Only Three Republicans In Tennessee’s Congressional Delegation Have Not Yet Issued Support In The Effort To Stop The Certification of Electoral College Results.
Photo: Tennessee Senators Marsha Blackburn and Bill Haggerty
The Center Square [By Vivian Jones]-
All but three Republicans in Tennessee’s congressional delegation have said they will join an effort to stop Congress from certifying the results of the Electoral College and Joe Biden’s win in the 2020 presidential election.
Congress is scheduled to certify the results of the Electoral College when it convenes Wednesday, and it may consider objections to results from any state if a written objection is submitted and signed by at least one member from the House and Senate.
The effort opposing Electoral College certification is backed by Vice President Mike Pence and led in the House by Alabama Republican Rep. Mo Brooks. So far, at least 140 House Republicans are planning to object during the certification process, CNN reported.
At least 12 U.S. Senators have expressed plans to object to the Electoral College results. Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley announced his intention last week.
Over the weekend, 11 senators, including Tennessee Sens. Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty, released a lengthy statement explaining the election results may have been tainted by “unprecedented allegations of voter fraud, violations and lax enforcement of election law, and other voting irregularities.”
“Voter fraud has posed a persistent challenge in our elections, although its breadth and scope are disputed. By any measure, the allegations of fraud and irregularities in the 2020 election exceed any in our lifetimes,” the statement said. “Deep distrust of our democratic processes will not magically disappear. It should concern us all. And it poses an ongoing threat to the legitimacy of any subsequent administrations.”
Senators called for an Electoral Commission to be created with “full investigatory and fact-finding authority” to conduct a 10-day audit of election returns in disputed states.
Of the seven republicans in Tennessee’s U.S. House delegation, four have said they plan to join the objection effort.
Congressman Mark Green said last week he would support an effort to block congressional certification of Electoral College results.
Congressman Scott Desjarlais signed onto a letter sent by Texas Republican Rep. Brian Babin last month, pledging to object to Electoral College results.
Freshman Congresswoman Diana Harsbarger, who was sworn into office Sunday, released a statement explaining her plan to object.
“Multiple states are engaged in litigation and thousands of witnesses have submitted sworn affidavits of reported fraud related to the 2020 presidential election,” the statement read. “Our constituents demand that these reported gross violations of our elections process are investigated seriously with the intent of restoring confidence in our electoral process.”
Congressman Chuck Fleischmann also has said he will object to certification, citing precedent of objections made by Democrats to the 2000, 2004 and 2016 election results.
“There are a large number of Americans who do not have faith in the integrity of the 2020 presidential election,” Fleischmann said in a statement. “It would be a disservice to our future elections if we certify the Electoral College results and move on when there has not been any attempt to put the worries of many Americans at ease with a thorough investigation into the allegations of fraud and questions of election integrity.”
Only three Tennessee Republicans have not yet made statements on the matter, either in favor or opposed to rejecting the results of the Electoral College.
Congressman Tim Burchett’s office told The Center Square he does not intend to disclose how he plans to vote ahead of Wednesday. Congressman David Kustoff’s office said he will release a statement Wednesday.
Congressman John Rose has not made public statements on the matter, and his office did not respond to a request for comment.
2 Responses
Considering the thorough investigation of the January 6 Committee with the testimony of so many Republicans who exposed the “big lie”, it is irresponsible for the TN Republican congress members to blantanly follow the crowd. I for one continue to be embarassed by their refusal to respect the transfer of power of a fair and free election. Just because some Americans (for whatever reason) choose to believe the lie does,not make it true. The sad part is that either the TN Congress members actually believe the lie or they are following the instructions of this party boss. That is so sad.
Well said Renee! There are just too many RINO’s in TN that need to be voted out because their first commitment is to their own political careers instead of having a shred of integrity protecting this country and state.