GOP LEADERS: CONGRESS WON’T REJECT BIDEN WIN
Any objection raised to Electoral College results would be voted down, key senators say
Key Republican senators sent a message Wednesday to supporters of President Donald Trump who are counting on Congress to step in and reject Presidentelect Joe Biden’s victory: That is not going to happen.
Under federal law, Congress will meet in a Jan. 6 joint session to accept the votes of the Electoral College, which formally votes Dec. 14. Any lawmaker can join with a companion from the other chamber to raise an objection to any state’s votes, prompting a debate and votes in each chamber on whether to accept the challenge.
Amid Trump’s claims of rampant fraud in key swing states, several Trump supporters in the House have said they are exploring a challenge.
Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ala., told Politico that he intended to make such a challenge, and several other members, including Reps. Andy Biggs, RAriz., and Mike Kelly, R-Pa., have joined efforts to question Biden’s victory.
But no senator has publicly entertained joining the effort, and on Wednesday several key Republican senators dismissed the possibility that the Senate would reject electoral votes or join a House member’s challenge.
“I haven’t heard anybody in the Senate talking about that,” said Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., the No. 3 GOP leader.
Asked about the possibility of a Senate challenge, Senate Majority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., said to a Politico reporter, “I can’t imagine that would ever happen.”
And if a senator does join in an objection, Thune added in comments confirmed by an aide, “I doubt that it goes anywhere. ... I suspect that will be a fairly routine process.”
Should a senator join a House member’s objection, thus prompting a debate and vote, there appears to be little chance that the Senate would vote to sustain the objection. On Jan. 6, the Senate could have a 51-48 Republican-advantage makeup, with the Georgia seat held by GOP Sen. David Perdue possibly in limbo because of the previous day’s scheduled runoff election. Any two Republican senators could join with Democrats to extinguish the challenge.
In the House, Democrats are poised to hold the majority and would vote down the challenge.
Sen. Susan Collins, RMaine, said Wednesday that she was not hearing concerns about the election results from her constituents. She was the first Republican senator to acknowledge Biden’s victory.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, declined to address whether he would join an effort to question the Electoral College vote.
“I think the litigation needs to conclude,” he said. “There’s an appeal at the Supreme Court right now. I think the court should take the case.”