[ad_1]
A growing number of Republican lawmakers have joined President Donald Trump’s extraordinary effort to reverse the election, vowing to reject the results when Congress meets next week to count Electoral College votes and certify President-elect Joe Biden’s victory.
On Saturday, Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas announced a coalition of 11 senators who will vote against certain state voters unless Congress appoints an election commission to immediately conduct an audit of the election results.
This follows the statement by Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri, who was the first to oppose the Senate leadership by saying he would join House Republicans in opposing the state counts during Wednesday’s joint session of Congress.
Trump’s refusal to accept defeat is tearing the party apart as Republicans are forced to make important decisions that will shape the contours of the post-Trump era. Hawley and Cruz are among the possible 2024 presidential contenders.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had urged his party not to try to override what nonpartisan election officials have concluded is a free and fair vote.
The 11 senators largely acknowledged Saturday that they will not be able to prevent Biden from being inaugurated on Jan.20 after he won Electoral College 306-232.
But his challenges, and those of House Republicans, represent the most comprehensive effort to undo the outcome of a presidential election since the Civil War.
“We do not take this action lightly,” Cruz and the other senators said in a joint statement.
Republican senators, led by Cruz, will object to the Electoral College certification and demand an emergency audit | Fox News https://t.co/t0RRwhpLJn
– Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) January 2, 2021
They promised to vote against certain state voters on Wednesday unless Congress appoints an election commission to immediately conduct an audit of the election results.
They are targeting states where Trump has raised unsubstantiated allegations of voter fraud. Congress is unlikely to agree to his demand.
The group, which did not present new evidence of electoral problems, includes Senators Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, James Lankford of Oklahoma, Steve Daines of Montana, John Kennedy of Louisiana, Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee and Mike Braun of Indiana, and the senators-elect. Cynthia Lummis. from Wyoming, Roger Marshall from Kansas, Bill Hagerty from Tennessee and Tommy Tuberville from Alabama.
Trump, the first president to lose a re-election bid in nearly 30 years, has attributed his defeat to widespread voter fraud, despite the consensus of nonpartisan election officials and even the attorney general that there was none.
Of the approximately 50 lawsuits that the president and his allies have presented challenging election results, nearly all have been dismissed or dropped. He has also lost twice on the United States Supreme Court.
The next few days are expected to do little to change the outcome.
[ad_2]