Updated: March 8, 2021
The certification of Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s win will likely be delayed for a few hours in Congress on January 6, 2021, after Josh Hawley became the first Republican senator to say he will symbolically try to overturn the results for President Donald J. Trump who was defeated by Biden.
“Millions of voters concerned about election integrity deserve to be heard. I will object on January 6 on their behalf,” he tweeted on Wednesday.
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Hawley’s objection will most likely prove only symbolic, as both chambers of Congress will have to vote to overturn the election results. The Democrats control the House of Representatives and are fighting in Georgia to take control of the Senate also.
Hawley cited baseless and discredited voter fraud claims to back his decision, and accused the state of Pennsylvania of failing to adhere to its election laws by extending the deadline for mail-in ballots. That last argument has been repeatedly rejected by federal courts.
The Republican senator also accused social media companies of election interference that favored Biden.
“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,” he added.
Hawley said “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.”
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