An ever-growing group of Republican congresspersons has joined the bandwagon to disrupt the electoral vote ratification process on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021. Donald Trump’s loyalists are determined to have their voices heard regardless of there being no chance their efforts will overturn President-elect Joe Biden’s victory.
On Saturday, January 2, a group of 11 Republican senators and senator-elects led by Sen. Ted Cruz announced they would vote to reject voters’ will and declare give Trump his second term. They are joining Sen. Josh Hawley in his bid to force an “emergency 10-day audit” to investigate the election fraud claims in contested states.
The group of Trump loyalists — nine men and two women — includes Senators Ron Johnson, James Lankford, Steve Daines, John Kennedy, Marsha Blackburn, Mike Braun, and Senators-elect Cynthia Lummis, Roger Marshall, Bill Hagerty, and Tommy Tuberville.
In addition to seeking an audit, Hawley made it a point to rail against “mega-corporations” that sought to interfere in the election in support of Biden over Trump.
He named Facebook and Twitter, which have not campaigned for either candidate but did begin to add links below voter fraud assertions and reports deemed inaccurate predominately on Trump’s posts.
Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader, spoke against GOP senators. He pleaded with them to avoid disrupting the proceedings on January 6. The election results did not have the desired outcome. It is disappointing that the president did not win a second term, McConnell said after congratulating Biden on his victory.
In addition to Senators, at least half of the House of Representatives members have announced their intent to support Trump by lodging complaints about the general election’s integrity. “Wednesday’s event is likely to be a very public showcase of Trump’s two-month campaign to delegitimize Biden’s presidency,” reports The Washington Post.
Utah Representative Burgess Owens explains he has no doubt whatsoever that Trump won the election. He says challenging the electoral vote is “the right thing to do.” Owens added he would accept whoever emerges as the victor — Trump or Biden.
The likelihood of their protests changing the outcome of the will of the people is practically null.
Trump, his lawyers, and numerous allies have disputed the general election results in the press, social media, and the courts, including state supreme courts and the United States Supreme Court. They have had ample opportunity to prove their “huge voter fraud” allegations — 60 days since Biden was declared the next president. They have failed.
Written by Cathy Milne-Ware
Sources:
The Washington Post: Growing crowd of Trump loyalists in the Senate vows to challenge Biden’s victory; by Philip Rucker and Josh Dawsey
The New York Times: 11 More Republican Senators Plan to Back Futile Bid to Overturn Biden’s Election; by Luke Broadwater
Yahoo! News: Black congressman-elect says Trump won the election; by Ashley Terrell
Featured and Top Image Courtesy of Gage Skidmore’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
