Portman, up In ‘22, “swearing to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States. I plan on honoring that oath by supporting the state certifications and the will of the people. I will vote to certify in accordance with my duty under the Constitution.”
Capito, just re-elected: “Our democracy permits enjoying electoral victories, but its survival requires accepting defeats. Despite a landslide victory in West Virginia, President Trump lost his re-election bid by a margin of 306-232 in the Electoral College.”
Hawley fundraising message this afternoon: "When I took my Oath of Office, I swore to not only uphold the Constitution, but also to serve YOU! By objecting on January 6th, I am maintaining my obligations as a United States Senator"
Sen. Cramer, a Trump ally: “I will not object to the Electoral College votes when they are counted, and – unless overwhelmingly persuasive evidence is presented before the Senate when we debate the objections – I will not vote to reject the results.”
Sen. Hoeven, up in 2022: “The people of North Dakota do not want Congress to determine their vote, and we should not set the precedent by doing it for other states. Therefore, I do not plan to object.”
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McConnell actively sought to prevent his senators from challenging the election. Now that they are, he's not whipping anyone against it but has spoken to at least half the Senate GOP conference about the matter
@marianne_levine McConnell told senators on a recent conference call that “this is a very difficult decision for each one of you, you each have to make it yourselves,” recounted Sen. Cramer. “‘I've voted twice on declarations of war.’ And he said, ‘this is right up there.’"
@marianne_levine “He’s letting everybody reach their own conclusion here. That’s very much his leadership style on issues like this, is to not say much. I think he hopes we don’t have too many people vote to do this,” said one R senator
"I don't think he's enjoying it," deadpanned a second
R senator: “It’s infighting we don’t need before a very significant run-off ...There’s a lot of pressure to support the president [but] all of us are sworn to uphold the Constitution, not the presidency”
What’s happening within GOP echoes 2013 defund ACA fight, an effort that snowballs until it becomes a popular position. Cruz and Hawley similarly fundraising off election objections
But the stakes are different. This isn’t about policy, but about trust in elections
“I’m concerned about the division in America, that’s the biggest issue, but obviously this is not healthy for the Republican Party,” lamented Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.). “This is bad for the country and bad for the party.” (Ht @frankthorp)
Mitt Romney called Hawley’s move “disappointing and destructive. And borrowing from Ben Sasse it’s ambition pointing a gun at the head of democracy.”
“I’m going to vote to certify the election,” said Wicker. “I don’t think it’s a good idea and I don’t understand his reasoning”
“It seems to me this is an exercise in futility,” Cornyn said. “There are probably 70 million people who would rather see Trump elected. So I think it may not be very popular [in the GOP]. But sometimes you’ve got to do unpopular things because it’s the right thing to do”
Elizabeth Warren's next chapter -- pushing Biden + Dems to move ASAP in January
“Democrats need to deliver,” Warren said in interview. “No matter what. We have to use every tool, and we need to use it early, boldly, confidently, and unapologetically.”
AOC wants Pelosi + Schumer gone, Warren is on Schumer's leadership team and working w him on student loan cancellation
“Chuck Schumer has a hard job" .. student loans an “example of Chuck’s good partnership on things we’d like to get done. And using every tool available to us"
That NDAA override vote? It's in major part because Warren forced Confederate base renaming in it
"She realized what the interests were of Republicans and why we could and should stand on principle," says partner Rep. Anthony Brown. “This is real commitment"
Meanwhile on Senate floor, McConnell is attacking House Democrats' $2000 checks bill, says they want to send a "boatload of cash" to people making six-figures
Says Congress needs to send "smart targeted aid. Not another firehose of money"
!!! McConnell says the Senate is not going to split apart the Sect. 230/$2000 checks/election fraud commission bill
Schumer tries again to call up $2,000 check bill passed by House. McConnell objects