Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley Electoral College Challenge a Cynical Fraud, Not a Coup

As I wrote back in late November, no matter how badly Donald Trump has behaved since Election Day, we were never in any realistic danger of a “coup” or a “stolen election.” Time and time again, Trump’s plans needed Republican cooperation in order to succeed, and Republicans either left him hanging or openly stood up to him. Republican elections officials did their jobs. Republican legislatures rebuffed requests to overrule the vote counts. Conservative judges gave careful scrutiny to Trump’s lawsuits, repeatedly finding either that the evidence did not support his campaign’s claims or that his lawyers had not proven misconduct large enough to change the election’s outcome. The U.S. Supreme Court turned away all his cases, with no justice arguing that any state’s outcome should be reversed by the courts. For a long time, Trump himself was unwilling even to argue publicly for appointing alternative slates of electors, and to this day, the pro-Trump electors in the contested states have never been appointed by any legitimate arm of state government. Under the Electoral Count Act of 1887, that means Trump’s challenge is over.

As Trump’s options have dwindled, he has dialed up his rhetorical assaults on Republicans. Many elected Republicans, even those who care little about Trump himself, still fear his apparent power to turn Republican voters against them. Unfortunately, that has led a growing number of Republicans in the House, and now a dozen in the Senate, to play along with the charade of attempting to throw out the election results in multiple states won by Joe Biden. In the House, 126 Republicans signed an amicus brief asking the Supreme Court to hear the Texas v. Pennsylvania case, which sought to invalidate the Biden electors in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan, and Wisconsin. When the House and Senate convene to count the votes on Wednesday, over 100 House Republicans are expected to join Mo Brooks of Alabama in objecting to the counting of Biden electors in several states. And now, twelve current or incoming Republican senators, led by Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz, say they will object as well.

About the Author

Dan McLaughlin

Dan McLaughlin is a senior writer at National Review Online and a fellow at National Review Institute.

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As I wrote back in late November, no matter how badly Donald Trump has behaved since Election Day, we were never in any realistic danger of a “coup” or a “stolen election.” Time and time again, Trump’s plans needed Republican cooperation in order to succeed, and Republicans either left him hanging or openly stood up to him. Republican elections officials did their jobs. Republican legislatures rebuffed requests to overrule the vote counts. Conservative judges gave careful scrutiny to Trump’s lawsuits, repeatedly finding either that the evidence did not support his campaign’s claims or that his lawyers had not proven misconduct large enough to change the election’s outcome. The U.S. Supreme Court turned away all his cases, with no justice arguing that any state’s outcome should be reversed by the courts. For a long time, Trump himself was unwilling even to argue publicly for appointing alternative slates of electors, and to this day, the pro-Trump electors in the contested states have never been appointed by any legitimate arm of state government. Under the Electoral Count Act of 1887, that means Trump’s challenge is over.

As Trump’s options have dwindled, he has dialed up his rhetorical assaults on Republicans. Many elected Republicans, even those who care little about Trump himself, still fear his apparent power to turn Republican voters against them. Unfortunately, that has led a growing number of Republicans in the House, and now a dozen in the Senate, to play along with the charade of attempting to throw out the election results in multiple states won by Joe Biden. In the House, 126 Republicans signed an amicus brief asking the Supreme Court to hear the Texas v. Pennsylvania case, which sought to invalidate the Biden electors in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan, and Wisconsin. When the House and Senate convene to count the votes on Wednesday, over 100 House Republicans are expected to join Mo Brooks of Alabama in objecting to the counting of Biden electors in several states. And now, twelve current or incoming Republican senators, led by Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz, say they will object as well.