An organization of 11 incumbent and incoming Republican senators, headed by Senator Ted Cruz, announced Saturday in an announcement that they would sign for Senator Josh Hawley to oppose certification of President Donald Trump’s defeat to President-elect Joe Biden in a Sign up for the congressional consultation meets on Wednesday.
Hawley will be joined through Cruz and six senators, in addition to Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, James Lankford of Oklahoma, Steve Daines of Montana, John Kennedy of Louisiana, Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee and Mike Braun of Indiana.
In addition to the seven senators, 4 elected senators, who will be sworn in on Sunday as members of the new Congress, will join the team opposing President-elect Joe Biden’s certification of the 306-232 victory at the Electoral College. The senses chose Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, Roger Marshall of Kansas, Bill Hagerty of Tennessee and Tommy Tuberville of Alabama will also object Wednesday, according to the signing statement.
Political Updates Live: Cruz and Other Republican Senators to Join Hawley in Opposing Certification of Biden’s Election Victory
“The 2020 elections, like the 2016 elections, were fiercely fought and in many undecided states they were decided by a narrow margin,” the set read. “The 2020 elections, however, featured unprecedented allegations of electoral fraud, violations and application of lax electoral law, and other voting irregularities. “
Trump and many of his supporters have alleged that the election was stolen through Biden and the Democrats, although they did not present credible evidence of widespread fraud and their plaintiff legal situations have been rejected in court. Although senators contemplating opposing have not cited a basis for the fraud allegations, they have argued that the doubts planted through Trump and his allies run deep enough to warrant debate.
“Whether our elected officials or our newscasters or not, this deep mistrust in our democratic processes will not magically disappear. It deserves to fear us all. And it constitutes a permanent risk to the legitimacy of any next administration. ” Array wrote: regretting that the Supreme Court ignored two instances that challenged the election without hearing arguments.
“As a result, we intend to vote on January 6 to reject the electorate in the disputed states for being ‘regularly donated’ and ‘legally certified,'” they wrote, it is not easy for an “audit to take place. Emergency of 10 days”.
They for the audit to be carried out through an electoral commission appointed by Congress “with full investigative and investigative authority. ” His task would be to know the statements “in the contested states. “
Hawley was the first senator to make explicit his goal of opposing the Electoral College results, which were scored across the states in early December.
In a December 30 delivery of his decision, Hawley said he simply would not “vote to certify the effects of the Electoral College on January 6 without mentioning the fact that some states, like Pennsylvania, had not met its standards. ” . “
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Hawley also claimed that there had been “an unprecedented effort through megacorporations, adding Facebook and Twitter, to interfere in this election, at Joe Biden. “
More: Congress prepares to certify Biden’s election victory on January 6. This is what to expect.
Along with the 12 senators, Rep. Adam Kinzinger said in an interview with “The Bulwark Podcast” that he believed more than 100 Republican House members were voting against the certification of electoral votes in Wednesday’s joint session. CNN and Axios have reported that there may be only 140 members of the Republican House. Last month, more than 120 Republican representatives signed a report of a lawsuit to overturn the election in a handful of swing states where Biden won.
Many of the Republicans now view Wednesday’s vote as their last chance for Trump to win.
As a whole on Saturday, opposition Republican senators called Wednesday’s upcoming vote “the only constitutional force left to take into consideration and force the resolution of multiple allegations of serious voter fraud. “
Despite developing Hawley’s efforts, a number of Congressional Republicans have voiced disapproval, adding Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who has dissuaded members of the Senate from responding to calls from House Republicans to oppose the results of the 2020 elections.
McConnell cautioned that an objection “is not in everyone’s interest,” according to a report by The Hill.
The Republican leader also called the January 6 certification “the most I’ve ever released,” according to Axios.
McConnell is rarely the only Republican who disagrees with the call to contest the election result, which has left the Republican Party with more House seats and a forged possibility of Senate dominance.
Sen. John Thune of South Dakota is skeptical of the objection movement, which has no realistic hope of success, and its supporters.
“I think what they have to do is let me not go anywhere. I mean, in the Senate I would go down like a hound,” Thune told CNN. “I just don’t think it makes much sense to put everyone in it when you know what the end result will be. “
In a lengthy post on Facebook, Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Nebraska, explained why he chose not to participate in Hawley’s plans and why he had to urge his colleagues to “reject this harmful ploy. “
“Let’s be transparent about what is happening here: we have an organization of ambitious politicians that there is a quick way to tap into the president’s populist base without causing genuine long-term damage,” Sasse said in his message. “But they are wrong, and this factor is greater than anyone’s private ambitions. Adults do not point a loaded gun at the center of valid self-reliance. “
Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Il. , Also fired at those fueling the unsubstantiated fraud allegations, calling the allegations a “pain scam” Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” show.
“It’s a scam. It’s going to disappoint other people who had this election stolen from, who think this is an opportunity to replace it,” Kinzinger said.
The motion to oppose voter certification has been strongly condemned by Democrats.
“It is a sad and tragic day for our country as 140 members of the House of Representatives, thirteen senators and a defeated president try to undermine American democracy and our Constitution. They will not succeed, ”said Senator Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. , He said in a tweet in reaction to Republican senators on Saturday.
“The political equivalent of barking at the moon. It will not be taken seriously, nor will it deserve to be,” wrote Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, in a tweet in reaction to Hawley’s announcement. “The other Americans made a resolution on November 3 and that resolution will have to be venerated and will be venerated through the United States Senate and the House of Representatives. “
Although Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, DN. Y. , did not speak directly to the opposition Senate organization, he tweeted shortly after, “Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will be President and Vice President of the United States in 18 days. “