Trump loyalist senator Ron Johnson says he could object to Electoral College results when Congress certifies Joe Biden's victory in January - despite judges rejecting claims of fraud
Republican Sen. Ron Johnson, a top Trump ally, said Wednesday that he was open to objecting to the Electoral College results, as he scheduled a Senate Homeland Security Committee on 'Examining Irregularities in the 2020 Election.'
'It depends on what we find out,' Johnson said, according to CNN, telling reporters he wouldn't rule out joining an effort to challenge a state's results when Congress is supposed to certify the Electoral College vote on January 6.
In a statement, Johnson explained that he was holding the December 16 hearing because 'a large percentage of the American public does not view the 2020 election result as legitimate because of the apparent irregularities that have not been fully examined.'
Sen. Ron Johnson, a Wisconsin Republican and top Trump ally on Capitol Hill, announced a hearing next week on 'Examining Irregularities in the 2020 Election' and said he might join a effort to challenge a state's results when Congress certifies the Electoral College vote
President Donald Trump has falsely claimed widespread voter fraud robbed him of a second term. His legal team has lost case after case in courts all over the United States as they have not presented judges with evidence. Still, Johnson will hold a hearing on the matter next week
'That is not a sustainable state of affairs for our country,' Johnson said. 'The only way to resolve suspicions is with full transparency and public awareness,' the Wisconsin Republican, calling that the 'goal of the hearing.'
Trump has been the biggest broadcaster of conspiracy theories that the election was stolen from him, while his legal team has been handed loss after loss in court because judges have not been presented with evidence of widespread fraud.
Johnson's statement keeps the door open for there to be a floor fight in Congress over the Electoral College vote, which will take place next Monday.
On January 6, Congress will then certify those results. The rules that dictate what happens on this day were put in place in 1877.
On that day, Vice President Mike Pence, in his role as the president of the Senate, will preside over a meeting of the House of Representatives.
States will be called in alphabetical order and results announced.
However, if a senator and a House member both object to a state's vote, the House and Senate will go back to their respective chambers to deliberate the merits of the challenge - for up to three hours - and then vote on the objection.
A simple majority overturns the challenge.
Democrats hold a majority in the House, while Republicans hold a majority in the Senate.
There are likely enough moderate Senate Republicans to knock down a GOP-led challenge.
The last time this procedure was attempted was in 2004, when a number of House Democrats and California Sen. Barbara Boxer objected to Ohio's results, citing 'numerous, serious election irregularities' that led to a 'a significant disenfranchisement of voters.'
At the time, CNN reported that the Democrats made their move to gain support for future election reform - not because they thought it would actually overturn the results of the election, which was won by Republican President George W. Bush.
Unlike Trump, who will likely applaud the effort, John Kerry, the 2004 Democratic nominee, put out a statement saying he would not take part in the protest.
'Our legal teams on the ground have found no evidence that would change the outcome of the election,' Kerry said.
No comments