At least 12 Republican senators including Sens. Josh Hawley, Ron Johnson, James Lankford, Steve Daines, John Kennedy, Marsha Blackburn, and Mike Braun will object to certifying the results of the 2020 election. Cruz and his allies also want a commission to look into false, GOP-generated allegations of voter fraud.
The move has splintered the party s Senate caucus, with some members of the leadership expressing opposition. It is expected to be rejected by both the GOP-controlled Senate and the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives.
Pence, as the president of the senate, will preside over the joint session of Congress on Wednesday, where he is supposed to announce the candidates who won the majority of Electoral College votes President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.
However, Pence s chief of staff Marc Short said the vice president shares the concerns of millions of Americans about voter fraud and irregularities in the last election.
Pence May Choose 2020 Election Winner ‘As He Sees Fit,’ GOP Rep Says in New Court Filing
Vice President Mike Pence has the ability to overrule the Electoral College vote and can essentially decide the outcome of the presidential election, said Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas), coming after Department of Justice lawyers argued Pence is not the proper defendant in the suit.
The DOJ’s lawyers, representing Pence, argued that Gohmert should be filing a lawsuit against Congress, not Pence’s office.
“Under the Constitution, [Pence] has the authority to conduct that proceeding as he sees fit. He may count elector votes certified by a state’s executive, or he can prefer a competing slate of duly qualified electors,” Gohmert’s attorneys wrote in a brief (pdf) on New Year’s Day. “He may ignore all electors from a certain state. That is the power bestowed upon him by the Constitution.”
Democratic Senators Push for $2,000 Stimulus Checks Vote Again on New Year s Day
On 1/1/21 at 5:08 PM EST
Senate Republicans blocked another last-ditch Democratic effort to hold a vote on boosting stimulus checks from $600 to $2,000 on New Year s Day.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell criticized $2,000 direct payments in a Friday floor speech, two days before the 116th Congress ends on Sunday. A huge chunk would essentially be socialism for rich people, the Republican leader said, before dismissing the checks as a universal cash giveaway.
Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent, disputed McConnell s remarks and called out Republicans for being concerned about socialism for rich people despite supporting massive tax breaks for companies.