President Trump was expected to spend New Year's Eve at his Mar-a-Lago estate
Credit: AP
Donald Trump is skipping his New Year’s Eve party at his Florida club to return to the White House, where he is expected to focus his energy on plans to disrupt the certification of Joe Biden’s win by Congress next week.
The US president is leaving Mar-a-Lago, his private members club in Palm Beach, on Thursday — a day earlier than anticipated — to return to Washington in what has been seen as a last-ditch attempt to overturn Mr Biden’s electoral victory.
Mr Trump’s schedule change came hours after a Republican senator announced he would object to the formal certification of Mr Biden’s election win in Congress next week, forcing a debate on the issue.
Mr Trump typically spends New Year’s Eve hosting a glitzy party at Mar-a-Lago for the club’s members. This year some have reportedly paid around $1,000 on tickets in the expectation of ringing in the new year alongside the president.
It comes as Mr Trump ramped up pressure on Republicans to contest the certification of the Electoral College vote and called on his supporters to protest the ceremony which takes place in Congress on January 6.
"JANUARY SIXTH, SEE YOU IN DC!" Mr Trump said in one tweet on Wednesday.
JANUARY SIXTH, SEE YOU IN DC!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 30, 2020
The certification of the Electoral College vote in Congress, traditionally a mere formality, has taken on new significance this year after Republican senator Josh Hawley announced he would be contesting the certification.
Mr Hawley, who represents Missouri in the Senate, said he was objecting to the certification on behalf of the “millions of voters concerned about election integrity", despite no evidence of electoral fraud.
The move by Mr Hawley, who is rumoured to be considering a presidential run in 2024, will not alter the outcome of the election but it could create an awkward scenario for many Republicans.
By law, if any member of the House of Representatives, joined by a senator, objects to the electoral college tallies, both chambers must debate and then vote on the results.
Trump supporters wave as the president's motorcade passes by in West Palm Beach, Florida
Credit: AP
Some House Republicans have heeded Mr Trump’s demand to challenge the vote during the certification process, meaning a vote in both chambers is expected.
The challenge is all but certain to fail, but it will force many of Mr Trump’s Republican allies in the Senate into an uncomfortable vote that puts them at odds with the president.
Jen Psaki, Mr Biden’s spokeswoman, dismissed the significance of the plans to contest the electoral college results, saying: “the American people spoke resoundingly in this election” and the role of Congress was “merely a formality.”
“Regardless of whatever antics anyone is up to on January 6th, president-elect Biden will be sworn in on the 20th,” she added.
Meanwhile Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader in the Senate, also broke with Mr Trump on his demands to increase coronavirus relief aid payments to Americans from $600 to $2,000.
Mr McConnell declined to introduce a speedy vote on the measure which is supported by Democrats and passed in the House of Representatives earlier this week.
Mr McConnell, who has opposed the additional cost to the public purse string, appeared to shrug off Trump’s request, saying: "The Senate is not going to be bullied into rushing out more borrowed money into the hands of Democrats’ rich friends who don’t need the help."
The tensions among Republicans have been exacerbated by a second showdown over an effort in Congress to override Mr Trump’s veto of a defense policy bill.
The House of Representatives voted to overturn Mr Trump’s veto of the bill on Monday and it appears that the Senate has the votes needed to join the measure.
The Senate is expected to vote on the veto on Friday. If successful, the effort would lead to the first veto override of Mr Trump’s presidency.
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