Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) said Sunday that lawmakers should welcome any debate over certification on January 6 but questioned whether “any new evidence” will be presented.
“We should welcome the debate. It is a very important issue,” Cornyn said Sunday, three days ahead of January 6 when Congress counts the Electoral College votes. “My question is, will there be any new evidence presented on the 6th? I, for one, am all ears”:
Twelve GOP senators have announced their intention to object to the certification, particularly in disputed states, although Cornyn has not formally joined his GOP colleagues.
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) was the first GOP senator to announce his intention to object to Electoral College votes, contending that some states, such as Pennsylvania, failed to follow their own state election laws.
“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 said, calling on Congress to investigate allegations of voter fraud and “adopt measures to secure the integrity of our elections.”
On Saturday, several GOP senators, led by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), announced in a joint-letter that they would reject the electors from disputed states “unless and until” an “emergency 10-day audit is completed.”
Lawmakers who joined Cruz include Ron Johnson (R-WI), James Lankford (R-OK), Steve Daines (R-MT), John Kennedy (R-LA), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), and Mike Braun (R-IN), and Sens.-elect Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Roger Marshall (R-KS), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), and Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), the latter of whom will be sworn in Sunday.
It remains unclear if other GOP senators will join them, as well as over 100 House Republicans, in objecting to the Electoral College votes Wednesday.