GOP Senator Josh Hawley to Object to Electoral College Certification

Josh Hawley has announced he will object to the formal Electoral College Certification in the Senate on January 6th.

In a statement released on his twitter account, Hawley said, “Millions of voters concerned about election integrity deserve to be heard.”

Hawley, a Republican, has represented Missouri since he beat Democrat Claire McCaskill in the 2018 Senate race. He previously served as the state’s Attorney General.

He is a staunch ally of President Donald Trump, and is the first senator to announce a formal objection to the certification, joining several Republican members of the House.

This will force the Senate to take a vote on the issue, and it is expected the majority of Republican senators will object. Despite Trump’s repeated claims of voter fraud, his arguments have not held weight in state and federal courts, and the Supreme Court has similarly ruled against cases made on the Trump campaign’s behalf.

Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, has publicly congratulated Joe Biden as “President-elect.”

Hawley’s statement reads, “Following both the 2004 and 2016 elections, Democrats in Congress objected during the certification of electoral votes in order to raise concerns about election integrity. They were praised by Democratic leadership and the media when they did. And they were entitled to do so. But now those of us concerned about the integrity of this election are entitled to do the same. I cannot vote to certify the electoral college results on January 6 without raising the fact that some states, particularly Pennsylvania, failed to follow their own state election laws. And I cannot vote to certify without pointing out the unprecedented effort of mega corporations, including Facebook and Twitter, to interfere in this election, in support of Joe Biden. 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. For these reasons, I will follow the same practice Democrat members of Congress have in years past and object during the certification process on January 6 to raise these critical issues.”

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smarcus@hamodia.com