Five Republican senators to watch the Electoral College fight next month

Rep. Mo BrooksMorris (Mo) Jackson BrooksGOP seeks to avoid Trump’s messy fight over Noem Electoral College dismisses Thune’s challenge after Trump criticizes Senator Trump attacks Thune: ‘He will be primate in 2022’ MORE (R-Ala.) He is hunting a Republican Senate to participate in his guaranteed effort to fail to overturn the January 6 election results.

The struggle is emerging as a dividing point between the Republican Party leadership in the Senate and President TrumpDonald TrumpPost’s office will be named after Pearl Harbor’s oldest veteran federal agents seeking residence in Antioch in connection with the Nashville explosion. government continues vaccine launch MORE.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnellAddison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellTrump criticizes Senate Republicans before voting on election results, calls for a ‘fight’ Biden faces fight with Congress over more relief for the COVID-19 coronavirus may complicate Pelosi’s path to being mayor next year MORE (R-Ky.) He is particularly warning his caucus against objections because that would force a high-level vote that would not change the outcome, while Trump publicly endorsed the effort and met with a group of conservative arsonists to strategize.

There is no chance that Republicans who support Trump will be able to block the results when Congress formally counts the votes of the Electoral College on January 6, with the Senate Majority Whip John ThuneJohn Randolph ThuneTrump criticizes Senate Republicans before voting on election results, calls for a ‘fight’ Biden faces fight with Congress for more relief for coronary virus GOP seeks to avoid Trump’s confused fight for Electoral College MORE (RS.D.) predicting that it will “fall like a dog shot” in the upper chamber.

For Congress to challenge the results of a state’s elections, majorities in both chambers would have to vote to support the objection, which has never happened.

But Brooks needs only one Republican senator to side with him to force a debate and vote on any objections. If he succeeds, it will be the third time that Congress has had to debate an objection since 1887, according to the Congressional Research Service.

Here are the five Republican senators to watch out for in the Electoral College struggle.

Sen. elected Tommy Tuberville (Alabama)

Tuberville will not enter the Senate until January 3, but is already causing headaches for the leadership.

Tuberville – who aligned himself with Trump by defeating the former attorney general Jeff SessionsJefferson (Jeff) Beauregard SessionsGOP seeks to avoid Trump’s messy fight over Electoral College Nicolle Wallace asks Chris Christie if he is trying to “clean up Trump’s stink” before 2024 Barr leaves a conflicting legacy at DOJ MORE in the primaries and then overthrowing Democratic Senator Doug Jones (Ala.) – is seen as the Republican Senator most likely to join Brooks’ effort.

Tuberville suggested in a video, posted online by progressive activist Lauren Windsor, that he would support contesting the results, saying: “You have been reading about it in the House. We will have to do this in the Senate. ”

The Tuberville campaign manager also said he was “very seriously” considering opposing the results of the Electoral College next month.

Trump and his allies took advantage of Tuberville’s potential objection, putting him in a high-profile political dilemma.

Trump disclosed in a radio interview with his personal lawyer Rudy GiulianiRudy GiulianiWashington Post identifies Powell’s secret witness as a pro-Trump podcaster Powell says White House advisers will not let her help Trump’s lawyers to risk disciplinary action due to the wave of electoral processes MORE that he had spoken to Tuberville. And amid reports that Tuberville could help defy the results, Trump opined on Twitter, calling him “a great champion and a man of courage” and saying “more Republican senators should follow his lead”.

But he is likely to face efforts by Republican Senate leaders to dissuade him from going ahead or at least getting a read on what he is thinking. A Republican Senator said he expected McConnell to call Tuberville.

“I hoped he didn’t do that. I think it’s time … to move on, ”said Thune of Tuberville. “The fact is that it is being litigated indefinitely. … It’s time to end this. ”

Sen. Kelly LoefflerKelly LoefflerBiden on working with Senate Republicans: ‘I will never publicly embarrass them’ The GOP seeks to avoid Trump’s confused fight for Ossoff Electoral College, Warnock each rake by more than 0 million MORE (Ga.)

Loeffler, who was nominated for the Senate in 2020, is under close scrutiny as a potential opponent while clinging to Trump in Georgia’s runoff on January 5.

Loeffler, who does not speak to reporters on Capitol Hill, did not recognize the president-elect Joe BidenJoe BidenBrother, from Biden’s consultant, Ricchetti, hired as a lobbyist to preview Amazon’s Sunday shows: COVID-19 relief awaiting Trump’s signature; government continues vaccine launch Global cases of COVID-19 exceed 80 million MOREhe won and refused to say whether he will object to the results of the Electoral College on January 6.

Asked at a recent campaign stop, Loeffler objected, saying “there is a lot to play here in Georgia”.

“We have a lot of investigations going on now. We are in court analyzing this and we need to continue to allow this process to unfold. My focus today is on January 5th. We have to win this election, ”added Loeffler.

