Mcconnell formally recognizes Biden’s win
Majority Leader urges GOP not to contest certification of election
Senate Majority Leader Mitch Mcconnell, R-KY., made his sharpest and most significant break from President Donald Trump on Tuesday, acknowledging Joe Biden as the rightful president-elect even as Trump refused to publicly admit his decisive loss in both the Electoral College and the popular vote.
In a Senate floor speech early Tuesday, Mcconnell rattled off accomplishments he attributed to Trump and his administration, but made it clear that he accepted the Electoral College’s certification Monday of Biden’s victory, something he and the majority of GOP lawmakers in both chambers had declined to do for weeks.
“Many of us hoped that the presidential election would yield a different result, but our system of government has processes to determine who will be sworn in on Jan. 20. The Electoral College has spoken,” Mcconnell said. “So today, I want to congratulate President-elect Joe Biden. The president-elect is no stranger to the Senate. He’s devoted himself to public service for many years.”
Mcconnell also paid tribute to Biden’s running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris, D -Calif.: “Beyond our differences, all Americans can take pride that our nation has a female vice president-elect for the very first time.”
Privately, Mcconnell and his top deputies took a more blunt line.
In a conference-wide phone call Tuesday afternoon, Mcconnell and other GOP leaders urged Senate Republicans not to join a long-shot effort led by conservatives in the House to challenge the Electoral College results when Congress formally tabulates the vote Jan. 6. His remarks were confirmed by three officials familiar with the call who spoke on the condition of anonymity to disclose a private conversation.
Even if House Republicans were able to draft a senator to challenge the vote, the chances of success would be slim to nonexistent, given that states won by Biden have already certified their results. Such a push would effectively delay the inevitable, since the measure would certainly fail in the Democraticcontrolled House.
Trump, who stayed out of public sight Tuesday, did not immediately comment on Mcconnell’s remarks, though he continued to falsely claim victory on Twitter.
In his private remarks, Mcconnell referenced the vote forced by then- Sen. Barbara Boxer, D -Calif., after the 2004 election. Boxer was the sole senator, along several House Democrats, who objected to the counting of electoral votes in Congress in January 2005 certifying President George W. Bush’s reelection.
Mcconnell on Tuesday told his caucus members that doing something similar next month would be a terrible vote for Republicans because it would cast lawmakers as either for or against Trump. Like he did on the Senate floor, Mcconnell stressed that the Electoral College has voted and reflected the certified results from various states, according to the officials.