Upheaval in Pa. Legislature as GOP blocks seating of elected Democrat

The seating of new Pennsylvania legislators turned into a bitter partisan spectacle Tuesday, as Republicans in the state Senate blocked a Democratic lawmaker from taking his oath of office and removed the Democratic lieutenant governor from his role overseeing the proceedings.

Lawmakers shouted and spoke over each other, at one point trying to conduct dueling sessions in a stark showcase of this year’s party divides over normally routine functions of democracy.

“There’s nothing about his day that is appropriate,” one state senator yelled. “Nothing!”

Republicans say they will not seat Sen.-elect Jim Brewster as a legal challenge to his victory is pending, although his win has been certified and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court recently sided with him in a dispute over how to count votes in a close race.

Democrats decried the move as an overreach and an echo of Republican attempts to overturn the presidential election.

In an interview, Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, a Democrat, accused Republicans of “raw partisanship,” drawing a “straight line” between their actions and broader GOP resistance to certifying the election of President-elect Joe Biden.

“This idea that one’s party is allowed to pick the winner, despite evidence to the contrary, is toxic and corrosive, and that is what you saw play out on the floor of the Senate today,” he said.

Democrats say Republicans have exceeded their authority in interfering with a certified race. Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, called the refusal to seat Brewster “a disgrace to democracy.”