Loeffler is in a unique political position within the Senate’s Republican caucus. Unlike his colleagues, who are assured of political careers that last longer than Trump’s tenure at the White House, Loeffler’s political future is changing.

She needs Trump supporters to appear in large numbers for her to win next month in Georgia, where she has been fighting for the past two years as a retired senator. Johnny IsaksonJohnny IsaksonWith the Senate at stake, Georgia is in all of our minds.term of. She and Sen. David PerdueDavid PerdueBiden on working with Senate Republicans: ‘I will never publicly embarrass you’ Ossoff, Warnock every rake in more than 0 million Judge rejects Republican Party lawsuit to close Georgia polls after business hours MORE (R-Ga.), Who is seeking re-election for a second term, has already given his support to lawsuits that try to challenge the way the state deals with ballot papers.

But Perdue, unlike Loeffler, will lose his seat in the Senate until the results of the Georgia elections are determined, removing him from the council for the Electoral College fight.

Sen. Rand PaulRandal (Rand) Howard PaulMeghan McCain says Merry Christmas to everyone except ‘healthy people under 65’ getting vaccine before GOP frontline workers Sen. Rick Scott, team waiting to get the COVID-19 vaccine Trump vetoes defense bill, establishing potential cancellation MORE (Ky.)

Paul is being watched closely as a potential ally for Brooks and his colleagues in the House.

The libertarian-oriented Republican senator is one of Trump’s closest allies in the Senate and, unlike many of his Republican colleagues, he is willing to repeat the president’s allegations of electoral fraud, even when court after court rejected them for lack of evidences .

“The fraud happened. The election has been stolen in a number of ways, and the only way to fix it is in the future to enforce the laws, ”said Paul during a Senate hearing this month with Christopher Krebs, the president’s former cyber security chief.

Election experts rejected allegations of widespread fraud, as did state officials, including several Republicans.

Paul is known to be a thorn in the side of the leadership – he slowly introduced a bipartisan defense bill earlier this month and is trying to sand the procedural gears of a possible veto overturn. He was not on the caucus call where McConnell warned Republicans against the objection next month.

Asked about joining efforts to overturn the January 6 election results, Paul told reporters, “I didn’t think about it or make plans to do anything.”

Sen. Josh HawleyJoshua (Josh) David HawleyTrump leaves Washington in limbo with threat of relief Congress approves relief from coronavirus .3T, government financing agreement The Hill’s Morning Report – Finally, Congress reaches relief agreement COVID-19 MORE (Mo.)

Hawley is facing dubious considerations: he is closely linked to Trump, aligning himself with him in a fight to rename the so-called confederate military bases and forcing the president to support a second round of stimulus payments as part of a gigantic end-of-agreement year against the coronavirus.

But he is also seen as a potential candidate for the presidency in 2024 after skyrocketing the party ladder to the Senate in 2019. Hawley has been trying to build his own brand as a conservative populist, but he may also need to cling to the president, who has flirted with its own 2024 offer and maintains strict control over the party base.

Hawley is not the only newcomer in this category. Sen. Tom CottonTom Bryant CottonCoronavirus bailout deal depends on negotiations over Fed borrowing powers. (R-Ark.), Also considered close to Trump, also did not say whether he will contest the results on January 6. Her spokeswoman did not answer a question about the matter.

Hawley has not yet said whether he will contest the election results when Congress counts the Electoral College vote next month and said at the end of last week that he was still undecided.

Sen. Ted CruzRafael (Ted) Edward CruzThe memo: Could Pence run and win in 2024? George Clooney calls Trump “a charismatic carnival barker” that Barr leaves behind a conflicting legacy at DOJ MORE (Texas)

Cruz – like Hawley and Cotton, a potential candidate for 2024 – refused to dismiss the contestation of the January 6 election results.

Cruz, who came in second in the 2020 White House Republican primaries, had a combative relationship with Trump during the 2016 election, including a refusal to endorse Trump, despite speaking at the Republican convention.

But Cruz gave his support to Trump’s electoral struggles, even as a Republican senator from Texas. John CornynJohn Cornyn Child sexual abuse survivors deserve better Biden faces fight with Congress for more relief from coronavirus The Republican Party seeks to avoid Trump’s confused fight for the Electoral College MORE recognized Biden as the president-elect and said that Congress “has no reason” to overturn the results.

Cruz pressured the Supreme Court to accept a case, led by Texas, contesting Biden’s victory in four key states and accepted an offer from Trump to discuss the case if the court had accepted it – something he rejected, giving the president a high profile slap.

Brooks informed the Senate Republican Party Steering Committee, of which Cruz is a member, about his plan while trying to win crucial supporters.

“There are still several pending cases,” Cruz said on Monday, when asked if he would contest the results next month. “We need to let the legal process work.”