McConnell throws SUPPORT to bill that would prevent Presidents from trying to overturn elections
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Mitch McConnell ‘proudly’ casts SUPPORT behind bill that would make it harder for future presidents to try to undo elections and give VP limited role in counting process in aftermath of Jan. 6
- His support comes a week after the House passed its version
- Both bills seek to clarify the role of VP as purely ceremonial during vote counting
- Trump demanded in 2020 that Mike Pence refuse to accept certified votes
- Both bills raise the threshold for objecting to votes while counting
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Senate Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday backed his support for legislation to reform the Electoral Count Act, saying it would avoid the “chaos” that occurred in 2020 when Congress met on Jan. 6 to count the electoral votes.
McConnell made his statement on the Senate floor as the Senate committee ready to consider legislation that has already received bipartisan support, with the potential to emerge in a “lame duck” session after the election.
The House put forth its own version last week, co-authored by GOP Rep. Liz Cheney (Wyo.) and Zoe Lofgren (R-Calif.), both of whom are members of the House select committee investigating the events of Jan. 6.
“I fully support the modest changes that our colleagues in the working group have been working out after months of detailed discussions,” McConnell said, adding that he would be “proud to support” as long as no more than “technical changes” are made to it. the.
Senate Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said he “proudly supports” legislation that will amend the Electoral Count Act and aim to discourage frivolous challenges to state-certified electoral votes
He thanked eight other Republicans who support it, Sens. Susan Collins, Shelley Moore Capito, Lisa Murkowski, Rob Portman, Mitt Romney, Ben Sasse, Thom Tillis and Todd Young, in the final sign that there will be enough support for a thwart. Backers have already said they have 10 Republican supporters.
McConnell, who denounced Trump in a speech on the floor after Jan. 6, also took a shot at Democrats, who had raised objections during the electoral count in the past — but never when a candidate and allies pushed for it. undo the results as in 2020.
“The Congressional process for counting the votes of the presidential election was written 135 years ago. The chaos that came to a head on January 6 last year certainly underlined the need for an update. The same was true for January 2001, 2005 and 2017; in each of them, the Democrats were trying to challenge the legitimate election of a Republican president,” McConnell said.
The House version of the legislation to amend the 1887 Act passed by the House last week by a vote of 229-203, with only nine Republicans, including Cheney, crossing the aisle to support it.
GOP Rep. Liz Cheney co-sponsored a house version of similar legislation
Both bills clarify that the role of the vice president is ministerial role when Congress meets to count state-certified electoral votes after people vote
Former President Donald Trump repeatedly attacked Mike Pence for failing to reject votes from states he lost where he alleged fraud
Riots in the Capitol broke out as lawmakers gathered to count the electoral votes
Nine Republicans voted with Democrats in favor of the bill
Both bills make it more difficult for members to object to a state’s party electoral votes. Currently, it only takes one MP and one senator to object and start a debate.
The House version would require a third of the members in each room for that to happen. The Senate would set the threshold at one-fifth of the members.
A total of 147 Republicans — eight senators and 139 members of the House — voted not to accept votes certified by states in 2020. That represents a strong majority of the House GOP conference.
Those massive challenges to the vote, certified by both Democratic and Republican states, came amid a complex attempt to topple the election by Trump and his allies, which is also the subject of an investigation by the House Jan. 6th Committee, in which Cheney has played a leading role.
Some members of the crowd chanted on January 6 to “hang Mike Pence,” and Trump tweeted that day that his vice president lacked the “courage” to do what needed to be done.
Senate Democrats had also pushed for voting rights legislation to be included as part of the package, but it fell away amid opposition from the GOP.
Legislative pressure comes as the Justice Department investigates a plan by Trump supporters to submit “fake” voters to the National Archives for Congressional census. It came as some Trump supporters tried to delay the count that would make the election of President Joe Biden official.