Loyal defenders of President Donald Trump on Capitol Hill have advised him not to concede even after President-elect Joe Biden wins the Electoral College vote next week. They are urging their party leaders to fight their way to the House floor in Jan. as he continues making baseless claims of widespread voter fraud.
Trump's defenders have a view that does not coincide with a considerable number of top congressional Republicans, including leaders of the Senate, who suggest the election will come to an end next Monday. Electors are slated to cast their votes, making Biden's win official, although his victory in the recently concluded presidential election has been clear for several weeks.
However, conservative House Republicans claim next week's confirmation does not mark the end of the president's attempts to reverse the election results, despite already failing to do so through multiple lawsuits. Trump has attempted to pressure local and state leaders to undermine voters' will and appoint new states of electors to the Electoral College.
Conservative House Republicans argue that Congress should engage in debate over the election results in key states, citing their allegations of fraud, which they have failed to prove in courts. Ohio's Rep. Jim Jordan said Trump should not concede next Monday.
Jordan told CNN that they should rather try to figure out what took place in the election, along with debates on the House floor, probably on Jan. 6. Even in 2000, 2004, and 2016, defenders of losing candidates have taken their case to the House floor.
Meanwhile, Trump is leaving no stone unturned in a bid to push his dubious claims of widespread voter fraud. Taking to his Twitter account earlier today, Trump told former U.S. Solicitor General Ken Starr that the mail-in rejection rate was extremely small as compared to what it used to be, meaning a large number of bad votes were pouring in.
While his efforts to reverse the election results are destined to fail, they are likely to engender distrust over the presidential election outcome despite both Republicans and Democrats assuring that the election was safe. Another staunch supporter of Trump, Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, said some members believe having a substantive debate of what took place in states with considerable irregularities has some value, but noted that even ten hours of debate on that would damage the union.
The Florida Republican attended a political gala hosted New York Republican club earlier this week. The New Jersey restaurant was ordered temporarily closed due to violation of coronavirus guidelines, Los Angeles Times reported. Gaetz was accompanied by conservative political activist James O’Keefe.