President Trump lost key swing states by a clear margin. The Supreme Court has recently, almost universally rejected their claims of widespread voter fraud. And on Monday, the Electoral College College will formally cast a majority for President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr.
But as the president continues to refuse to confess, a small group of his most loyal supporters in Congress are plotting a final-stage challenge on the floor of the House of Representatives to oppose Mr Biden’s victory in early January.
Constitutional scholars and members of the president’s own party also say the effort remains to be seen. But the Jan battle could lead to the end of a tumultuous and deeply divisive spectacle that could lead to Vice President Mike Pence declaring once and for all that Mr. Trump has lost the election.
The fight promises to shape how Mr. Trump’s support looks in the coming years, and another bizarre test of loyalty for Republicans who privately hope this week will be the final word on the Electoral College vote.
For the vice president, whose constitution entrusts the task of calculating results and declaring winners, the episode can be particularly annoying, forcing him to balance his loyalty to Mr. Trump with his constitutional duties and consideration of his political future.
The effort is being represented by Mo Brooks, a Republican from Alabama, a backbench of Rs. Along with a group of allies in the House, it oversees election challenges in five different states, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Nevada, Georgia and Wisconsin – where they have been accused of fraud or illegal voting despite being certified by them. There is no evidence of voting authorities and widespread disadvantages.
“Like the Supreme Court, we have the best role under the Constitution, compared to any Supreme Court judge,” Brooks said in an interview. “What we say, goes. That is the final judgment. ”
Under the rules laid down in the Constitution and the Voter Count Act of 1987, their challenges must be written and signed by the senator. No Republican senator has yet said he or she will support such an effort, although a handful of Mr. Trump’s trusted allies, including Wisconsin Senators Ron Johnson and Kentucky’s Rand Paul, have indicated they will be open to doing so. .
The president has praised Mr Brooks on Twitter, but has not yet taken a clear interest in the strategy. Aides say more attention has been paid to his fight to overturn the results in court.
Even if no senators agreed, constitutional scholars say the process is going to be fairly difficult. Once the objection is heard by every member of the House of Representatives, the senators and delegates will retreat to their chambers on the opposite side of the Capitol for a two-hour debate and then vote on whether to disqualify the state vote. Both the Democratic-controlled House and the Republican-controlled Senate will have to agree to state electoral suffrage – something that hasn’t happened since the 19th century.
Patrick J. of Pennsylvania. Some Senate Republicans, including Toomey, Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Markowski of Alaska, and Mitt Romney of Utah, have vehemently rejected the idea of overturning the results, and their votes will be enough to win Mr. Biden. Democrats support.
“Jan Jan. The meeting will confirm that no matter how many objections are filed and marked, they will not affect the outcome of the process,” said Edward B. Foley, a professor of constitutional law at Ohio State University. Who has written extensively on the electoral process. “We can say that with clear confidence.”
But he noted that the session could still bring results for the next few years. If even one Republican senator supports these efforts, he can ensure that the partisan cloud hanging over the election will darken Mr. Biden’s presidency for years to come. If nothing was done, it could send a definite message to the country that the party believed in the results of the election process despite Mr. Trump’s blunder and was finally ready to recognize Mr. Biden as the rightful winner.
Mr. Brooks is far from a lawmaker before he tries to use the gender process to challenge the consequences of a rigorous election loss. The House Democrats also made efforts in 2001, 2005 and 2017, but they essentially took action after their party’s candidate had already conceded defeat.
What’s different now is Mr. Trump’s historic historical period of democratic standards and his party’s willing acceptance. If Mr. Trump were to bless efforts to challenge the Congressional Tally, he could push Republicans for difficult results whether he would support an attack on election results that are inevitably disastrous or jeopardize his work. Many Republicans are already in danger of being punished by voters for failing to continue their fight.
The dilemma is particularly acute for Mr. Pence, who is overseeing his 2024 presidential election. As Senate President, he has a constitutionally designated task of opening and avoiding envelopes sent from 50 states and announcing their election results.
But given Mr. Trump’s insistence on testing every law and norm in Washington, he may insist that Mr. Pence refuses to play that role. And anyway, it will call for the final performance of the delicate dance performed by Mr. Pence, who has been trying to maintain Mr. Trump’s confidence while sticking to the law.
Gregory B., White House adviser to President Barack Obama. “The role of the VP in the transition is something that people have never focused on and never thought about, but with Donald Trump, you have to consider all the possibilities now,” Craig said, referring to President Barack Obama’s White House Adviser Gregory B. Craig said.
In 1961, Richard M. Nixon, who had just lost the election, oversaw the franchise and had to decide whether to recognize rival voters in the new state of Hawaii. Mr. Nixon eventually made a decision that caused a total loss to his vote but John F. It had no effect on the final outcome that Kennedy won. Forty years later, after the 2000 election, Al Gore rejected the objections of his fellow Democrats and the Supreme Court had to certify the victory of George W. Bush, who had won the state of Florida, following an order to end the recount in that state.
Since the election, Mr. Pence has sent messages to Mr. How much he is willing to go to help Mr. Trump. In the early days of the transition, Mr. Pence intercepted requests from loyalists of the President to support specific claims about election fraud. But more recently, he publicly praised the failed lawsuit brought by the Attorney General of Texas to cast votes from the battlefield states.
Democrats said they are confident Mr. Biden will emerge unscathed, but his transition team has begun coordinating with minority leader New York Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senator Chuck Schumer to prepare for the prospect of one or more senators signing. Challenges.
Mr. Brooks is trying to drum up the support. Last week, they met separately with about half a dozen senators, including Utah’s Mike Lee, and with the Rs.
“My No. 1 goal is to fix a badly flawed American electoral system that easily allows voter fraud and election theft,” Mr. Brooks said. “The potential bonus from achieving that goal is that Donald Trump officially wins the Electoral College Ledge, as I believe he did in fact if you only count legitimate votes by qualified American citizens and exclude all illegal votes.”
It is unknown at this time what he will do after leaving the post. More than 100 percent of House Republicans, including the party’s top two leaders, joined the legal brief in support of Texas’ unsuccessful claim, calling on the Supreme Court to overturn the election results. But signing a legal brief to officially fight the outcome on the house floor and another thing.
Several Republicans, including Pennsylvania MP Scott Perry and Matt Gates, have indicated they may support the objection. Mr Brooks said he was talking to others who were interested. But leading allies of the president, such as Ohio’s Representative Jim Jordan or House Minority Leader, California’s Kevin Marcarti, have pushed themselves forward in previous battles that have so far been publicly non-committee.
“All eyes are on January 6,” Mr. Gates told Fox News on Friday night after the Supreme Court rejected Texas’ claim. “I doubt there will be any discussion and discourse in the Congress as we go into the process of certifying the voters. We still think there is evidence that needs to be considered. “
Mr. Paul Lay, a Republican from Kentucky, said he would “wait and see how all the legal cases come out” before deciding what to do.
Mr. Johnson plans to hold a hearing this week on “investigators of irregularities in the 2020 election,” said Ken Starr, a former independent adviser who is in the right choice, and at least two lawyers who have argued election challenges for Mr. Trump. . Whether they move forward to challenge the results on January 6, he told reporters last week, “depends on what we find.”
Maggie Heberman Contributed report.
