Several Republican lawmakers have expressed their plans to challenge the Electoral College count during the upcoming joint session of Congress, but other Republicans are pushing back on that.
While sharing that he has concerns about “irregularities” in the 2020 presidential election, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) declared in a statement on Sunday, “I will not oppose the counting of certified electoral votes on January 6.”
The Republican senator wrote:
“The Founders entrusted our elections chiefly to the states — not Congress. They entrusted the election of our president to the people, acting through the Electoral College — not Congress. And they entrusted the adjudication of election disputes to the courts — not Congress. Under the Constitution and federal law, Congress’s power is limited to counting electoral votes submitted by the states.”
Cotton also said, “If Congress purported to overturn the results of the Electoral College, it would not only exceed that power, but also establish unwise precedents.”
Cotton is not a lone wolf in opposing efforts from fellow Republicans to challenge President-elect Joe Biden’s Electoral College win.
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) also bashed the plans. At least 12 Republican senators are planning to challenge the electoral vote count during the joint session of Congress on Jan. 6.
“The egregious ploy to reject electors may enhance the political ambition of some, but dangerously threatens our Democratic Republic,” Romney wrote in a statement published on Sunday. “The congressional power to reject electors is reserved for the most extreme and unusual circumstances. These are far from it.”
Additionally, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) criticized the plans led by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), tweeting, “Proposing a commission at this late date — which has zero chance of becoming reality — is not effectively fighting for President Trump.”
Graham added, “It appears to be more of a political dodge than an effective remedy.”
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) is leading another effort different from Cruz’s. He plans to “object” to the electoral college certification.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) weighed in ahead of the joint session, writing in a letter to her Democratic colleagues on Sunday, “Over the years, we have experienced many challenges in the House, but no situation matches the Trump presidency and the Trump disrespect for the will of the people.”
She also wrote, “If a written objection is lodged by a Member of the House and Senate, we then meet in our individual chambers for up to two hours of debate. Only then will Members be recognized to speak on the Floor. Unless both the House and Senate vote to reject the Electoral count for the state in question, the objection is rejected.”