A Republican says he will be the first senator to object when Congress certifies President-elect Joe Biden’s election victory next week.
Josh Hawley, Missouri, said he had problems with electoral integrity, despite a lack of evidence of widespread fraud.
A group of Republicans in the lower chamber of Congress, the House of Representatives, also plans to contest the election results.
However, the objections are not expected to change the outcome.
The American Electoral College – which confirmed the result of the presidential election in November by awarding points for each state that the two White House rivals won – confirmed Donald Biden’s 306-232 victory over Donald Trump earlier this month.
These votes must be confirmed by Congress on January 6th. The inauguration day, when the new Democratic president and vice president are sworn in, takes place on January 20th.
Since losing the election, Mr. Trump repeatedly alleges systematic vote-rigging without substantiating it. The Republican president’s legal efforts to reverse the results were rejected by the courts.
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What did Hawley say?
Mr Hawley said he could not vote to confirm the election results “without confirming the fact that some states, particularly Pennsylvania, are not complying with their own state election laws”.
“At the very least, Congress must investigate allegations of voter fraud and take measures to ensure the integrity of our election. But Congress has so far been unable to act.”
Mr Hawley – a first-term senator who allegedly has presidential ambitions – did not specify any election fraud that could change the final outcome.
Meanwhile, Walmart was forced to apologize after the company’s account tweeted that Mr Hawley was a “hurt loser”.
The retail giant removed the tweet, saying it was posted incorrectly by a member of their social media team.
Mr Hawley tweeted back at the supermarket chain: “Now that you have insulted 75 million Americans, would you at least apologize for using slave labor?”
So what will happen when Congress convenes?
Objections to elections endorsed by a member of the House and a member of the Senate must be considered by lawmakers in a two-hour debate, followed by a vote.
But to reject a state’s voting votes, a majority in both chambers must uphold the objection. This scenario is considered impossible as Democrats have a majority in the House and some Republicans in the Senate have already said they will not contest the result.
But Congressman Mo Brooks, a Republican in Alabama, has vowed to object in the House, meaning the January 6 debate and vote are virtually guaranteed.
What did other Republicans say?
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell has called on his party members to avoid forcing lawmakers to pass a political embarrassment test in support of the president or voters.
Mr. McConnell said in a private call to Republicans earlier this month that such a vote would be “terrible.”
Another top Republican, John Thune, also said that a vote ‘like a shot dog’ would ‘drop’.
He warned that it would not make sense, as the ‘ultimate outcome’ was obvious.
How did the Biden camp react?
Biden spokeswoman Jen Psaki described Hawley’s move to reporters as ‘maneuvers’.
“The American people spoke out loud in this election and 81 million people voted for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris,” she said.
“Congress will confirm the outcome of the election as it does every four years.”