WASHINGTON – Republican Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska rebuked the Republican Party’s attempts on January 6 to object to the Electoral College’s count of the presidential election, warning colleagues against a “dangerous maneuver” that could harm the country’s civic traditions.
Sasse, a potential presidential candidate in 2024, posted a lengthy explanation on Thursday of his views on social media, including a paragraph by paragraph dismantling allegations of electoral fraud in key states won by President-elect Joe Biden. Sasse said he felt compelled to speak “truth” as constituents and those who support President Donald Trump wanted to know his position on the issue.
“I will not participate in a project to overturn the election,” wrote Sasse. He said he wanted to explain “why I have been urging my colleagues to reject this dangerous maneuver”.
Trump, the first president to lose a candidacy for re-election in almost 30 years, attributed his defeat to widespread electoral fraud, despite nonpartisan election officials saying there was none. He pressured Republican senators to pursue their unfounded accusations, although the Electoral College this month cemented Biden’s 306-232 victory and several legal efforts to contest the results have failed.
Sasse’s missive offers the Republican Party a different path to the post-Trump era, in stark contrast to other Republicans – most notably, Senator Josh Hawley, R-Mo. – who are leading the challenge during next week’s joint Congressional session.
Hawley became the first Republican senator this week to announce that he will object when Congress meets to assert Biden’s victory in the election, forcing House and Senate votes that are likely to delay – but in no way alter – the final certification of the victory. of Biden.
Other Republican senators are expected to join Hawley, fearing to give the spotlight to him as they also try to emerge as leaders in a post-Trump era.
Some Republicans in the House of Democratic majority have said they will object to Trump during the January 6 counting of electoral votes, and needed only a single senator to accompany them to force votes in both chambers.
Sasse pointed to the “swampy” nature of Trump’s fundraising for the electoral challenge by outlining his reasons for believing that Biden’s electoral victory is valid.
“Since election day, the president and his allied organizations have raised well over half a billion (billions!) Of supporter dollars that have been led to believe that they are contributing to a ferocious legal defense,” wrote Sasse. “But in reality, they are just giving the president and his allies a blank check that can go to their super-PACs, their next plane ride, their next campaign or project. This is not serious governance. It is a swampy policy. “
He put the electoral challenges being fought by Trump’s legal team under Nebraska.
Sasse wrote that he could not “simply claim that the College Football Playoff Selection Committee is ‘under control’ because they did not send the Cornhuskers to the Rose Bowl, and then – after failing to show evidence that someone on the Selection Committee is corrupt – to argue that we need to investigate because of these widespread ‘allegations’ of corruption ”.
With 160 million votes across the country, there will be some cases of fraud, he said, but nothing of the magnitude to overturn the election.
“We have good reason to think that this year’s election was fair, safe and law-abiding,” wrote Sasse. “It doesn’t mean it was perfect. But there is no probative basis to suspect our elections or to conclude that the results do not reflect the ballots that our fellow citizens actually gave. “
Without giving details or evidence, Hawley said on Wednesday that he would object because “some states, including Pennsylvania,” have not followed their own electoral laws. Some states have made changes to their electoral procedures, such as expanding the absentee vote, to accommodate voters during the coronavirus pandemic, the worst public health emergency in the United States in a century. Lawsuits that question Biden’s victory in Pennsylvania have not been successful.
“At the very least, Congress must investigate allegations of electoral fraud and take steps to ensure the integrity of our elections,” Hawley said in a statement. He also criticized the way Facebook and Twitter handled election-related content, characterizing it as an effort to help Biden.
Jen Psaki, a spokesman for Biden’s transition team, called Hawley’s action a “clowning” that will have nothing to do with the fact that Biden was sworn in on January 20.
“The American people spoke loudly in this election and 81 million people voted for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris,” said Psaki in a call to reporters.
Trump shortened his Florida vacation to return to Washington on Thursday, a day earlier than expected, for reasons that the White House did not explain.
When Congress meets to certify the results of the Electoral College, any legislator can oppose a state’s votes for any reason. But the objection is not raised unless it is in writing and signed by a member of the House and a member of the Senate.
When such a request is made, the joint session is suspended and the House and Senate enter separate sessions to consider it. For the objection to be upheld, both chambers must agree with it by a simple majority of votes. If they disagree, the original electoral votes are counted.
As president of the Senate, Vice President Mike Pence will chair the January 6 session and declare the winner.
Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Asked his caucus not to participate in a futile search to reverse the results.
Several non-partisan and Republican election officials confirmed that there was no fraud in the November dispute that would change the election results. That includes former attorney general William Barr, who said he saw no reason to appoint a special lawyer to examine the president’s allegations about the 2020 elections. He resigned last week.
Trump and his allies filed about 50 lawsuits questioning the results of the elections, and almost all were dismissed or removed. He also lost twice in the United States Supreme Court.
The House of Representatives group said it plans to challenge the election results of Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Georgia and Nevada. All are states that Biden carried.
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Associated Press editor Aamer Madhani of Chicago contributed to this report.