Cruz leads 11 GOP senators challenging Biden win over Trump
The 11 senators, led by Ted Cruz, said they may vote against certain state electors
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A coalition of 11 Republican senators announced Saturday it will challenge the outcome of the presidential election by voting to reject electors from some states when Congress meets next week to certify the Electoral College results that confirmed President-elect
Joe Biden won.
President Donald Trump’s extraordinary refusal to accept his election defeat and the effort to subvert the will of the voters has become a defining moment for Republicans and is tearing the party apart. Senate Majority Leader
WASHINGTON
Nearly a dozen Republican senators signaled Saturday that they would challenge the electoral college results next week, a last measure of their full devotion to a defeated president that has frustrated Senate GOP leaders and exacerbated concerns about the health of American democracy.
Eleven current and soon-to-be lawmakers almost a quarter of the incoming Senate GOP conference plan to vote Wednesday against certifying the results from swing states that propelled President-elect Joe Biden to victory.
In the weeks since his defeat, President Trump has led a baseless campaign claiming he was the victim of fraud in those states and has successfully pressured congressional allies to challenge the results. The effort was joined Saturday by Republican Sens. Ted. Cruz of Texas and John Kennedy of Louisiana, days after GOP Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri became the first in the chamber to say he would object to the 306-232 electoral college tally in Biden’s favor.
Trump Loyalists Sue Mike Pence to Give Him Power to Overturn Election Results
Vice President Mike Pence speaks during a Defend The Majority campaign event on December 11, 2020, in Columbus, Georgia.
Elijah Nouvelage / Getty Images
Vice President Mike Pence has come under heavy pressure from President Trump to back an unconstitutional scheme to overturn his election defeat in a joint session of Congress next week. According to multiple reports, advisers have repeatedly had to explain to the president that the vice presidentâs role is merely ceremonial.
Trump has lost every legal challenge after failing to show evidence of widespread fraud or irregularities and is now âlaser-focusedâ on Jan. 6, when Pence will preside over a joint session of Congress to formally count the electoral votes, as his âlast stand for overturning the electoral outcome,â multiple administration officials told
“We’re having some preliminary meetings, but because of Georgia and the uncertainty of who is controlling the Senate they have to be tentative,” said Sen. Dick Durbin
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When asked how he was feeling about the party’s chances in the Peach State, Durbin warned that people were being cautious because “no one wants to say anything for fear we’ll go through a Nov. 3 experience where we thought we had such promising prospects.”
In order to win back the majority for the first time since 2014, Democrats will have to unseat both Loeffler and Perdue in order to force a 50-50 tie; otherwise Republicans will hold either 51 or 52 seats for at least the first two years of Biden’s presidency.