Pence ‘welcomes’ Republicans from Congress to challenge electoral votes

Pence ‘welcomes’ Republicans from Congress to challenge electoral votes

by

“Vice President Pence shares the concerns of millions of Americans about fraud and electoral irregularities in the last election. The vice president appreciates the efforts of members of the House and the Senate to use their authority under the law to raise objections and present evidence before Congress and the American people on January 6, “Pence’s chief of staff, Marc Short, said in a statement to CNN.

Although there were no credible allegations of any voting problems that would have affected the election, a dozen Republican senators – a handful of whom will swear an oath on Sunday – announced that they would oppose the counting of votes at the clear Biden Electoral College to win during the which has traditionally been a ceremonial exercise on Capitol Hill. President Donald Trump has been lobbying Congress to try to overturn the election result, but his vice president has sought to keep a safe distance from the most inflamed claims and behavior of his Republican colleagues – while subtly inciting them when it suits him.

While at least 140 House Republicans are expected to join their Republican colleagues in the Senate in voting against counting electoral votes in Congress, according to two Republican Party members, the effort has virtually zero chance of changing the election result, only to delay the inevitable assertion of Biden’s victory as the winner of the Electoral College and next president by a few hours.

Last week, Senator Josh Hawley became the first senator to announce plans to object to the results – a significant change, as both a member of the House and a senator are required to raise an objection when Congress counts electoral votes. The Missouri Republican on Sunday was still considering how many states he could oppose and whether he would oppose more than just Pennsylvania, according to a source familiar with his thinking.

For each state Hawley opposes, the House and Senate must debate separately for two hours and hold a vote. Senator Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican, is leading a group of 10 other Republican senators who have publicly said they would vote for an objection when Hawley presents one. Cruz’s coalition has not made a final decision on whether any of these senators will actually object, as Hawley plans to do.

The source told CNN that while Hawley and Trump are speaking regularly, due to their close relationship, Hawley also listened to members of Trump’s campaign team. Still, the source said that Hawley and his team are independently examining the information the campaign team presented.

The senator has faced an increasing reaction in the last days of his colleagues at the Republican Party conference who disagree with his decision to contest the count.

None of the challenges will change the fact that Biden will be the next president of the United States, and several courts have contested the election.

On Friday, a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit by Republican Representative Louie Gohmert of Texas and several Republicans in Arizona who were seeking to force Pence to help launch the election for Trump.

CNN’s Jake Tapper, Veronica Stracqualursi and Gregory Krieg contributed to this report.

.Source