A Republican senator said he will raise objections next week when the US Congress meets to affirm President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in the election, forcing House and Senate votes that are likely to delay, but in no way alter, the final certification of Mr Biden’s win.
President Donald Trump has, without evidence, claimed there was widespread fraud in the election.
He has pushed Republican senators to pursue his charges even though the Electoral College this month cemented Mr Biden’s 306-232 victory and multiple legal efforts to challenge the results have failed.
A group of Republicans in the Democratic-majority House have already said they will object on Mr Trump’s behalf during the January 6 count of electoral votes, and they had needed just a single senator to go along with them to force votes in both chambers.
Millions of voters concerned about election integrity deserve to be heard. I will object on January 6 on their behalf pic.twitter.com/kTaaPPJGHE
Advertisement— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) December 30, 2020
Without giving specifics or evidence, Josh Hawley, a Republican from Missouri, said he would object because “some states, including notably Pennsylvania” did not follow their own election laws.
Lawsuits challenging Mr Biden’s victory in Pennsylvania have been unsuccessful.
“At the very least, Congress should investigate allegations of voter fraud and adopt measures to secure the integrity of our elections,” Mr Hawley said in a statement.
He also criticised the way Facebook and Twitter handled content related to the election, characterising it as an effort to help Mr Biden.
Biden transition spokeswoman Jen Psaki dismissed Mr Hawley’s move as “antics” that will have no bearing on Mr Biden being sworn in on January 20.
“The American people spoke resoundingly in this election and 81 million people have voted for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris,” Ms Psaki said in a call with reporters.
She added: “Congress will certify the results of the election as they do every four years.”
