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The initiative, which is sure to fail, runs counter to the rulings of dozens of courts and the conclusions of officials in several key states that there were no widespread voting problems.
FILE: US President-elect Joe Biden raises his fist after delivering a speech in Wilmington, Delaware, on November 7, 2020, after being declared the winner of the presidential election. Image: AFP
WASHINGTON, United States – A group of Republican senators led by veteran lawmaker Ted Cruz said Saturday they will challenge Joe Biden’s election victory, the latest last-minute measure to support Donald Trump’s efforts to undermine the vote.
The initiative, which is sure to fail, runs counter to the rulings of dozens of courts and the conclusions of officials in several key states that there were no widespread voting problems.
The Republican statement, signed by Cruz and six other current senators along with four elected senators, states that “allegations of fraud and irregularities in the 2020 elections exceed any of our lives.”
The group said that when Congress meets in a joint session on Wednesday, for what would normally be a pro forma certification of Biden’s victory, they will demand the creation of a special commission to conduct a “10-day emergency audit” of the results of the elections.
The statement says individual states could then call special legislative sessions and potentially revise their vote totals.
“An attempt to steal a landslide victory. I can’t let it happen!” Trump tweeted on Saturday.
Posting a list of all 11 senators, Trump added: “And after you see the facts, there will be many more to come … Our country will love you for it!”
They join Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri, who previously said he planned to file objections Wednesday.
A Republican member of the House of Representatives, Louie Gohmert, also announced his plan to oppose the certification, and more than 100 House Republicans will reportedly back his challenge.
Gohmert sought to further raise the stakes with a lawsuit that would have given Vice President Mike Pence, traditionally in a ceremonial role in Wednesday’s session, the power to override the election result.
Pence opposed that effort and a federal judge in Texas rejected the lawsuit on Friday. On Saturday, a federal appeals court confirmed that firing.
The challenges from Hawley and Gohmert will ensure that Congress must meet to hear the complaints.
‘THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE HAS SPOKEN’
The congressional sessions, which are sure to be controversial, will unfold against the backdrop of pro-Trump demonstrations in Washington next week.
As with Trump’s other attempts to reverse his electoral defeat, the latest political maneuver appears to be doomed. Democrats control the House and many Republicans are expected to vote on certification Wednesday.
All 11 senators admitted that most Democrats and “more than a few Republicans” would likely oppose their initiative.
Among them is Republican Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, a state on the battlefield that helped Biden to victory. His result is expected to be among those played on Wednesday.
“A fundamental and defining characteristic of a democratic republic is the right of the people to choose their own leaders,” Toomey tweeted.
“The effort by Senators Hawley, Cruz and others to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential elections in swing states like Pennsylvania directly undermines this right.”
He added: “I voted for President Trump and supported him for reelection. But, on Wednesday, I intend to vigorously defend our form of government by opposing this effort to disenfranchise millions of voters in my state and elsewhere.” .
Responding to Toomey on Saturday night, Hawley criticized the “blatant personal attacks” and urged senators to avoid “making unsubstantiated claims about the intentions of our fellow senators.”
“I never pretend to speak for another senator, but I do speak for my constituents when they raise legitimate concerns on such important issues as the fairness of our elections,” he said in a message to the Republican Senate conference, first reported by Politico.
Earlier, Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, a vocal opponent of Trump, dismissed his colleagues’ justification as “nonsense.”
“The heinous ploy to turn voters away may increase the political ambition of some, but it dangerously threatens our Democratic Republic,” Romney said.
“Members of Congress who substitute their own partisan judgment for that of the courts do not increase public trust, they endanger it,” he added. “Has ambition at the beginning so eclipsed?”
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell also urged fellow Republicans to vote to certify and avoid a divisive political fight.
Pence, however, is encouraging lawmakers to debate the unfounded allegations of voting irregularities.
“Vice President Pence shares the concerns of millions of Americans about electoral fraud and irregularities in the last elections,” said his chief of staff, Marc Short, in a statement to the US media.
Biden won the all-important Electoral College by 306 votes to 232.
Cruz is considered a likely presidential candidate in 2024. Hawley is also said to be positioning himself for a race in 2024, as is Pence.
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