A number of Republican house and Senate members have said they will challenge the electoral College results in some states when Congress convenes on January 6. On Monday, The House majority leader, Democrat Steny Hoyer, said that they expected as many as six electoral college votes to be challenged on Wednesday.
A group of Republican senators, led by veteran Senator Ted Cruz, is “still discussing” which states will challenge the results in Congress, and sources told Fox News that at least one will be challenged.
Hoyer said how many states face challenges depends on how tired Republican lawmakers are of playing the game, and that the number could decline over time, CNN reported.
“I don’t know how many,” he said. And I don’t know how these challenges are going to tire members of congress.”
In a joint conference, if a state’s electoral college vote is challenged. The Senate and the House of Representatives will debate each for two hours before voting on the challenge.
Republican senators are challenging the results in at least one state
As of Monday, a person familiar with the matter told Fox News that the 11 senators, led by veteran Senator Ted Cruz, would oppose the outcome in at least one state in a joint session. At this point, the question is not whether the senator will raise an objection, but which state and how many states, the person familiar with the matter said.
“The group is committed to pushing the election commission to understand the facts,” the source said.
Republicans in the House of Representatives are pressuring Senate Republicans to challenge the results in at least three states in an effort to derail Biden’s victory.
Two House Republicans told Fox News that more than 100 Republicans in the House of Representatives will challenge the results in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Nevada and Wisconsin.
A source familiar with the matter told Fox News On Monday that Cruz raised the idea on Thursday, before New Year’s Eve, as he struggled to find a solution that would be consistent with the constitution.
Fox News has learned that Mr Cruz first floated the idea of a committee to Senator John Kennedy on Friday, then spent the next 24 hours by phone texting and e-mailing other Republican and elected senators. The talks continued until Saturday morning, when it was announced that it would challenge the electoral College results in some states.
“Electoral fraud has posed a continuing challenge in our elections, although its scope and scope are disputed. “By any measure, the allegations of fraud and wrongdoing in the 2020 election exceed any in our lifetime.” The 11 senators, led by Mr Cruz, said in a statement on Saturday.
The 11 Republican senators urged Congress to set up an election commission to conduct an emergency 10-day audit of the results.
Meanwhile, two sources told Fox News that Republican Senator Rand Paul is likely to oppose the results in at least one state alone, but it is unclear which, during the joint session.
Several senators from both parties signed on to oppose the challenge
In a separate development, senators from both parties said on Sunday that some Republicans oppose efforts to challenge the electoral College’s results this week.
“The 2020 election is over,” said Joe Manchin, a Democratic senator. All challenges through recalculation and appeal have been eliminated.”
Senators who signed on include Susan Collins, A Republican, Mark Warner, Bill Cassidy, a Republican, Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat, Lisa Murkowski, a Republican, and Angus King, an independent. Mitt Romney, a Republican, Maggie Hassan, and Dick Durbin, A Democrat.
“The voters have spoken,” they said. “Congress must now live up to its responsibility to prove the election results.”
The outbreak brings uncertainty and more rules to the joint meeting
Democrats currently control the House of Representatives by a narrow margin. Mr. Hoyer said the House was working to maintain more security protocols for Wednesday’s joint session to certify the Electoral College vote, but acknowledged that it would not be easy to bring the 535 attendees into compliance.
“It will be difficult, but we will tell them again. Unfortunately, we all [probably] break the rules because that’s the normal way we respond.” “We also think that by wearing masks, we might be safe,” he said.
Hoyer added: “But what we are trying to do is advise members to keep their distance and not to approach each other.”
The House of Representatives will adopt the same mitigation measures as existing measures, requiring lawmakers to wear face masks, line up seats to maintain social distance and open galleries to disperse lawmakers. Moreover, under the rules governing accreditation, members are not required to visit the Chamber in person and are encouraged to view the minutes in their offices. But an aide to a Democratic lawmaker said few are expected to miss the debate, and the leadership expects the chamber to be full.
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