Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) announced on Wednesday that he will object during the election certification process in Congress on Jan. 6.
“Millions of voters concerned about election integrity deserve to be heard. I will object on January 6 on their behalf,” he wrote on Twitter.
Hawley is the first Republican senator to back the conservative House effort to force a debate and vote in the House and Senate on the suspicious election results.
“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,” Hawley said in a statement.
“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,” the Missouri senator added.
Millions of voters concerned about election integrity deserve to be heard. I will object on January 6 on their behalf pic.twitter.com/kTaaPPJGHE
— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) December 30, 2020
Hawley pointed out in his statement that Democrats previously objected during the certification process for the 2004 and 2016 Presidential elections.
“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,” he said.
In January of 2005, a total of 31 Congressional Democrats voted to reject Ohio’s electoral votes for George W. Bush, including Senator Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-Ohio).
Said Stephanie Tubs-Jones on Jan. 6, 2005: “I raise this objection because I am convinced that we as a body must conduct a formal and legitimate debate about Election irregularities.”
Years later, Boxer told CNN that she viewed her 2005 objection as “her proudest moment on the Senate floor.”
Nancy Pelosi at the time praised the objections, saying Democrats were “speaking up for their aggrieved constituents” during “their only opportunity to have this debate while the country is listening”
“We are witnessing Democracy at work, ”said Pelosi. “[T]oday we are witnessing democracy at work. This is not, as some of our Republican colleagues have referred to it, sadly, frivolous. This debate is fundamental to our democracy.”
In 2017, at least seven House Democrats sought to object to President Trump’s electoral votes.
A group of House conservatives led by Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) have previously announced a plan to challenge the tally of Electoral College vote on Jan. 6 due to the “flawed election systems” in states like Georgia and Pennsylvania. They needed at least one senator to also object in order to force a debate and vote, and Hawley stepped up.
According to Congressional Research Service, this will be the third time Congress has had to debate an objection since 1887.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer D-N.Y.) did not seem concerned by the development, saying flatly in a tweet that Biden and Sen. Kamala Harris will be sworn in on Jan. 20 for President and Vice President of the United States.
These are facts:
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’s historic victory will be officially recognized next week by the United States Congress.
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will be sworn in January 20th as the President and Vice President of the United States.
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) December 30, 2020
Update:
The official Walmart Twitter account mocked Hawley’s gambit, Wednesday morning, using the hashtag #soreloser.
.@Walmart. Not a good look. pic.twitter.com/HOgD4fFnJp
— intheMatrixxx (@intheMatrixxx) December 30, 2020
Although the tweet was removed and Walmart apologized, it is unclear whether the corporation plans to fire the employee who wrote the wayward post.
“The tweet was mistakenly posted by a member of our social media team who intended to publish this comment to their personal account,” said Walmart’s Senior Manager of National Media Relations Casey Staheli.
“We have removed the post and have no intention of commenting on the subject of certifying the electoral college,” the spokesman continued. “We apologize to Senator Hawley for this error and any confusion about our position.”