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Second House Republican Steve Scalise of Louisiana repeatedly refused to say on Sunday that the 2020 election was not stolen, sticking to Donald Trump’s lie that Democrat Joe Biden won the election. White House because of electoral fraud.
More than 11 months after Americans chose their president and nearly nine months after Biden’s inauguration, Scalise was unwilling to say the vote was legitimate.
“I have been very clear from the start,” he told Fox News on Sunday. “If you look at a number of states, they haven’t followed the laws passed by the state that govern the presidential election. This is what the constitution of the United States says. They are not saying that states make the rules. They say state legislatures make the rules.
Pressed by host Chris Wallace on whether the election went beyond a few irregularities and could be considered “stolen,” Scalise said: “These are not just irregularities. These are states that have failed. not followed the established laws that the constitution says they are supposed to follow.
In all, Scalise declined three opportunities to say the election was not stolen.
Liz Cheney of Wyoming, who, along with just one other Republican, sits on a House committee investigating the Jan.6 attack on the Capitol by Trump supporters seeking to overturn the election, criticized Scalise’s comments.
“Millions of Americans have been sold for election fraud that was stolen,” Cheney tweeted. “Republicans have a duty to tell the American people that is not true. To perpetuate the big lie is an attack on the heart of our constitutional republic. “
Trump stepped down in January, weeks after his supporters stormed the Capitol. As he mulls over another White House run, he has stepped up his efforts to shame and potentially remove his party members seen as disloyal, Cheney among them.
At a rally in Iowa on Saturday, Trump falsely claimed he won Arizona, Georgia and Pennsylvania. Senator Charles Grassley and Governor Kim Reynolds stood on their feet.
The election was not stolen. Trump’s second attorney general, William Barr, found no evidence of widespread electoral corruption. The allegations of electoral fraud were dismissed by a succession of judges and refuted by representatives of the state and the Department of Homeland Security.
Nonetheless, Republican House Leader Kevin McCarthy of California continues to defend Trump and his false claims.
Scalise, McCarthy’s No.2, appeared to be referring to an argument made in several lawsuits that the constitution gives the power to administer elections exclusively to state lawmakers.
The lawsuits were aimed at overturning pandemic-era accommodations, including expanded postal voting put in place by governors, election officials and judges.
The high court dismissed the cases. There is no indication in any of the lawsuits that the change to Covid-19 housing affected the election results.
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