Even Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) — a close ally of President Trump who egged on his bogus claims of widespread voter fraud — on Sunday threw cold water onto Sen. Ted Cruz’s (R-TX) proposal for an election commission to probe President-elect Joe Biden’s victory, days before Congress will hold a joint session ratifying President-elect Joe Biden’s Electoral College win.
On Saturday, Cruz and a group of 10 GOP lawmakers announced a fresh effort to object to the votes by the Electoral College certifying Biden’s victory. Cruz and other Republican lawmakers who decided to go along with his gambit demanded the appointment of a commission to conduct a 10-day emergency audit, and to give individual states the chance to hold a special legislative session to certify or change its electoral votes.
Cruz’s effort followed Sen. Josh Hawley’s (R-MO) vow to object to the certification of the Electoral College votes by baselessly asserting that a handful of states lost by Trump, which includes the battleground state of Pennsylvania, failed to follow their own election laws.
A day after Republican lawmakers’ announced their intent to object to the Electoral College votes cementing Biden’s victory, Graham tweeted that the proposal led by Cruz for an election commission has “zero chance of becoming reality.”
Proposing a commission at this late date – which has zero chance of becoming reality – is not effectively fighting for President Trump.
It appears to be more of a political dodge than an effective remedy. https://t.co/4bIT1J36cL
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) January 3, 2021
Although Graham tweeted that he “looks forward” to hearing the objections of Cruz and other fellow Republican colleagues, the Trump ally casted doubt on their plans to object to electors by saying that they “have a high bar to clear.”
They will also need to provide clear and convincing evidence that the failure to act – in both the state and federal courts and the states legislatures which investigated these claims – was made in error.
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) January 3, 2021
My colleagues will have the opportunity to make this case, and I will listen closely. But they have a high bar to clear.
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) January 3, 2021
Graham — who was accused by Georgia secretary of state Brad Raffensperger of pressuring him to toss out legally cast ballots after Biden’s projected victory in November — wasn’t the only Republican on Sunday to throw cold water onto their fellow GOPers’ efforts to challenge Biden’s victory during the Jan. 6 congressional session that will certify the President-elect’s Electoral College win.
Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) on Sunday likened Republican efforts to challenge the Electoral College results cementing Biden’s win to “Don Quixote jousting at windmills” and that those efforts are “designed to fail.”
NEW: Republican @AsaHutchinson to @margbrennan as nearly 1/4 of Senate @GOP plan to challenge @JoeBiden's 2020 win
"Joe Biden is our President-Elect and he will be confirmed in that capacity…we should accept those results and move on to do some good things for our country" pic.twitter.com/C1EzOX6C7N
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) January 3, 2021
