GOP Sens. Pat Toomey
Patrick (Pat) Joseph ToomeyThe government used the Patriot Act to collect records of website visitors in 2019 The appeals court ruled that the mass collection of telephone data from the NSA is illegal. Dunford withdraws from consideration to chair the coronavirus supervisory panel MORE (Pa.) And Lisa Murkowski
Lisa Ann Murkowski Bipartisan lawmakers ask Trump to sign or immediately veto the coronavirus relief bill Bicameral and bipartisan group asks Trump to sign relief package COVID-19 Congress approves. (Alaska) said on Saturday it would oppose the efforts of at least a dozen of its Republican colleagues to challenge the elected president Joe Biden
Joe BidenTrump calls the second round of the Georgia Senate ‘both illegal and invalid’ in New Year’s tweets. Judge rejects Gohmert’s electoral process against Pence Former Republican Party senator suggests forming a new party, calls Trump the ‘master’ of Republicans MOREVictory of the Electoral College next week.
Murkowski, in a statement released on Saturday, reaffirmed that he would support the results of the 2020 election during a joint session of Congress on January 6.
“I will vote in favor of the 2020 presidential election. The state courts and legislatures have honored their duty to hear legal allegations and have found nothing to justify the annulment of the results. I urge my colleagues from both parties to acknowledge this and join me maintaining confidence in the Electoral College and in our elections, “said Murkowski.
Toomey said that “the evidence is overwhelming that Joe Biden won this election”.
The Republican senator also strongly criticized some of his Republican colleagues for challenging the election results next Wednesday.
“A fundamental and defining characteristic of a democratic republic is the people’s right to elect their own leaders. The effort by Senators Hawley, Cruz and others to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in undecided states like Pennsylvania directly undermines that right, “Toomey said in a statement.
Toomey’s home state in Pennsylvania and other battlegrounds faced legal battles from President Trump
Donald Trump Trump calls the second round of the Georgia Senate ‘both illegal and invalid’ in New Year’s tweets. Judge rejects Gohmert’s electoral process against Pence Former Republican Party senator suggests forming a new party, calls Trump the ‘master’ of Republicans MORE and his allies to challenge the election results. Biden beat Keystone State over Trump by more than 1% of the vote in November.
“Senators justify their intention by noting that there have been many reports of fraud. But allegations of fraud in a lost campaign cannot justify overturning an election. They do not recognize that these allegations have been tried in courts across America and have not been substantiated by evidence, “added Toomey.
Eleven Republicans, led by Senator Ted Cruz
Rafael (Ted) Edward CruzCongress cancels Trump’s veto for the first time Hawley confuses GOP with Electoral College fights Hawley to challenge the results of the Electoral College in the Senate MORE (R-Texas) on Saturday announced that it would support challenges to the results of the Electoral College, unless there was a 10-day audit.
Sen. Josh Hawley
Joshua (Josh) David Hawley Former GOP senator suggests forming a new party, calls Trump the ‘boss’ of Republicans Georgia keeps the Senate agenda in limbo Frustrations increase when $ 1,000 checks blocked for the fourth consecutive day MORE (R-Mo.) He had already announced that he would object on Wednesday.
Trump, who endorsed efforts to challenge Congressional election results, said the election was marred by widespread electoral fraud. The 11 senators, in their joint statement, said the 2020 election included “unprecedented allegations of electoral fraud”.
Attempts by Trump’s legal team to challenge the results in key states have been rejected by the courts and election experts have dismissed allegations of widespread electoral fraud.
If an objection is supported by a member of the Chamber and a member of the Senate, the two chambers separate and debate for up to two hours. Both the House and the Senate would vote on whether the objection would be upheld, which would require a majority in both houses to be successful.
Toomey, who previously spoke out against Hawley’s plan during a call from the Republican Party this week, added in his statement that on Wednesday he would “vigorously defend our form of government by opposing this effort to deprive millions of voters in my state and others. ”
Wednesday’s objections will fail because Democrats control the House and several Republican senators said they would oppose the objections next week.
But Wednesday will mark only the third time since 1887 that Congress has had to debate and vote on an objection. Attempts to alter the results in 1969 and 2005 were also unsuccessful.
The statement by Murkowski and Toomey is the latest sign of public resistance by Senate Republicans amid deep frustration in the caucus over Hawley and others’ decision to support contesting the election results.
To force a debate and vote, House conservatives needed the support of at least one senator, something they did not have before Hawley’s announcement on Wednesday.
Sen. Ben Sasse
GOP lawmaker Ben Sasse criticizes Trump and his colleagues for ‘trying to discredit’ the Hawley election confuses GOP with Senator Electoral College struggle criticizes ‘ambitious politicians’ for the ‘dangerous’ Electoral College maneuver MORE (R-Neb.), In an open letter to the constituents, he accused lawmakers of trying to win over the president’s supporters, adding: “Adults do not point a loaded gun at the heart of legitimate self-government.”
Sen. Mitt Romney
Willard (Mitt) Mitt Romney Former GOP senator suggests forming a new party, calls Trump the ‘master’ of Republicans Romney: The lack of a comprehensive vaccine distribution plan is ‘inexcusable’ Trump’s push for K stimulus checks arrives to the dead end in the Senate MORE (R-Utah) said the objection during Wednesday’s joint session “continues to spread the false rumor that the election was somehow stolen.” And Sen. Susan Collins
Susan Margaret CollinsEx-GOP senator suggests forming a new party, calls Trump the ‘master’ of Republicans Hawley congests GOP with Electoral College fights Trump’s pressure for K stimulus checks reaches dead end in Senate MORE (R-Maine) questioned why Hawley was carrying out his plan.
“I question why he is doing this when the courts unanimously rejected the lawsuits that the president’s team opened for lack of reliable evidence,” said Collins. “Senator Hawley is a smart lawyer who served on the Supreme Court, so he clearly understands that. So, I don’t understand.”
The internal public struggle is a scenario that the Republican Party leadership hoped to avoid. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell
Addison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellGeorgia keeps the Senate agenda in limbo Frustrations increase when $ 1,000 checks blocked for the fourth consecutive day Graham bucks McConnell: $ 1,000 ‘non-socialism’ payments MORE (R-Ky.) And other leading Republicans urged Republican senators not to object during the joint session, warning that this would only result in politically difficult votes that would not change the outcome of the election.
McConnell, during a separate GOP conference call on Thursday, also called Wednesday one of the most important votes in his Congressional career. McConnell, as part of the call, asked Hawley to explain his thinking. The freshman senator was not on the call, but later sent an email to the caucus.
“He said it was the most important vote,” Romney told reporters about McConnell’s comments. “I see this as a statement that he believes … it is a referendum on our democracy.”