Joe Biden: Mike Pence ‘welcomes’ senators’ bid to derail President-elect’s election victory

The Democrat is due to be inaugurated as president on January 20
AP

US Vice-President Mike Pence has welcomed efforts by a group of senators to derail Joe Biden's presidential election victory.

Ted Cruz is among 11 Republicans who want a 10-day delay in certifying the result to audit baseless allegations of voter fraud.

The move is almost certain to fail as most senators are expected to endorse Biden on January 6.

The Democrat is due to be inaugurated as president on January 20.

President Donald Trump has refused to concede the November 3 election, repeatedly alleging fraud without providing any evidence.

President Trump and first lady Melania Trump descend from Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland
Donald Trump with First Lady Melania 
REUTERS

Mr Pence stopped short of echoing allegations of election fraud.  

But on Saturday, his chief of staff Marc Short said Mr Pence shared “the concerns of millions of Americans about voter fraud and irregularities”.

As president of the Senate, Mr Pence will have the responsibility of overseeing the session on January 6 and declaring Mr Biden the winner.

All 50 states have certified the election result, some after recounts and legal appeals.

So far, US courts have rejected 60 lawsuits the president and his allies have filed challenging election results, nearly all have been dismissed or dropped. He has also lost twice at the US Supreme Court.

Mr Trump’s refusal to accept his defeat is threatening to tear the party apart as Republicans are forced to make consequential choices that will set the contours of the post-Trump era.  

Mr Cruz is among potential 2024 presidential contenders.

Ted Cruz is among 11 Republicans who want to block the certification of Joe Biden’s election win
AP

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had urged his party not to try to overturn what nonpartisan election officials have concluded was a free and fair vote.

The 11 senators largely acknowledged on Saturday they will not succeed in preventing Mr Biden from being inaugurated after he won the Electoral College 306-232.

But their challenges, and those from House Republicans, represent the most sweeping effort to undo a presidential election outcome since the Civil War.

“We do not take this action lightly,” Mr Cruz and the other senators said in a joint statement.

They vowed to vote against certain state electors on Wednesday unless Congress appoints an electoral commission to immediately conduct an audit of the election results.

They are zeroing in on the states where Mr Trump has raised unfounded claims of voter fraud. Congress is unlikely to agree to their demand.

The group, which presented no new evidence of election problems, includes senators Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, James Lankford of Oklahoma, Steve Daines of Montana, John Kennedy of Louisiana, Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee and Mike Braun of Indiana, and senators-elect Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, Roger Marshall of Kansas, Bill Hagerty of Tennessee and Tommy Tuberville of Alabama.

Mr Trump, the first president to lose a re-election bid in almost 30 years, has attributed his defeat to widespread voter fraud, despite the consensus of nonpartisan election officials and even the attorney general that there was none.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in