A bipartisan group of 10 senators has issued a statement calling for Congress to certify President-elect Joe Biden’s win.
The senators, including four Republicans, said in the statement on Sunday that efforts by some Republicans to overturn the results in favor of President Donald Trump “are contrary to the clearly expressed will of the American people and only serve to undermine Americans’ confidence in the already determined election results.”
Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Mitt Romney of Utah signed on to the statement, which said “it is time to move forward.”
A separate group of Senate Republicans, led by Sens. Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz, say they plan to object to the election results when Congress meets on Wednesday to tally Biden’s 306-232 Electoral College victory over Trump.
Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell has urged Republicans not to object. And several other GOP senators have criticized the efforts, splitting the party as the new Congress begins. Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse said Sunday that the objections are “bad for the country and bad for the party.”
Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham is calling the effort by Sen. Ted Cruz and other Republican senators to overturn the presidential election a “dodge” that doesn’t go far enough in helping President Donald Trump.
Graham said in a statement Sunday that Cruz has a “high bar” to show there was evidence of problems with the election. The South Carolina senator also said Cruz’s proposal has “zero chance of becoming reality.”
Cruz of Texas is leading a coalition of 11 GOP senators who vow to challenge the election results unless Congress agrees to launch a commission to investigate the outcome. They and others are prepared to object Wednesday when Congress convenes for a joint session to confirm Biden’s 306-232 electoral tally over Trump.
Graham, a top Trump ally, said that approach “is not effectively fighting for President Trump. It appears to be more of a political dodge than an effective remedy.”
Former House Speaker Paul Ryan says in a statement that Biden’s presidential victory is “entirely legitimate.” He is condemning efforts by some Republicans to object to the results and overturn the election in the congressional count of electoral votes on Wednesday.
Ryan, who left Congress in 2019, says it “is difficult to conceive of a more anti-democratic and anti-conservative act than a federal intervention to overturn the results of state-certified elections and disenfranchise millions of Americans.”
Ryan urged the lawmakers to reconsider, saying “the fact that this effort will fail does not mean it will not do significant damage to American democracy.”
The objections will force votes in both the House and Senate, where they are expected to be rejected.
There was not widespread fraud in the election, as has been confirmed by a range of election officials and by William Barr, who stepped down as attorney general last month. Nearly all of the legal challenges put forth by Trump and his allies have been dismissed by judges.
