U.S. Senate Votes 93-6 Against Objection To Arizona’s Electoral College Vote And House Of Representatives Votes Against, 303-121.
Photo: In this image from video, Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., speaks as the Senate reconvenes Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, to debate the objection to confirm the Electoral College vote from Arizona after protesters stormed into the U.S. Capitol.
Photo Credit: Senate Television via AP
Published January 7, 2021
The Center Square [By Ted O’Neil]-
The U.S. Senate voted 93-6 on Wednesday night against an objection to Arizona’s Electoral College vote.
After a delay of several hours because protesters from a pro-Trump rally stormed the U.S. Capitol building, the U.S. House and Senate returned to their respective chambers Wednesday night to vote on the Arizona objection and continue certifying electoral votes from all the states.
The six Republican senators who voted in favor of the Arizona objection were Ted Cruz of Texas, Josh Hawley of Missouri, John Kennedy of Louisiana, Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi, Roger Marshall of Kansas and Tommy Tuberville of Alabama.
Shortly after the Senate rejected the Arizona objection, the House voted against it, 303-121. All 220 Democrats in the House and 83 Republicans voted to reject the objection.
Earlier in the day, as per procedure, a joint session of the House and Senate was gaveled open by Vice President Mike Pence shortly after 1 p.m. After the electoral votes from Alabama and Alaska were certified Republican Arizona Rep. Paul Gosar objected, with the support of Cruz, to Arizona’s electoral vote.
The House and Senate retired to their separate chambers for debate about 1:30 p.m. By 2:15 p.m., the two chambers had to be evacuated as the protesters entered the Capitol building.
Before the disruption, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky, and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York echoed each other’s sentiments, saying it was not the job of Congress to pick the president.
McConnell, who already had recognized former Vice President Joe Biden as the next president, said he supported President Donald Trump’s quest to challenge results in a number of states.
“Now we have these sweeping conspiracy theories, even though his challenges were rejected over and over, including some by judges he appointed,” McConnell said.
It is unclear whether further objections might be filed as several Republicans said they no longer would support the effort. The GOP originally considered objections regarding Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Nevada and Wisconsin.
Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, a Republican from Washington, was one of the first to announce she was changing her stance on the objections.
“We must have a peaceful transfer of power,” she said in a statement. “The only reason for my objection was to give voice to the concern that governors and courts unilaterally changed election procedures without the will of the people and outside the legislative process.”
McMorris Rodgers said what happened at the Capitol was “disgraceful and un-American.”
Republican Sens. Steve Daines of Montana and James Lankford of Oklahoma also said they no longer would vote in favor of objections.
