Republican senator to contest Electoral College win for Joe Biden 

Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri breaks with Mitch McConnell, Senate Majority Leader, in declaring he would contest the certification of electoral vote

Credit: AP

A Republican senator on Wednesday announced that he would object next week when Congress convenes to certify the electoral college vote, in a doomed attempt to upend Joe Biden’s victory.

Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri broke with Mitch McConnell, Senate Majority Leader, and other prominent Republicans in declaring he would contest the certification of electoral college vote, following calls to do so from President Donald Trump.

The challenge, which would prompt a floor debate and force senators to go on the record as to whether they believe there were voting irregularities in the November 3 election, means there will be at least a short delay in Mr Biden’s confirmation.

Mr Trump will inevitably lose that vote, as Democrats control the House and a number of Senate Republicans have publicly recognised Mr Biden’s victory, including Senator Mitt Romney, who has called the president’s refusal to accept the election dangerous.

Even in the unlikely event that Mr Trump were to prevail in the Senate, where Mike Pence, Vice President, would be in position to cast a tie-breaking vote if needed, the challenge still would fail given the House vote.

Mr McConnell and other senior Republicans had sought to avoid a vote that will see Republicans forced to take sides either with or against the president. 

Mr Hawley, a constitutional lawyer, said he felt compelled to highlight purported election irregularities despite there being no evidence of any.

“Millions of voters concerned about election integrity deserve to be heard,” he wrote on Twitter. “I will object on January 6 on their behalf.”

“At the very least, Congress should investigate allegations of voter fraud and adopt measures to secure the integrity of our elections. But Congress has so far failed to act,” Mr Hawley said. 

The 40-year-old senator is rumoured to be positioning himself as a potential 2024 presidential candidate, and his move could be designed to appeal to the tens of millions of loyal Trump supporters.

The Department of Justice, the Department for Homeland Security, election boards, judges, and other authorities have found no evidence of election malfeasance that impacted the President-elect Biden’s decisive win. The US Supreme Court has also declined to intervene. 

Any member of the House or Senate can contest the electoral votes on January 6. 

On Wednesday, Mr Pence refused to sign on to a plan that would upend Congress certifying the election for Mr Biden. 

Representative Louie Gohmert and Arizona’s slate of Republican Electoral College “electors” filed a federal lawsuit to get a judge to say Mr Pence has the power to pick pro-Trump electors when he presides over the January Congressional session.