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A Republican says he will be the first senator to object when Congress certifies the electoral victory of President-elect Joe Biden next week.
Josh Hawley of Missouri said he had concerns about the integrity of the election, despite the lack of evidence of widespread fraud.
A group of Republicans in the lower house of Congress, the House of Representatives, also plans to challenge the election results.
But the objections are not expected to change the outcome.
The US Electoral College, confirming the result of the November presidential election by awarding points for each state won by the two White House rivals, earlier this month consolidated Biden’s victory over Donald Trump by 306 -232.
These votes must be ratified by Congress on January 6. The day of the inauguration, when the new Democratic president and vice president are sworn in, it will be January 20.
Since losing the election, Trump has repeatedly alleged unsubstantiated systemic electoral fraud. The Republican president’s legal efforts to overturn the results have been rejected by the courts.
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What did Hawley say?
Hawley said he could not vote to certify the election results “not to mention the fact that some states, particularly Pennsylvania, did not follow their own state election laws.”
“At a minimum, Congress should investigate allegations of voter fraud and take steps to ensure the integrity of our elections. But so far Congress has not acted.”
Hawley, a first-term senator rumored to have presidential ambitions, did not specify any electoral fraud that could have changed the bottom line.
Meanwhile, Walmart was forced to issue an apology after the company’s account tweeted that Hawley was being a “sore loser.”
The retail giant deleted the tweet and said a member of its social media team had posted it by mistake.
Hawley tweeted at the supermarket chain: “Now that you have insulted 75 million Americans, will you at least apologize for using slave labor?”
So what will happen when Congress meets?
Objections to the electoral count endorsed by a member of the House and a member of the Senate must be considered by lawmakers in a two-hour debate, followed by a vote.
But for a state’s electoral votes to be rejected, a majority in both houses must support the objection. This scenario is seen as almost impossible, as Democrats have a majority in the House and some Republicans in the Senate have already said they will not dispute the results.
But Congressman Mo Brooks, a Republican from Alabama, has vowed to object in the House, which means the debate and the Jan.6 vote are virtually guaranteed.
What have other Republicans said?
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell has been urging his party members to avoid forcing lawmakers to take a politically embarrassing loyalty test to endorse the president or voters.
McConnell told Republicans in a private call earlier this month that such a vote would be “terrible.”
Another senior Republican, John Thune, has also said such a vote “would go down like a hunting dog.”
He cautioned that it would not make sense as the “bottom line” was obvious.
How did Biden’s camp react?
Biden’s spokeswoman Jen Psaki described Hawley’s decision to reporters as “antics.”
“The American people spoke forcefully in this election and 81 million people have voted for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris,” he said.
“Congress will certify the election results as it does every four years.”
