By Nicholas Fandos Dec. 14, 2020
Support for President Trump’s attempt to overturn his election loss began to collapse in the Senate on Monday after the Electoral College certified President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s victory, with many top Republicans saying the time had come to recognize results that have been evident for weeks.
While they insisted that Mr. Trump could still challenge the results in court, the senators said the certification should be considered the effective conclusion of an election that has fiercely divided the country.
“I understand there are people who feel strongly about the outcome of this election, but in the end, at some point, you have to face the music,” Senator John Thune of South Dakota, Republicans’ No. 2, told reporters in the Capitol. “And I think once the Electoral College settles the issue today, it’s time for everybody to move on.”
“The presidential election is over. States have certified the votes. Courts have resolved disputes. The electors have voted. I hope that President Trump will put the country first.”
Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tennessee
But not every senator agreed with this approach. Some gave equivocal responses. Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader, stayed conspicuously silent on Monday, declining to acknowledge Mr. Biden’s victory. But a majority (of senators) had gone to great rhetorical lengths to avoid enraging a president who could turn their own voters against them — even as they privately conceded he had lost.
“Yeah, yeah it’s a very, very narrow path for the president. I don’t see how it gets there from here, given what the Supreme Court did. But having said that, I think we’ll let those legal challenges play out.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-SC
Others avoided the question.
“My answer consistently has been we have a system of law in the United States and the Electoral College is part of that, and once the Electoral College has spoken then, uh, and then President Trump has the right to his legal challenges like anybody else does, and until both are resolved we have to watch it.”
Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho
What legal challenges is he talking about? (from Buzzfeed.com’s Zoe Tillman)
- A case filed in the US Supreme Court on Dec. 8 by L. Lin Wood Jr. who repeatedly lost a case he filed in federal court in Georgia challenging the election results there. Wood has petitioned the US Supreme Court to hear his case.
- The Arizona Supreme Court on Dec. 8 rejected an election contest brought by Arizona Republican Party Chair Kelli Ward challenging ballots cast in Maricopa County. Ward filed a petition on Friday asking the US Supreme Court to take the case.
- The US Supreme Court on Dec. 8 refused to immediately take up a challenge in Pennsylvania brought by Rep. Mike Kelly and other Republicans after they lost in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court; that case, initially filed in late November, contested a state law expanding mail-in voting that passed more than a year ago. Kelly filed another petition asking the Supreme Court to consider the case on the merits on Friday.
Why is it so hard for people to just admit that Biden won? Why can’t they call him “president-elect?”
I don’t know. Last night, Fox News was talking about Hunter Biden, not the outcome of the Electoral College vote. I’m not sure what a non-candidate, unelected, not appointed to anything adult child has to do with acknowledging Joe Biden’s win. If you know, please explain it to me.