House Republican urges GOP lawmakers to join effort to stop ‘illegitimate’ Biden win

Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) on Monday called on fellow House Republicans to sign on to his effort to challenge the certification of the Electoral College’s votes on Jan. 6, while blasting President-elect Joe Biden’s election victory as “illegitimate.”

During an interview with Fox Business Network’s Lou Dobbs, Brooks dismissed the idea that rejecting Electoral College submissions from states, a move that has not been made by Congress since the 1800s, was “unusual” and urged his fellow members to support the effort.

Brooks made the remarks shortly after Biden secured the number of electoral votes needed to secure his election, something expected but that received prominent media attention given President Trump’s refusal to concede his loss. 

“This is not unusual, the law is very clear, the House of Representatives in combination with the United States Senate has the lawful authority to accept or reject Electoral College submissions from states with such flawed election systems that they are not worthy of our trust,” Brooks said.

If a single U.S. senator joins Brooks in challenging the certification, it would force a debate and vote in the House and Senate. No senator has done so, and a number of Republicans the morning after Brooks spoke were signaling they did not want the party to move in that direction. 

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Tuesday congratulated Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on their victories.   

Congressional Challenge: @RepMoBrooks calls out the GOP’s Surrender Caucus, who refuse to join in with his plan to challenge fraudulent electoral college votes. #MAGA #AmericaFirst #Dobbs pic.twitter.com/G4WLPSrvOO

— Lou Dobbs (@LouDobbs) December 14, 2020

Federal and state election officials have said that there is no evidence of widespread voter fraud, and legal challenges by Trump and his allies have been rejected by courts.