The Texas lawsuit backing Trump’s effort to stay in power showcases the different incentives facing GOP lawmakers.
Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy this week joined 125 House GOP colleagues in support of an effort to subvert the presidential election. Most Senate Republicans aren’t going anywhere near it.
Not a single GOP senator has signed a “friend of the court” brief for the long-shot Texas lawsuit to throw out the results in other states in a bid to keep President Donald Trump in power. And there’s been no coordinated effort to get Republicans on board, according to interviews with more than a half-dozen Republican senators on Friday.
“Are they rolling one around here? I haven’t heard that. I haven’t heard anything about it here,” said Sen. Deb Fischer of Nebraska.
“They signed onto an amicus brief in the House. There’s no version of that in the Senate,” said Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida. “Amicus briefs can be important, but on a matter of this magnitude, I think the Supreme Court is going to make its decision whether or not it’s going to take the case based on the Constitution.”
While some are hedging on whether they support the lawsuit, and Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas has even offered to argue the case, it appears exceedingly unlikely there will be a serious Senate companion to House Republicans’ jaw-dropping effort to align themselves with Trump’s flailing court efforts.
Some Senate Republicans are actively criticizing the effort. Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska said it looks like “a fella begging for a pardon filed a PR stunt rather than a lawsuit,” a reference to the federal probe of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is spearheading the push. Sen. John Cornyn of Texas said the Senate GOP’s distance from an effort that’s so popular in the House “reflects skepticism about the legal theory about whether one state or a group of states can challenge state elections.”
“I’m surprised,” added Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. “Even more so, I was really disappointed that this is continuing in this way.”
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Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy this week joined 125 House GOP colleagues in support of an effort to subvert the presidential election.
Most Senate Republicans aren’t going anywhere near it. https://t.co/7D8pC1GGUW
— POLITICO (@politico) December 11, 2020
Sen. Alexander criticizes Texas lawsuit: "Can you imagine another state telling Tennessee how to count its votes to decide who the electors are?” https://t.co/Xg3donyhrw pic.twitter.com/uw82AsRPJY
— The Hill (@thehill) December 11, 2020
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