Republican senators held an intra-party conference call Thursday (Dec. 31) to collectively pressure Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Texas), who was set to challenge the Electoral College results, but Hawley’s unexpected absence made Republican bosses quite unhappy.
At least two U.S. media outlets, each citing sources, reported Thursday that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (Mitch McConnell) held a conference call with fellow Republicans in the morning and was prepared to work together to pressure Senator Josh Hawley (Josh Hawley), who stated Wednesday (30) that he wanted to challenge the results of the Electoral College, with embarrassing results.
Axios quoted a source Thursday afternoon as saying that McConnell held an unusual conference call with Senate Republicans on Thursday morning.
McConnell said he would certify at a joint session of Congress on Jan. 6 that Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden won the 2020 election and that it would be “the most important result he’s ever cast”.
Two other sources also confirmed McConnell’s private comments, the paper said.
Hawley defied McConnell’s wishes on Wednesday, publicly announcing that he would challenge the Electoral College vote in Pennsylvania and other states at a joint session of Congress on Jan. 6.
Hawley told Fox News on Wednesday that at the very least Congress should investigate allegations of voter fraud and ensure that future elections are secure. But Congress has so far failed to act.
Democrats have challenged the election results in the past, and now they have shifted their position and want the Republicans to shut up about the results; and Republican party bigwigs don’t want anyone to come out and challenge the results.
McConnell urged Republican senators on Dec. 14 not to challenge the vote, Axios reported, saying he thought it would put Republicans in a terrible position for the 2022 general election – forcing them to choose between the party’s most popular political figure, President Trump, and undermining democracy.
The paper said McConnell’s remarks to the conference Thursday could fuel President Trump’s discontent with him as McConnell conceded Trump lost the election.
“I’ve been in the Senate for 36 years, and I’ve cast many key votes,” including war and impeachment, McConnell said, as quoted by the source.
“In my opinion, and this is just my personal opinion, (Jan. 6) will be the most important vote I’ve ever taken.”
In addition, Republican senators internally are unhappy with Hawley’s behavior because it will force them to take the ultimate loyalty test on Jan. 6 – whether they are loyal to Trump.
On the conference call, McConnell asked Hawley to explain what he plans to do on Jan. 6. Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey (R) angrily said he disagreed with Hawley and that he wanted to defend the integrity of Pennsylvania’s elections.
But they then discovered that Hawley was not online, and he did not participate in the morning conference call, an awkward situation. Politico first reported the news.
Hawley sent an email to his Senate colleagues Thursday afternoon explaining why he didn’t attend.
He wrote: “If you’ve been talking to folk back home, I’m sure you’ll know how angry and disillusioned many people are (about the results of this election), and how frustrated they are that Congress has done little to nothing.”
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