The eleven Republican lawmakers said they intend to support an objection to the Electoral College vote, if submitted, and a proposal for an election commission to conduct a “10-day emergency audit” of election results in “disputed states.” The group includes Senator Ted Cruz from Texas, Ron Johnson from Wisconsin, James Lancford from Oklahoma, Steve Dines from Montana, John Kennedy from Louisiana, Marsha Blackburn from Tennessee, Mike Brown from Indiana, and Elected Senator Cynthia Loomis from Wyoming. Roger Marshall from Kansas, Bill Hagerty from Tennessee and Tommy Toberville from Alabama.
They said in a statement, adding that the January 6 congressional vote was “the only remaining constitutional authority to consider and enforce a solution to the multiple allegations of serious voter fraud.”
There were no credible allegations of any problems with voting that would affect the elections, as confirmed by dozens of state and federal courts, governors, state election officials, and the Ministries of Homeland Security and Justice. None of the Republican officials who objected to Biden’s victory contested Trump’s victory, or in some cases their victories, on the same day.
Hawley tweeted on Saturday that he was “happy to see more senators join the fight.”
In their statement, 11 Republican senators and elected senators did not specify which states they intend to turn down, but Hawley indicated that he plans to veto at least one state’s testimony, Pennsylvania.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York, apparently rejected the announcement Saturday of a handful of Republicans, tweeting: “Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will be President and Vice President of the United States in 18 days.”
The 11 Republican lawmakers appeared to acknowledge on Saturday that their efforts may be futile, saying they are “not naive” and “fully expect most if not all of the Democrats, and perhaps more than a few Republicans, to vote otherwise.”
Trump has been lobbying Congress to try to nullify the election result, while his campaign’s attempts to cancel the election have been repeatedly rejected by the courts.
This story was updated with additional developments on Saturday.