WASHINGTON (AP) – Republican lawmakers who orchestrate an unprecedented attempt to overthrow Joe Biden’s electoral victory over President Donald Trump did not define a complete strategy before the joint session of Congress on Wednesday to confirm the Electoral College vote.
With growing desperation, Trump declared at a campaign rally in Georgia on Monday that he would “fight like hell” to hold the presidency and called on Republican lawmakers to reverse his electoral defeat.
But the Republicans who lead the far-flung effort in Congress are still deciding the details of their strategy. A late-night meeting called by Senator Ted Cruz, R-Texas, came to little conclusions, according to two Republicans familiar with the situation and guaranteed anonymity to discuss it. Cruz will object to Arizona’s election results, said another Republican. This is probably the first objection considered, in a state where Biden won.
Trump’s attempt to enlist his allies to nullify Biden’s victory in the 306-232 elections it is unlike anything that has been tried in modern times, and it will almost certainly fail. Biden is due to open on January 20.
Still, the days ahead will be decisive for your presidency. Trump is stirring crowds and people are gathering in Washington, where security is on the alert. Lawmakers are being instructed to arrive at the Capitol early and some are considering sleeping at night in their offices to ensure they can access the building safely.
Trump, at the Georgia night rally for two second-round Republican senators, promised that voters who voted for Biden “will not take this White House!”
Trump’s repeated allegations of electoral fraud have been totally rejected by Republican and Democratic election officials in one state after another and by judges, including Supreme Court justices. Former Trump Attorney General William Barr also said there was no evidence of fraud that could change the outcome of the election.
Vice President Mike Pence will be closely watched while chairing the session. He is under increasing pressure from Trump and others to skew the results in favor of Trump. But Pence has a ceremonial role that does not give him the power to affect the outcome.
“I promise you this: on Wednesday, we will have our day in Congress,” said Pence as he campaigned in Georgia ahead of Tuesday’s second round of elections that will determine Senate control.
Trump said in Georgia: “I hope that our great vice president appears for us. He’s a great guy. Of course, if he doesn’t pass, I won’t like him that much. “He added,” No, Mike is a nice guy. “
One of Georgia’s Republicans in Tuesday’s runoff – Senator Kelly Loeffler, who faces Democrat Raphael Warnock – told the crowd that he will join the senators who formally contest Biden’s victory. The other Republican seeking re-election, David Perdue, who runs against Democrat Jon Ossoff, will not be able to vote.
The attempt to overthrow the presidential election is dividing the Republican Party.
Those leading the Congressional effort to keep Trump in office are moving forward, despite a wave of condemnation of current and former party officials, warning that the effort is undermining Americans’ faith in democracy.
Senator Josh Hawley, from Missouri and Cruz, is leading the challenge, along with ordinary members of the House, some on the margins of the party.
According to the rules of the joint session, any objection to a state’s electoral count must be raised by at least one member of the House and one of the Senate to be considered.
Republican House legislators are agreeing to objections to electoral votes in six states – Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio, an important ally of Trump and the main Republican on the Judiciary Committee, is among those leading this effort.
The day begins with an alphabetical reading of the state results.
Cruz’s objection to Arizona will likely be the first to be heard. And Hawley said he will object to the results of the Pennsylvania elections, almost guaranteeing a debate about that state.
But it is not clear whether any of the other senators will object to any other states.
Cruz’s coalition said it would vote to reject Electoral College scores unless Congress created a commission to immediately conduct an audit of election results. Congress is unlikely to agree with that. That remains his focus, said one of the Republicans, not “setting aside” the election results.
Loeffler may join Republicans in the House to challenge Georgia, but he did not say so publicly.
Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell tried to stop his party from getting involved in this battle, which could help define the Republican Party in the post-Trump era.
Hawley and Cruz are potential candidates for the presidency in 2024, vying for the base of Trump supporters.
More Republican Party officials and former Republicans criticized the effort to overturn the election.
A number of Republican officials – including Governor Larry Hogan of Maryland; Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, the Republican Party’s third leader in the House; and former mayor Paul Ryan – criticized the Republican Party’s efforts to overturn the election.
The United States Chamber of Commerce, the gigantic lobbying and virtual personification organization of the commercial establishment, said that contesting the electoral vote “undermines our democracy and the rule of law and will only result in further division in our country.”
“The 2020 election is over,” said a statement on Sunday from a bipartisan group of 10 senators, including Republicans Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Mitt Romney of Utah.
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Associated Press writers Bill Barrow in Atlanta, Steve LeBlanc in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Jim Salter in O’Fallon, Missouri, Alan Fram in Washington and Tali Arbel of the technology team contributed.