A Republican says he will be the first senator to object when Congress certifies the victory of US President-elect Joe Biden next week.
Josh Hawley of Missouri said he had concerns about electoral integrity, despite the lack of evidence of widespread fraud.
A group of Republicans in the lower house of Congress, the House of Representatives, also plans to challenge the election results.
But the objections are not expected to change the outcome.
The U.S. Electoral College – which confirms the result of the November presidential election by awarding points for each state won by the two White House rivals – earlier this month cemented Biden’s victory over Donald Trump by 306-232.
These votes must be confirmed by Congress on January 6. The inauguration day, when the new Democratic president and vice president takes office, will be January 20.
Since losing the election, Trump has repeatedly alleged unproven systemic electoral fraud. The Republican president’s legal efforts to reverse the results were rejected by the courts.
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What did Hawley say?
Hawley said he could not vote to certify election results “without raising the fact that some states, particularly Pennsylvania, have not followed their own state election laws.”
“At the very least, Congress should investigate allegations of electoral fraud and take steps to ensure the integrity of our elections. But Congress has so far not acted.”
Hawley – a first-term senator who allegedly has presidential ambitions – did not specify any electoral fraud that could have altered the final result.
Meanwhile, Walmart was forced to issue an apology after the company’s account tweeted that Hawley was being a “bad loser”.
The retail giant deleted the tweet and said it was mistakenly posted by a member of its social media team.
Hawley tweeted back to the superstore chain: “Now that you have insulted 75 million Americans, will you at least apologize for using slave labor?”
So, what will happen when Congress meets?
Electoral count objections 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 for a state’s electoral votes to be rejected, the majority in both chambers must support the objection. This scenario is seen as almost impossible, as Democrats hold the majority in the House and some Republicans in the Senate have said they will not contest the results.
But Congressman Mo Brooks, a Republican from Alabama, has vowed to contest in the House, which means that the January 6 debate and vote is almost guaranteed to happen.
What did other Republicans say?
Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell has been asking his party members to refrain from forcing lawmakers into a politically embarrassing test of loyalty to support the president or voters.
McConnell told Republicans on a private call earlier this month that such a vote would be “terrible”.
Another leading Republican, John Thune, also said that such a vote “would fall like a bullet in the target.”
He warned that it would make no sense, as the “end result” was obvious.
How did Biden’s camp react?
Biden’s spokeswoman Jen Psaki described Hawley’s move to reporters as “antics.”
“The American people spoke strongly in this election and 81 million people voted for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris,” she said.
“Congress will certify the election results as they do every four years.”