WASHINGTON (AP) – Republican lawmakers staging an unprecedented effort to get Joe Biden’s election victory over President Donald Trump have not yet established a full strategy ahead of Wednesday’s joint session of Congress to confirm the Electoral College to vote.
With increasing desperation, Trump declared at a campaign rally in Georgia on Monday that he would “fight hard” to hold on to the presidency and appealed to Republican lawmakers to reverse his election loss.
But those Republicans leading the protracted effort in Congress still decide the details of their strategy. A late evening meeting convened by Senator Ted Cruz, R-Texas, came to few conclusions, according to two Republicans who were familiar with the situation and had granted anonymity to discuss it. Cruz will object to election results from Arizona, another Republican said. That’s probably the first objection to consider, in a state that won Biden.
Trump’s attempt to enlist his allies to overturn Biden’s 306-232 election victory is unlike anything ever attempted in modern times, and it will almost certainly fail. Biden will be inaugurated on January 20.
Still, the coming days will determine his presidency. Trump is calling for crowds and people are gathering in Washington, where security is on the alert. Lawmakers are told to arrive at the Capitol early and some are considering sleeping in their offices at night to ensure they can access the building safely.
Trump, at the evening rally in Georgia before two GOP senators in second elections, promised that the voters who voted for Biden, “will not take this White House!”
Trump’s repeated claims about voter fraud have been outright dismissed by Republican and Democratic election officials in state after state and judges, including Supreme Court justices. Former Trump Attorney General William Barr has also said there is no evidence of fraud that could alter the election results.
Vice President Mike Pence will be watched closely as he chairs the session. He is under increasing pressure from Trump and others to tip the results in Trump’s favor. But Pence has a ceremonial role that doesn’t give him the power to influence the outcome.
“I promise you this: Wednesday we have our day in Congress,” Pence said as he himself campaigned in Georgia in the run-up to Tuesday’s election that will determine control of the Senate.
Trump said in Georgia, “I hope our great Vice President comes for us. He’s a great guy. If he doesn’t come through, of course I won’t like him that much. He added, “No, Mike is a great guy.”
One of the Georgia Republicans in Tuesday’s round – Senator Kelly Loeffler, who faces Democrat Raphael Warnock – told the crowd that she will join senators formally objecting to Biden’s victory. The other Republican seeking reelection, David Perdue, who is up against Democrat Jon Ossoff, is not eligible to vote.
The attempt to reverse the presidential election splits the Republican Party.
Those leading congressional efforts to keep Trump in office are rushing forward, despite a stream of condemnation from current and former party officials warning that the effort is undermining Americans’ confidence in democracy.
Senator Josh Hawley from Missouri and Cruz, along with regular House members, help out the challenge, some on the fringes of the party.
Under the rules of the joint session, any objection to a state’s round of elections must be made by at least one member of the House and one of the Senate for consideration.
House Republican lawmakers are objecting to election votes in six states: Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Ohio Representative Jim Jordan, one of Trump’s best allies and highest Republican on the judicial committee, is one of those leading that effort.
The day begins with an alphabetical reading of the state’s results.
Cruz’s objection to Arizona is likely to be heard first. And Hawley has said he will object to the election results from Pennsylvania, almost ensuring a debate on that state.
But it’s unclear whether any of the other senators will object to other states.
Cruz’s coalition has said it will vote to reject the electoral college unless Congress sets up a committee to immediately audit the election results. Congress is unlikely to agree. That remains his focus, one of the Republicans said, not to “set aside” the election results.
Loeffler may join House Republicans to appeal Georgia, but has not said so publicly.
Senate leader Mitch McConnell has tried to prevent his party from participating in this struggle, which could help define the GOP in the post-Trump era.
Both Hawley and Cruz are potential presidential candidates for 2024, vying for Trump support.
More current and former GOP officials rebuked the attempt to turn the election upside down.
A line of Republican officials – including Maryland Governor Larry Hogan; Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, House GOP leader’s third rank; and former House Speaker Paul Ryan – have criticized the GOP’s efforts to reverse the election.
The US Chamber of Commerce, the gigantic lobbying organization and virtual embodiment of the business establishment, said the election challenge “undermines our democracy and the rule of law and will only result in further divisions in our country.”
“The 2020 election is over,” said a statement Sunday from a bipartisan group of 10 senators, including Republicans Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Mitt Romney of Utah.
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Associated Press writers Bill Barrow in Atlanta, Steve LeBlanc in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Jim Salter in O’Fallon, Missouri, Alan Fram in Washington and Tali Arbel of the Technology Team contributed.