US elections: Donald Trump’s allies plan futile effort to block Joe Biden

US President Donald Trump hosted several Republican lawmakers at the White House on Monday (US time) to discuss an ultimately futile effort to prevent the US Congress from affirming the victory of President-elect Joe Biden. in the November elections.

The meeting underscored Trump’s refusal to accept the reality of his loss and his enthusiasm for harboring undemocratic efforts to override the will of American voters. Biden will be sworn in as president on January 20.

With no credible legal options remaining and the Electoral College confirmed Biden’s victory earlier this month, Trump is turning his attention to January 6. It is then that Congress participates in a recount of the electoral votes, which Biden won 306-232.

The recount, required by the Constitution, is generally a formality. But members can use the event to oppose a state’s votes.

Alabama Republican Mo Brooks said he hosted Monday’s session with a dozen House Republicans who are willing to raise such an objection to challenge the results.

“President Trump is very supportive of our effort,” Brooks said in an interview.

The White House meeting was originally scheduled for about an hour, but lasted three hours, Brooks said. Other attendees included Trump’s personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, who has spent the weeks since the election promoting false allegations of voter fraud.

Brooks said he also met with Vice President Mike Pence. As president of the Senate, Pence will preside over the January 6 session and declare the winner.

Brooks said the group is making plans to challenge the election results of Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Georgia and Nevada, all of the battle states that Biden led. Brooks, in particular, has raised questions about the way state elections were conducted this year, and some have made changes to ballots and procedures during the pandemic. While the new procedures may have created confusion in some states, state and federal officials have said there was no credible evidence of widespread fraud.

Still, Trump’s top advisers and his legal team have continued to promote false accusations of electoral embezzlement.

A number of nonpartisan and Republican election officials have confirmed that there was no fraud in the November contest that would change the election results. That includes Attorney General William Barr, who on Monday said he saw no reason to appoint a special counsel to investigate the president’s claims about the 2020 election.

Trump and his allies have filed roughly 50 lawsuits contesting the election results, and nearly all of them have been dismissed or dropped. He also lost twice in the United States Supreme Court.

With no more sustainable legal recourse, Trump has been fuming and peppering allies for options while refusing to accept his loss.

The president has asked governors to order vote audits, proposed appointing a special prosecutor to investigate electoral fraud, and even pondered the possibility of imposing martial law to repeat elections.

The next step in the transition process is January 6 when the United States Congress meets to confirm the Electoral College vote count.

In that joint session of the House and Senate, any legislator can object to the votes of a state for any reason. The objection will not be heard unless it is in writing and signed by both a member of the House and a member of the Senate.

If there is such a joint request, the joint session is suspended and the House and Senate enter into separate sessions to consider it. For the objection to be upheld, both houses must accept it by a simple majority of votes. If they do not agree, the original electoral votes are counted.

Because Democrats control the House, any objection is already doomed.

McConnell privately asked his colleagues not to raise an objection, saying they would have to reject it and that it would be “terrible.”

Sen. John Cornyn of Texas said any effort by his own party would be a mistake.

“I think there comes a time when you have to realize that, despite your best efforts, you have not been successful,” Cornyn told reporters, explaining that an objection “would be useless and unnecessary.”

Senator John Thune of South Dakota urged his colleagues to remember that an effort to block the results of the Congressional elections “was just going nowhere.”

“I mean, in the Senate, he would go down like a draft dog,” Thune told CNN. “I just don’t think it makes much sense to put everyone through this when you know what the end result will be.”

Still, Trump continues to consider the possibility of congressional intervention to keep him in office.