WASHINGTON (AP) – The latest news from the new Congress session (all local time):
1:55 pm
A bipartisan group of 10 senators issued a statement asking Congress to certify President-elect Joe Biden’s victory.
Senators, including four Republicans, said in the statement on Sunday that efforts by some Republicans to overturn the results in favor of President Donald Trump “are contrary to the clearly expressed will of the American people and only serve to undermine Americans’ confidence in the election results. already determined. ”
Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Mitt Romney of Utah signed the statement, which said “it’s time to move on”.
A separate group of Senate Republicans, led by Sens. Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz say they plan to oppose the election results when Congress meets on Wednesday to determine Biden’s Electoral College victory over Trump by 306-232.
The objections will force votes in the House and Senate, but none should prevail.
Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell urged Republicans not to object. And several other Republican senators criticized the efforts, dividing the party at the start of the new Congress. Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse said on Sunday that the objections were “bad for the country and bad for the party”.
The fraud did not undermine the 2020 presidential election, a fact confirmed by election officials across the country.
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HERE IS WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE NEW CONGRESS
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– Memorial held for elected deputy who hired COVID-19
– The race for the Senate drives the ‘Church of Black America’ in the spotlight
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WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:
1 pm
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham is calling on the effort of Senator Ted Cruz and other Republican senators to overturn the presidential election of an “elusive” that does not go far enough to help President Donald Trump.
Graham said in a statement on Sunday that Cruz has a “high barrier” to show that there is evidence of problems with the election. The South Carolina senator also said that Cruz’s proposal has a “zero chance of coming true”.
Cruz of Texas is leading a coalition of 11 Republican senators who promise to challenge the election results, unless Congress agrees to launch a commission to investigate the outcome. They and others are prepared to object on Wednesday, when Congress meets for a joint session to confirm Biden’s 306-232 electoral count on Trump.
Graham, an important ally of Trump, said that this approach “is not an effective fight for President Trump. It appears to be more of a political escape than an effective remedy. “
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12:15 pm
The 117th US Congress is starting as the House and the Senate strive to appoint new members.
Both chambers are holding rare sessions on Sunday to open the new Congress on January 3, as required by the constitution. All members of the House and about a third of the Senate will be sworn in.
Democrat Nancy Pelosi was chosen to be re-elected as president of the House by her party, which holds the majority in the House, but with the smallest margin in 20 years.
Senate control is in question until the second round of Tuesday’s election for two Senate seats in Georgia. The result will determine which party owns the chamber.
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12:05
Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell is refusing to say much about the efforts of a growing number of Republican senators to overturn the presidential election.
McConnell told a reporter on Sunday at Capitol: “We will be handling all of this on Wednesday.”
The Republican leader was referring to this week’s joint session of Congress to confirm the Electoral College count that Joe Biden won 306-232, defeating President Donald Trump.
McConnell in particular urged Republicans not to oppose the election results. He said he would force Republicans to essentially choose between Trump’s demands and voters’ will.
A dozen Republican senators, and more Republicans in the House, plan to object on Wednesday.
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11:55 am
Senator Ted Cruz says Congress has an obligation to ensure that the presidential election is legal, explaining why he and some Republican colleagues will object when Congress meets this week to certify the Electoral College vote.
He told Fox News Channel’s Sunday Morning Futures that the goal is to restore “Americans’ confidence in our electoral system.”
Numerous federal and state officials said the election was conducted fairly and with no evidence of fraud on a scale so large that it would have altered the outcome.
Democratic President-elect Joe Biden defeated Republican President Donald Trump by about 7 million popular votes and 306-232 votes at the Electoral College.
Trump refused to accept his loss and continues to falsely claim that the election was “stolen”.
Groups of Republicans in the House and Senate plan to vote against certain state voters on Wednesday, but that will not interrupt Biden’s inauguration as president at noon on January 20.
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11:15 am
Republican Senator Josh Hawley is responding to Republican Party colleagues who criticize his attempt to overthrow Joe Biden’s won presidential election.
In a long e-mail, the Missouri Republican defended his justification for defying President Donald Trump’s defeat. He and other Republicans are planning to object to the results when Congress meets for a joint session on Wednesday to confirm the Electoral College count.
Hawley specifically defended himself against criticism from Pennsylvania Republican Senator Pat Toomey, in challenging the state’s election results.
Hawley, a Trump ally and potential presidential candidate in 2024, insisted that constituents in his country have been “tall and clear” who believe Biden’s victory over Trump was unfair.
“It is my responsibility as a senator to raise concerns,” Hawley wrote late Saturday.
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10:30 am
Senator Ron Johnson insists that the Republicans’ extraordinary effort in Congress to challenge Joe Biden’s presidential victory is not intended to frustrate the democratic process, but to “protect” it.
In an interview for NBC’s “Meet the Press”, the Wisconsin senator pointed to an “unsustainable situation”, where he said that many people in the country do not accept the election as legitimate. He says that more transparency is needed to “restore confidence” in the results that the states and the Electoral College have certified.
A group of 11 senators led by Senator Ted Cruz of Texas say they will reject the results of the Electoral College during a joint session on Wednesday, unless a committee is appointed to conduct a 10-day audit of the vote. They are focusing on states where President Donald Trump has made substantive allegations of electoral fraud.
Johnson offers no new evidence of voting problems. And he acknowledges that former Trump attorney general William Barr found no evidence of widespread electoral fraud. Several lawsuits filed by Trump’s legal team have been repeatedly rejected by the Federal Supreme Court and by Trump-appointed judges who decided that the lawsuits lacked evidence.
When Johnson insisted that “tens of millions of people” believe the presidential election was “stolen,” NBC’s Chuck Todd suggested that Johnson “look in the mirror” to find out why. Todd cut Johnson’s baseless claims.
Todd said to Johnson, “You cannot make these claims that have not been proven true.”
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8 am
The start of the new session of Congress on Sunday comes during a tumultuous period in the history of the United States.
An increasing number of Republicans are working to overturn Joe Biden’s victory over President Donald Trump, and a wave of coronavirus infections is imposing limits on Capitol Hill.
Deputy Nancy Pelosi is expected to be re-elected as mayor by the other Democrats, who hold the majority in the House, but with the smallest margin in 20 years.
The opening of the Senate may be among Mitch McConnell’s final acts as a majority leader. Republican control depends on Tuesday’s second round of elections for two Senate seats in Georgia.
It is often said that divided government can be a time for legislative compromises, but lawmakers are attacking the 117th Congress with the nation more divided than ever, challenging even basic facts, including that Biden won the presidential election.