WASHINGTON (AP) – Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., Said Wednesday he will raise objections next week when Congress convenes to confirm the election of President-elect Joe Biden during the election, the House and Senate votes are likely to delay the final certification – but do not change of Biden’s victory.
President Donald Trump claimed without proof that there was widespread fraud in the election. He urged Republican senators to pursue his unfounded charges, though Electoral College confirmed Biden’s 306-232 victory this month and several legal attempts to challenge the results failed.
A group of Republicans in the Democratic majority, the House has already said they will object on behalf of Trump during the January 6 count, and they only needed one senator to enforce their votes in both chambers.
Without giving details or evidence, Hawley said he would object to it because “some states, including Pennsylvania in particular,” do not comply with their own election laws. Lawsuits challenging Biden’s victory in Pennsylvania fail.
“Congress must at least investigate the allegations of voter fraud and take measures to ensure the integrity of our election,” Hawley said in a statement. He also criticized the way Facebook and Twitter handled the election-related content, describing it as an attempt to help Biden.
Jen Psaki, spokesperson for the Biden crossing, dismissed Hawley’s move as ‘maneuvers’ that will have no bearing on the fact that Biden will be sworn in on 20 January.
“The American people spoke out loud in this election and 81 million people voted for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris,” Psaki said in a call to reporters. She added: “Congress will confirm the outcome of the election as it does every four years.”
White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows praised Hawley on Twitter for standing up for election integrity.
When Congress convenes to confirm the results of the Electoral College, any legislature may on any grounds object to the votes of a state. However, the objection shall not be taken unless it is in writing and signed by both a member of the House and a member of the Senate.
If there is such a request, the joint sitting is suspended and the House and Senate hold separate sittings to consider it. To uphold the objection, both chambers must agree to it by a simple majority vote. If they do not agree, the original votes are counted.
The last time such an objection was considered was in 2005, when Representative Stephanie Tubbs Jones of Ohio and Senator Barbara Boxer of California, both Democrats, objected to Ohio’s election votes by claiming there were irregularities in the votes. Both chambers discussed the objection and rejected it. This was only the second time such a vote had taken place.
As Senate President, Vice President Mike Pence will chair the January 6 session and declare the winner.
Asked about Hawley’s announcement, Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif, of the House, said: “I have no doubt that Joe Biden will be confirmed next Wednesday, a week from today, by accepting the vote of the Electoral College as the 46th President of the United States. ”
Hawley is a first-term senator and potential contender in the 2024 presidential election, and his decision to join the House of Representatives is a refusal for Senate leader Mitch McConnell, who asked his caucus not to part to take. in a futile quest to reverse the results.
McConnell was aware that the Democratic-led House would not support such a challenge and that it would put most of its fellow GOP senators in a decisive position. take. This is according to two people who were not authorized to discuss the private call in public and spoke on condition of anonymity.
While some Republicans have reiterated Trump’s unfounded allegations, or at least refused to counter them, McConnell and an increasing number of GOP senators have acknowledged that Biden will be won and inaugurated on January 20th.
John Thune, Senate no. 2-Republican South Dakota senator said earlier this month that if the Senate were forced to vote on a challenge, it would go off like a shotgun. “Thune said it did not make sense to put senators through a vote if ‘you know what the final outcome will be.’
A series of impartial election officials and Republicans confirmed that there was no fraud in the November race that would change the outcome of the election. These include former attorney general William Barr, who said he sees no reason to appoint a special advocate to investigate the president’s demands over the 2020 election. He then resigned from his post last week.
Trump and his allies have filed about 50 lawsuits challenging election results, and nearly all have been fired or dropped. He also lost twice at the Supreme Court.
The House Republican group said it plans to challenge the election results from Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Georgia and Nevada. All are states that Biden carried.
Rep. Mo Brooks, one of the Republicans leading the effort, asked Alabama’s questions about the way state elections were held. Some states made changes to ballot papers and procedures during the pandemic. Although the new procedures could lead to confusion in some places, government officials and federal officials said there was no credible evidence of widespread fraud.
Aside from having to vote on the record, Republicans are also concerned about the negative consequences for the two Senate by-elections in Georgia. GOP Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler face Democratic challengers Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock in a state that knocked out Biden in November.
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Associated Press author Aamer Madhani in Chicago contributed to this report.