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Some prominent Republicans, including members of the Senate and House leadership, endorse the president after the speech.
Senator Lindsey Graham, a close ally of the president and chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, defended Trump Thursday night and echoed his baseless claims of voter fraud. “I’m here tonight to support President Trump,” the South Carolina Republican, re-elected Tuesday, told Fox News’ Sean Hannity.
House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy of California did not respond to a request for comment from CNN, but in an interview Thursday night with Fox News’s Laura Ingraham, he echoed the unsubstantiated claims of fraud. from the president and warned Americans to be on guard.
“Every American should stand up. Whatever you see … tell us if you see anything wrong,” McCarthy said. He later added: “Do not be silent about this. We cannot allow this to happen before our very eyes.”
There has been no credible evidence of widespread electoral fraud in this year’s contest.
Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming, a member of the Senate Republican leadership, said in a statement: “As vote totals continue to update, Americans deserve confidence in a fair and transparent election. The President is right to ensure they are observed. all votes legally cast and counted. “
The office of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell declined to comment with CNN on Trump’s comments Thursday night. On Friday morning, McConnell tweeted: “All legal votes must be counted.”
“This is how this should work in our great country: Every legal vote must be counted. Any illegally submitted ballot must not. All parties must observe the process. And the courts are here to enforce the laws and resolve disputes. This is how Los American votes decide the outcome, “McConnell tweeted.
Other Republican leaders have so far been silent after Trump’s speech at the White House.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota, as well as Senators John Cornyn of Texas, Roy Blunt of Missouri, Deb Fischer of Nebraska, Joni Ernst of Iowa, and Todd Young of Indiana, all members of the Republican leadership of the Senate, they did not. respond to requests for comments.
The Speaker of the Republican House of Representatives conference, Liz Cheney, has also not responded to requests for comment.
House minority whip Steve Scalise responded to a request for comment with a statement from spokeswoman Lauren Fine, saying: “Whip Scalise urges all states to fairly and equitably enforce their election laws. as written, and only count ballots legally cast. Americans deserve full transparency to have confidence that their votes are counted accurately. ”
Several Republicans in the House and Senate have rejected Trump’s unfounded claims, though most without mentioning the president by name.
Republican Rep. Will Hurd of Texas, who is retiring at the end of his current term, suggested the comments are “dangerous.”
Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois tweeted: “This is freaking out” and said, “If you have legitimate concerns about fraud, file EVIDENCE and take it to court.”
Several other Republican lawmakers echoed the claim that evidence must be presented if it exists.
But only a handful of Republicans in Congress have spoken out in defense of Trump’s cries of voter fraud and calls to stop the countdown on his reelection race, drawing the ire of the president’s sons, who tweeted his frustration and anger at this lack of vocal support from elected Republicans.
“Where is the Republican Party? Our voters will never forget …” Eric Trump tweeted.
“The total inaction of virtually all ‘2024 GOP hopefuls’ is quite surprising,” complained Donald Trump Jr.
A few hours before the president’s remarks at the White House on Thursday, Senator Ron Johnson, a Republican from Wisconsin, had echoed Trump’s message from the past few days, questioning whether the vote count was as transparent as it should be. and saying he shared the President’s concerns about vote-by-mail ballots.
Behind the scenes, many Washington Republicans who support Trump, but outside of the campaign infrastructure, increasingly hope that the process will conclude quickly and that the president will finally accept the results, even if the final count does not end in his favor. . “I think it’s broken, everyone is ready for this to end,” said a Senate Republican Party aide.
A Republican congressional aide raised questions about the president’s claims of voter fraud: “I think it is difficult to present the argument that he is trying to present without actual cases of fraud to point out.”
Before the president’s latest remarks, some Republican House and Senate leaders and rank-and-file members were sidestepping the controversial charges, calling instead that all votes be counted in a legal manner established separately by each of the 50 states. with the backing of the judiciary if there are problems that need to be resolved.
“Taking days to count votes cast legally is NOT fraud,” tweeted Rubio, who says he is considering running for the White House in 2024.
“The courts will decide the disputes,” McConnell said at a news conference Wednesday when asked about Trump’s concerns. “This is how we do it in this country. Having close elections is not unusual.”
When asked about Trump’s calls to stop the count, Blunt told the Washington Post on Thursday that it should continue.
“I think we have to count all votes cast legally. I agree with the president, if he believes that there is a reason in some states that the ballots are counted outside of what the law of that state allows, but I am not Okay we can stop the count, “Blunt said.
Some of those who have publicly backed Trump argued largely that transparency is key in counting votes, but avoided a full defense of Trump’s allegations.
“We need transparency,” Republican Rep. Jim Banks of Indiana tweeted.
“Federal law should guarantee transparency in how votes are counted!” Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri tweeted.
“What the president wants to make sure is that all legal votes are counted. People vote until election day, not the days after as others would have. That’s what the president is talking about,” McCarthy told a conference of press on Wednesday. “We want to make sure that it is legal, fair and that every legal vote is counted, and that is what we are working on. But I don’t think people should vote after the elections.”
But other Republicans who jumped on the issue did so with dry statements intended to ensure that all votes are counted:
“Under our Constitution, state legislatures make the rules and states administer our elections. We must respect that process and make sure all ballots cast are counted in accordance with state law. It’s that simple. I hope we can come up with one. final resolution as soon as possible, “said Sen. Rob Portman, a Republican from Ohio.
“As we await all election results, I urge everyone to be patient. Each state has different deadlines for receiving ballots and a process for counting those ballots,” said Senator Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska. “It is critical that we give election officials time to complete their work and ensure that all legally cast ballots are allowed and counted. The results will be known when all those ballots are counted.”
This story has been updated with additional news on Friday.
CNN’s Lauren Fox, Kevin Liptak, Ryan Nobles, and Jim Acosta contributed to this report.
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