WASHINGTON (AP) – Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday congratulated Democrat Joe Biden as president-elect, saying the Electoral College “has spoken.”
The Republican leader’s statement, delivered in a speech on the Senate floor, ends weeks of silence over the defeat of President Donald Trump. It came a day after voters gathered and officially affirmed Biden’s electoral victory.
“I want to congratulate President-elect Joe Biden,” McConnell said.
“Many of us had hoped the presidential election would yield a different result,” he said. “But our system of government has the processes to determine who will be invested on January 20. The Electoral College has spoken.”
McConnell called Biden someone “who has been engaged in public service for many years.” He also congratulated Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, saying that “all Americans can be proud that our nation has a female elected vice president for the first time.”
McConnell prologued his comments with deep praise for what he characterized as Trump’s “endless” accomplishments for four years in office. He said Trump and Vice President Mike Pence “deserve our thanks.”
The Senate leader cited Trump’s nomination and subsequent Senate confirmation of three Supreme Court justices, among other achievements.
McConnell’s statements follow a stretch by leading Republicans who said Monday for the first time that Biden is the winner of the presidential election, essentially abandoning President Donald Trump’s assault on the result after the Electoral College certified the vote.
For his part, Trump continued to push his baseless claims of “election fraud” in a new tweet Tuesday.
With the states claiming the results, Republicans faced a crucial decision: to declare Biden the president-elect, as the count showed, or to remain silent while Trump waged a potentially damaging campaign to cancel the election. ..
“At some point we have to tackle music,” said Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, the NO. 2 leader of the Republican Party. “Once the Electoral College resolves the issue today, it’s time for everyone to continue.”
Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri, chairman of the inaugural committee, said the group will now “deal with Vice President Biden as president-elect.”
Last week, Republicans on the investiture committee had declined to do so publicly. He said Monday’s vote at the Electoral School “was significant.”
The change comes almost six weeks after election day. Many Republicans spent time in silence, allowing Trump to launch an unprecedented challenge to the nation’s prized voting system.
Some Republican lawmakers have vowed to take the fight to Jan. 6 when Congress votes to accept or reject the results of the Electoral College. Others have said Trump’s legal battles should continue toward resolution on the day of the inauguration, Jan. 20..
“It’s a very, very narrow path for the president,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham, RS.C., a Trump ally. “But that said, I think we will let these legal challenges develop.”
Historians and election officials have warned that Trump’s unfounded allegations of election fraud threaten to erode Americans’ faith in the electoral system and that lawmakers have a responsibility under oath to defend the Constitution.
“The campaign to nullify the result is a dangerous thing,” said Julian Zelizer, a professor of history and public policy at Princeton.
“This is a Republican operation, not a presidential operation,” Zelizer said. “Without his silence, he couldn’t do what he’s doing.”
Trump is trying to throw the ballot boxes of thousands of Americans, particularly those who voted by mail, into dozens of demands that have largely failed. His legal team claims irregularities, though Attorney General William Barr, who abruptly resigned Monday, said there is no evidence of widespread fraud. this would alter the election results. State election officials, including Republicans, have said the election was fair and valid.
In a decisive blow to Trump’s legal efforts, the Supreme Court last week refused to take two of his cases challenged the electoral process in key states. About 120 Republicans in the House signed the failed Texas lawsuit, which asked the Supreme Court to take the case with the goal of launching election results in the swing states of Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and Georgia.
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who volunteered to argue the case before the Supreme Court, held a phone call Monday asking for “participation in the fight to defend the integrity” of the election.
A House Republican, Rep. Mo Brooks of Alabama, has vowed to challenge the results of the Electoral College on Jan. 6, when Congress convenes a joint session to receive the result.
At that time, any challenge to Congress should be posed by at least one member of the House and Senate. It is unclear whether any Republican Party senator will join the presentation of the case. It seems very unlikely that there will be enough support in Congress to cancel the election.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said Monday it’s as if Biden had to win “over and over again” before Republicans accept it.
Representative Alex Mooney, RW.Va., last week introduced a resolution in Congress suggesting that no one be declared president-elect until all investigations are completed. He proposed it after voters confronted him last month demanding more of him to support Trump.
The second round of Georgia elections, which will decide control of the Senate on January 5, will stand out. Current Republican Senators David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler need Trump’s support to defend their seats against challenging Democrats Jon Ossoff and Rafael Warnock.