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A second source close to the call told CNN that McConnell made it clear to its members Thursday that he is giving them the opportunity to vote their conscience on such objections.
The conference call discussion comes after McConnell discouraged members from opposing in the first place. But now that Hawley has made it clear he is moving forward, members will have to decide for themselves whether or not to accept a state’s voter certification. There are 19 Republican senators facing re-election in 2022. Republicans must defend 21 seats.
When Hawley did not speak on the call, Pennsylvania Senator Pat Toomey, a retired Republican, told the conference why he thinks the state is not a good test for the allegations. electoral fraud, according to the second source close to the appeal.
This source added that Republican Senator from Wisconsin, Ron Johnson, also spoke during the call about the importance of investigating any electoral fraud, but as he has said publicly, he does not plan to s’ oppose the electoral college certification process.
The Thursday morning call was an all-member-only event, which McConnell ran quite regularly due to Covid-19 disruptions and schedules, according to two people with first-hand knowledge of what happened. They said the purpose of the appeal was not explicitly Hawley’s decision to object, but McConnell asked him for his justification several times before realizing he wasn’t there.
McConnell’s decision came amid growing frustration in the conference over Hawley’s decision, especially among contenders for reelection in 2022. A few GOP senators publicly expressed their displeasure on Wednesday, but others voiced their concerns directly to the leaders, one of the two people said.
McConnell privately warned Republicans weeks ago that going down the path of objection would force his colleagues to vote against Trump or against the clear winner of the election without any base. Given Trump’s attraction to the party, this would create an untenable position, especially for soon-to-be re-elected GOP senators.
McConnell, on call Thursday, was trying at least in part to address concerns raised by members of the leadership – and to give other Senators the opportunity to voice their concerns themselves – by calling Hawley for an explanation .
“Angry,” was how a GOP senator described much of the conference to CNN.
Hawley told reporters on Wednesday he had “alerted” management to what he was planning to do, but said he had not discussed it with his colleagues since everyone was out of town.
This story is breaking and will be updated.
CNN’s Kaitlan Collins contributed to this report.
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