Patrick Semansky, File/Associated Press
- GOP Rep. Chip Roy of Texas objected to seating 67 elected House members from battleground states today, in response to his colleagues that plan to object to certifying the presidential election results.
- Roy said “it would confound basic human reason if the presidential results were to face objection while the congressional results of the same process escaped without public scrutiny.”
- At least 140 House Republicans are planning to vote against certifying the presidential election results on Wednesday, though the effort cannot affect the results of the vote in any US state.
- Roy is among a group of seven House Republicans that have said they do not support the effort to vote against certification of the Electoral College vote.
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Republican Rep. Chip Roy of Texas objected to seating 67 elected House members from battleground states today, in response to his colleagues that plan to object to certifying the presidential election results.
Roy, who does not support objecting to the presidential results, said in a statement that “it would confound basic human reason if the presidential results were to face objection while the congressional results of the same process escaped without public scrutiny.”
He objected to seating representatives from Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, citing his colleagues that have said they will object to the presidential electors from those states on the basis that their elections were subject to “statewide, systemic fraud and abuse.”
President Donald Trump and his allies have spread claims of fraud since the election, however none have held up in court and the Justice Department said it found no evidence of fraud that would affect the outcome.
Roy argued that if those allegations raise significant doubts about the presidential election, they should also call the congressional races into question, as they all occured under the same election systems.
His objections did not block the seating of the House members, as the 117th Congress was sworn in on Sunday.
—Rep. Chip Roy (@RepChipRoy) January 3, 2021
President-elect Joe Biden won the election by receiving 306 electoral votes compared to Trump's 232. The results have been certified in every state, and presidential electors cast their votes last month.
The electors' votes are due to be certified Wednesday during a joint session of Congress that is usually procedural, confirming the winner that voters and the Electoral College have already chosen.
But at least 140 House Republicans are reportedly planning to vote against certifying the presidential election results on Wednesday due to the unsubstantiated fraud claims.
Their objections could delay the certification of the election, but would not alter the vote results of any US state.
Roy is among a group of seven House Republicans that have said they do not support the effort to vote against certification of the Electoral College vote.
In a statement on Sunday, the group, led by Rep. Ken Buck of Colorado, said they believe there are "profound questions" regarding the integrity of the election, but that "only the states have authority to appoint electors."
"Congress has only a narrow role in the presidential election process," the statement read. "Its job is to count the electors submitted by the states, not to determine which electors the states should have sent."
In his statement about objecting to seating House members, Roy said if Congress is going to "adequately address" the concerns over the presidential election, then it must be consistent in doing so.
"Anything less would strip the current efforts of their legitimacy and make it look like a political stunt, rather than a good-faith effort to restore confidence in our electoral process," he said.