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“I think it’s horrible. I will uphold my oath to the Constitution. It’s the loyalty test here, ”said Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska).
Senator Mitt Romney (R-Utah) called Hawley’s decision “disappointing and destructive.” And borrowing from Ben Sasse is the ambition to point a gun at the head of democracy. Sasse (R-Neb.) Said this week that “adults do not point a loaded gun at the core of legitimate autonomy”.
“I’m going to vote to certify the election,” said Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) Of Hawley’s effort. “I don’t think it’s a good idea and I don’t understand his reasoning.
Already, it has become clear that the effort will fail given public opposition from these senators and others like the senses. Shelly Moore Capito (RW.Va.), Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Richard Burr (RN.C.), who said emphatically “No” on Friday when asked if he would join Hawley. A simple majority is enough to certify Biden’s victory, and there are 48 Democratic senators.
But the Jan.6 vote to certify Biden’s victory is seen within the GOP as a painful litmus test. Republicans risk either backlash or a main challenge in endorsing Biden’s victory amid baseless allegations of widespread Trump fraud, or they can line up with Trump’s attempt to overturn the election results.
Trump has already shown little respect for those who criticize the House and Senate’s efforts to block Biden’s victory. The President attacked Senate Majority Whip John Thune (RS.D.) for the second time this week after Thune said Trump’s efforts to overturn Biden’s victory would fail like a ‘hound dog’ in the upper room.
The president urged Governor Kristi Noem (RS.D.) to run against Thune, although Noem has previously said she will not run against Thune. Trump in a tweet called Thune a “RINO” on Friday – a Republican in name only.
“Finally, an attack tweet. What took him so long? Thune, the second Senate Republican, said of Trump. He said there had been no effort to correct it: “I’m not sure what I did to deserve all of this. Its good. I’m not sure anything changes its mind once it does.
Hawley is unlikely to be on her own as Senator Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) Did in 2005 when she was rejected in a 74-1 by members of both parties after opposing the election votes of George W. Bush in Ohio. Republicans in the private Senate believe a handful of Republican senators could vote against certification of at least one state alongside Hawley, a lower percentage than the more than 100 House Republicans who are expected to try to stop the victory by Biden.
“I will not tell others what to do,” said Hawley, who said he had contact with other senators after making the announcement. “I don’t have the power to knock over anything. My goal in this regard is, as I have said many times, that this is my only opportunity in this process to stand up and make my voice heard. “
Hawley said he had not decided whether he would challenge just one state or enough states to change the Electoral College result. He specifically mentioned Pennsylvania earlier this week as an example of a state that “failed to follow its own state election laws.”
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) Cautioned against challenging the election in private and urged Hawley for an explanation on a conference call Thursday, though Hawley was not not on call. Hawley responded by asking senators questions to contact him. Capito said Hawley’s decision was “certainly not what the Chief would want, because he was very explicit about it.”
But Republicans aren’t whipping Trump. Thune said the GOP leadership lets members “vote their conscience”. He said he would oppose the effort in the absence of unforeseen evidence as Congress has no legal authority to change election results approved by states and certified by election coverage.
“It seems to me like this is a futile exercise,” said Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), who said he would offer a longer explanation next week when Trump’s efforts are halted by Congress. “There are probably 70 million people who would rather see Trump elected. So I think it might not be very popular [in the GOP]. But sometimes you have to do unpopular things because it’s the right thing to do.
Yet not everyone rejects Biden’s certification challenge. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) Said earlier this week that he supports Hawley’s efforts.
And the senses. Mike Braun (R-Ind.) And Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) Both said they are still weighing their options. Blackburn argued that “people are very concerned about voter fraud and transparency” and Braun said he “was always thinking about what to do”.
“It’s a protest vote only. Because in my opinion, there is no way that anything will come from it. The House is not going to overturn and I don’t think you will even come close to the Senate, ”Braun argued.
And several other senators said on Friday they did not want to talk about it. Senator Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), Who opposes the election challenge, said he would address the issue “in some depth next week”. Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) Said he would not discuss the matter until Jan. 6 and Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) declined to comment.
“Ask me that on Jan. 6. There is a lot to think about,” said Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), the GOP’s longest-serving senator.
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