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US Vice President Mike Pence hailed the efforts of a group of senators to refuse to certify Joe Biden’s victory in the presidential election.
The 11 Republican elected senators and senators, led by Ted Cruz, want 10 days to hear unsubstantiated allegations of voter fraud.
That move is sure to fail, as most senators are expected to endorse Mr Biden in the Jan.6 vote.
Mr. Biden, a Democrat, is due to be named president on January 20.
President Donald Trump refused to concede the November 3 election, repeatedly alleging fraud without providing any evidence.
Mr Pence stopped before echoing the allegations of voter fraud. But on Saturday, his chief of staff Marc Short said Mr. Pence shared what he called “the concerns of millions of Americans about electoral fraud and irregularities.”
Mr. Pence “commends the efforts of members of the House and Senate to use the authority they have under the law to raise objections and present evidence before Congress and the American people,” Mr. Shorts.
As Speaker of the Senate, Mr. Pence will be responsible for overseeing the January 6 session and declaring Mr. Biden the winner.
All 50 states have certified the election results, some after recounts and court appeals.
So far, U.S. courts have dismissed 60 challenges to Mr. Biden’s victory. Mr Trump notched just one minor victory, concerning a small number of postal ballots in Pennsylvania, a state won by Mr Biden.
What do Trump’s allies want?
In a statement, the 11 senators led by Texas Senator Ted Cruz said the November election had “included unprecedented allegations of electoral fraud, violations and lax enforcement of election law, and other irregularities. of vote ”.
A Federal Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation found no evidence to support the fraud allegations.
Citing a precedent from 1877 – when a bipartisan committee was formed to investigate after the two parties claimed victory in three states – they urged Congress to appoint a commission for “a 10-day emergency audit of the results. elections in contested states ”.
“Once completed, individual states would assess the committee’s findings and could call a special legislative session to certify a change in their vote, if necessary,” they said.
However, they said their candidacy was unlikely to be successful. “We are not naive. We fully expect most, if not all, and perhaps more than a few Republicans, that most Democrats will vote otherwise, ”they said.
Their decision is separate from that of Missouri Senator Josh Hawley, who also said he would reject the result over concerns about the integrity of the election.
A group of Republicans in the lower house of Congress, the House of Representatives, are also considering challenging the election results.
With at least a dozen Republican senators now planning to challenge the results of the congressional election, it is clear – if not already – that the heart of the party remains with Donald Trump’s efforts to reverse his presidential defeat.
The effort will be in vain, given the Democratic majority in the House of Representatives, but the goal for many of these politicians is not to achieve a miraculous reversal of fortune for the president. Instead, it’s about winning the favor of Trump’s loyal base.
They are betting the road to success in the Republican Party will continue to pass through Trump and his followers, whose support could be invaluable to senators with presidential ambitions, like Ted Cruz from Texas or Josh Hawley from Missouri, or those who are concerned. by future primaries. opposition from pro-Trump politicians.
This is not the first time that members of Congress dismayed by the outcome of a presidential election have clashed during the largely ceremonial session. However, it will be the biggest revolt of its kind in nearly a century and a half.
It’s a sign that partisan grudge in the United States, exacerbated by Trump’s scorched earth fight to retain the presidency, isn’t going away anytime soon.
What will happen on January 6?
Objections approved by a member of the House of Representatives and a member of the Senate must be considered by lawmakers in a two-hour debate, followed by a vote.
However, for an objection to be successful, a majority in both houses must vote in favor. Republicans hold a majority in the Senate but some of them have already said they will not challenge the results.
Democrats are in the majority in the House.
Senior Republicans said the Senate’s role in certifying the elections was largely ceremonial and should not be the occasion for a long debate over the outcome.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has already acknowledged Mr Biden’s victory and asked other Republicans not to oppose.
Utah Senator Mitt Romney, the only Republican to vote for Mr. Trump’s impeachment last year, also expressed dismay at the measures to cancel the election.
“I could never have imagined seeing these things in the world’s largest democracy. Has ambition so eclipsed principle? he said in a statement.
Biden’s camp did not respond to the latest move to oppose the election outcome. But Biden spokeswoman Jen Psaki called Mr Hawley’s attempt “buffoonery.”
“The American people have spoken resoundingly in this election and 81 million people voted for Joe Biden and [Vice-President-elect] Kamala Harris, ”she says.
“Congress will certify the election results as they do every four years.”
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