President Donald Trump (R-Texas) said Saturday morning (Dec. 26) that if someone were to steal the election from the Democratic presidential nominee, they would see it as an act of war and fight to the death, but in the place of Republicans, do nothing.
“If the Democratic presidential nominee faces a stolen election and there is evidence of this behavior at an unprecedented level, then Democratic Senators will view it as an act of war and fight to the death.” In a tweet, Trump wrote, “Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and the Republicans instead did nothing but try to let the election pass. Go down without a fight!”
Trump tweeted again Saturday night that it was time for Republican senators to step up their game for the presidency, just as Democrats would have done if they had actually won, because the evidence of election fraud was irrefutable.
Some media reports say top Republicans are preparing to block senators from challenging the Electoral College vote on Jan. 6. The Hill reported Friday (25) that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will try to block Senator-elect Tommy Tuberville of Alabama from coming out against the Electoral College vote on Jan. 6.
Tuberville is the only Republican senator who has come out to challenge the electoral vote, and he has spoken with President Trump. Another Kentucky senator, Rand Paul (R-Ky.), has also said he may join the House members in challenging it.
Challenging any state Electoral College vote in a joint session of Congress requires at least one senator and one House member to co-sponsor it in writing. If the objection meets the requirements, the joint session is suspended for two hours and members of both chambers withdraw to their respective chambers and debate and vote on the objection. If the opposition ultimately receives a majority vote in both chambers, it stands and the Electoral College votes of the challenged states are nullified.
Top Republicans oppose senators standing up to challenge election results
The Hill reported Friday that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Whip John Thune (R-S.C.) and Senate Rules and Regulations Committee Chairman Roy Blunt (R-Mich.) have recommended that Republican senators not participate in the January Electoral College vote challenge.
Senate Republican Whip Thune said Republican leaders will tell Sen. Duperville that voting to cancel the January Electoral College vote would be futile and politically damaging.
He said, “I hope that all senators will finally conclude that this election needs to end and that it’s time to move forward.”
Former Republican Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas) said challenging the Electoral College vote was essentially a motion to initiate, but it turned out to be an exercise in futility.
“I don’t expect any senators to decide to do that,” he said. But Republican leaders can’t be sure what will happen in January, he added.
“Everybody here is a free agent,” he said.
Democrats are also putting pressure on Republican House members
Trump has already met with several Republican House members in the West Wing of the White House on Jan. 21 to discuss election fraud, and those House members plan to challenge the Electoral College votes cast for Democratic candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden in contested states when Congress meets Jan. 6.
The Republican congressmen preparing to challenge the Electoral College votes are also being pressured by Democrats. Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida tweeted Saturday (26), “Since 1988, no Republican president has been sworn in without Democratic opposition. But when Republicans object …… Democrats call us traitors.”
On Dec. 14, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden received 306 state-selected Electoral College votes and Trump received 232 electoral votes.
On the same day, seven states cast “alternative votes” that could be challenged in a joint session of Congress on Jan. 6, 2021, corresponding to 84 Electoral College votes: Wisconsin (10), Michigan (16), Georgia (16), Pennsylvania (20), Arizona (11), New Mexico (5) and Nevada (6).
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