Top House Republican, Trump Allies Break With President As Efforts To Overturn Election Fail

Topline

More members of Congress and staunch Trump allies have shifted their positions on the election away from President Trump’s hardline refusal to concede in recent days as the president’s legal team has continued to face failure in their uphill battle to overturn results in key states.

Key Facts

On Saturday, Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney and the No. 3 Republican in the House, called on Trump to “fulfill his oath… by respecting the sanctity of our electoral process” if he fails to prove his so-far-unproven fraud claims.

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie – a member of Trump’s inner circle who assisted him with debate prep – called Trump’s legal efforts a “national embarrassment” and suggested “the evidence [of fraud] doesn’t exist” during an ABC appearance Sunday.

After a conservative federal judge in Pennsylvania delivered a sharply worded dismissal to a Trump lawsuit seeking to block certification of his state’s results on Saturday, Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) became the fifth GOP senator to congratulate Joe Biden on his win, calling him “president-elect” in a statement.

Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), who has been called Trump’s “Senate alter ego,” said Trump should be allowed to pursue legal avenues in a Meet The Press appearance Sunday, but said “there has to be an end” to them.

Crucial Quote

“I frankly do think it’s time — past time to at least cooperate with the transition,” Cramer said Sunday of the Trump administration’s continued refusal to make resources and officials available to the Biden transition team. Cramer called on the transition to start as soon as Monday to “give the incoming administration all the time they need.” Several other staunch Trump allies in the Senate have advocated for similar steps.

Key Background

Despite constantly making bold claims of widespread fraud, Trump and his legal team have failed to produce evidence and have consistently faced defeat in the courtroom. Even where Trump has succeeded, it has only marginally changed things in his favor. Nonetheless, they are determined to fight every battle, petitioning for a taxpayer-funded recount in Georgia even after the state certified its results when an initial, automatic recount affirmed Biden’s win there.

Tangent

With shrinking legal avenues, Trump has turned increasingly to putting pressure on state and local officials to help him overturn the results, including reportedly calling two GOP members of the Wayne County Board of Canvassers shortly before they sought to rescind their votes to certify the results and meeting with GOP leaders in the Michigan state legislature. Nonetheless, the lawmakers said after the meeting they still were “not aware” of information that would lead them to block certification of Biden’s win. 

Chief Critic

“Sorry Liz, can’t accept the results of an election with hundreds of thousands of fraudulent votes cast, enough to easily flip the Election,” Trump tweeted Sunday, without evidence, in response to Cheney, accusing her of being “unhappy that I’m bringing the troops back home where they belong!” Trump also took aim at U.S. District Court Judge Matthew Brann, a member of the conservative Federalist Society, calling him a “product of Senator Pat ‘No Tariffs’ Toomey of Pennsylvania, no friend of mine, & Obama.”

What To Watch For

Trump has signaled his willingness to retaliate against Republicans who break with him, frequently attacking Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger for presiding over an election he lost and hinting at support for a primary challenge to Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine for calling Biden “president-elect.” Already Trump’s recriminations have yielded tangible results, with Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) reportedly discussing a challenge to DeWine.


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