Hawley Plans To Object Certification Of Electoral College Vote

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) announced Wednesday that he would object to the certification of the Electoral College votes for Joe Biden on Jan 6.

Hawley said he feels compelled to put a spotlight on election irregularities, including “the failure of some states,” notably Pennsylvania for not following their own election law, as well as the “unprecedented interference” from Big Tech in interfering “in support” of Biden.

“I cannot vote to certify the electoral college results on January 6 without raising the fact that some states, particularly Pennsylvania, failed to follow their own state election laws. And I cannot vote to certify without pointing out the unprecedented effort of mega-corporations, including Facebook and Twitter, to interfere in this election, in support of Joe Biden,” Hawley said in a statement.

He noted the Democrats previous attempts in objecting to the certification process back in the 2004 and 2016 election and were “praised” by fellow Democrats and the media. Four years ago, House Democrats objected to President Trump’s results on roughly a dozen states by making baseless and false claims about Russian election interference and violations of the Voting Rights Act.

House Democrats, including Reps. Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas, Barbara Lee of California, and Maxine Waters of California tried to raise an objection to the majority of states’ election results. However, their botch attempted failed to garnish a challenge for a debate was shot down repeatedly to their failure in getting a Democratic Senator to sign on to their worthless objection.

At the joint session, any member of Congress can object to a state’s election results. One House member and one senator to challenge a state’s electors, and the House and Senate are required to stop the joint session to separately deliberate on the matter for two hours and vote on whether to exclude the contested state’s results.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) urged GOP senators in a private call not to join a Republican House member effort in objecting to the election results on January 6, since doing so would ultimately force senators to cast a vote on the merits of the objection.

The effort in the House is being led by Representative Mo Brooks of Alabama. Several other House Republicans have come forth in saying they would join him, including Representative-elect Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia. 

Brooks thanked Hawley for joining in the efforts and his support.

“With America’s Republic at stake, we are fortunate to have leaders like Senator Hawley stand up and do what is right to ensure America remains the greatest nation in world history,” Brooks said in a statement.

Hawley told reporters at the Capitol after his announcement that he hasn’t decided if he would also object to the votes from states other than Pennsylvania and is unsure whether other senators would join him in this effort.

“I would think that there would be more, but there may not be, I don’t know,” Hawley told reporters on Wednesday. “Too early to say.”

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) said he is “supportive” of Hawley’s effort, but didn’t state his commitment to making his own objection.

“There is no reason for more than one to object,” he said.

Biden transition team dismissed GOP efforts to block the electoral vote count.

“Congress will certify the results of the election as they do every four years,” Jen Psaki, incoming White House press secretary told reporters. “This is merely a formality and it certainly should be treated as such by people who are covering it and regardless of whatever antics anyone is up to on January 6, President-elect Biden will be sworn in on the 20th.”

With now two GOP Senators joining House Republicans efforts to contest the results, an objection to six or seven election results would prompt a marathon debate on the floor that would spill into the wee hours of  January 7.

2020 ElectionCongressElectoral CollegeHouseJen PsakiJoe BidenPresident TrumpRep. Mo BrooksSen. Ron JohnsonSenateSenate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell