack of enthusiasm in many conservative circles. On the private conference call on Thursday with Senate Republicans, Sen Patrick J Toomey of Pennsylvania, who is retiring in 2022, spoke up to make clear his “strong” disagreement with
Mr Hawley’s plan, a spokesman for Mr Toomey confirmed.
On that same call, details of which were earlier reported by Axios, Mr McConnell pressed Mr Hawley to explain how he expected his objection to play out. But Mr Hawley was absent from the call and did not respond, prompting him to email members of the conference later, explaining that he intended to force a debate on the issue of election security and noting that the election had left many of his constituents at home disillusioned.
Mr Hawley’s objection will force the Senate to debate his claim for up to two hours, followed by a vote on Mr Biden’s victory. With every Senate Democrat expected to certify the election, along with at least several Republicans, the Senate is likely to affirm Mr Biden’s victory. The House, which must also conduct the same vote, is controlled by Democrats, making certification a certainty.
Sen John Cornyn, R-Texas, said he was “curious to see” the evidence driving the objection, but expressed scepticism at the effort, noting that a slew of courts had already overturned challenges from the Trump campaign.
“There’s a lot of things I don’t want to happen that happen,” Mr Cornyn said. “So you just got to learn to deal with it. And I think this is one of them.”
“I question why he is doing it when the courts have unanimously thrown out the suits that the president’s team have filed for lack of credible evidence,” said Sen Susan Collins, R-Maine. “Senator Hawley is a smart attorney who clerked for the Supreme Court, so he clearly understands that.”
On Thursday, eight Republican
members of Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation announced that they would challenge Mr Biden’s electoral votes, citing the use of election procedures they claim were unauthorised by state legislators. Pennsylvania’s Republican state legislators also wrote to Mr McConnell on Thursday urging him to “dispute the certification until an investigation is completed” into allegations of election law violations.
Others had been trying a different tactic. They filed a lawsuit against Vice President Mike Pence that tries to invalidate the 1880s law that governs the Electoral College vote.
But on Thursday, the Justice Department, arguing on behalf of Mr Pence, asked a federal judge to dismiss the lawsuit, pitting the department against Mr Trump and his allies in Congress. ©2021
Adults don’t point a loaded gun at the heart of legitimate self-government. REPUBLICAN SENATOR, BEN SASSE