Straus blasts attack on Capitol
In webinar, he cites fragility of democracy
A day after a mob broke into the U.S. Capitol — as lawmakers started the process of confirming President-elect Joe Biden’s election victory — former Texas House Speaker Joe Straus said the ensuing chaos showed “how fragile our system really is.”
“I think all of us have taken the peaceful transfer of power for granted,” said the Republican, who spoke during a webinar Thursday staged by the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. “It just reminds all of us, again … that it’s up to all of us to protect our institutions that are built and maintained on trust. And yesterday was just a very difficult day for that.”
Straus led the Texas House from 2009 to 2019. Since leaving office, he’s become among the most prominent critics of President Donald Trump within the GOP.
On Sunday, Straus blasted Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the Nov. 3 election.
Over the past two months, Trump has falsely claimed hewon the election, even as state and federal courts have dismissed dozens of Trump campaign lawsuits challenging the results.
On Saturday, Trump called Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to ask him to “find 11,780” votes — one vote more that Trump’s losing margin in the state.
“Donald Trump is trying to dis-
mantle our democracy by seeking to invalidate an election he lost,” Straus said in a Jan. 3 tweet. “Anyone who supports this effort is demonstrating a disregard for the U.S. Constitution, the will of the American people, the sanctity of the electoral process and the rule of law.”
During the webinar Thursday, Straus said it was heartening to watch senators on Wednesday night, hours after the violent fracas at the Capitol, return to the chambers to vote to certify Biden’s electoral win.
Republican Sens. Ted
Cruz of Texas and Josh Hawley of Missouri filed separate objections seeking to prevent the confirmation of electoral votes from states Trump lost. The Senate voted down the objections 93-6 and 92-7, respectively.
“Watching some of the senators last night — not all of them, all but about six or seven — made me hopeful again,” Straus said. “Maybe, after 1,447 days of Donald Trump’s presidency … we can move forward from here rededicated to rebuilding the trust and confidence that we should have in our institutions in the U.S.”