McConnell Firmly Breaks With Trump: Condemns His ‘Sweeping Conspiracy Theories’
Topline
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Wednesday made a rare break with President Donald Trump, vowing to vote against objections to President-elect Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory and slamming Trump’s efforts to overturn the election.
UNITED STATES – January 6: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., makes his way to his … [+]
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Key Facts
“We’re debating a step that has never been taken in American history. Whether Congress should overrule the voters and overturn a presidential election,” McConnell said at the start of his remarks during a Senate debate on an objection to Arizona’s electors lodged by Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.).
McConnell, typically a loyal ally to the president throughout his administration, had tried to stop members of his caucus from objecting to the Electoral College, believing the resulting vote would prove politically damaging to many vulnerable GOP incumbents.
McConnell took aim at the claims of widespread voter fraud that have underpinned Trump’s efforts to overturn the election, slamming them as “sweeping conspiracy theories” that have been rejected by “courtrooms all across our country.”
“I supported the president’s right to use the legal system,” McConnell added, expressing his belief that there was at least some fraud and offering his support for “strong, state-led voting reforms.”
But, he said, “the voters, the courts and the states have all spoken,” arguing that overruling them would “damage our republic forever” and cause democracy to “enter a death spiral.”
Crucial Quote
“I will not pretend such a vote would be a harmless protest gesture while relying on others to do the right thing,” McConnell concluded. “I will vote to respect the peoples’ decision and respect our system of government as we know it.”
Surprising Fact
McConnell was in rare agreement with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who said Republican senators objecting to electors “embarrass themselves, embarrass their party, and worst of all, embarrass their country.” Schumer took it one step further, labeling the objections an “attempted coup.”
Chief Critic
Trump took aim at McConnell and other Republicans who do not support his efforts during a speech to supporters outside the White House on Wednesday, labeling them “weak Republicans” and vowing to work to unseat them in primaries. “I helped them get elected. I helped Mitch get elected,” Trump added. “They’re pathetic Republicans.”
Tangent
Cruz pushed back against Schumer and McConnell’s claims that his objection is aimed at overturning the election, stating “Let me be clear, I am not arguing for setting aside the results of this election.” Instead, he said, his objection was aimed at getting Congress to consider allegations of voter fraud and that voting against it is “a statement that voter fraud doesn’t matter, isn’t real and shouldn’t be taken seriously.”
What To Watch For
Republicans are expected to object to electors from at least six states, with each objection prompting two hours of debate, meaning certification of Biden’s victory could be delayed until late Wednesday or early Thursday. However, comfortable majorities in both chambers have said they will vote against objections, meaning certification of Biden’s win remains inevitable.
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