President Donald Trump’s hopes of a delayed 2020 election were dashed Thursday after Congressional Republican leaders, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, flatly rejected his suggestion.
WASHINGTON, DC – MARCH 27: (L-R) Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) speaks as House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) U.S. President Donald Trump listen during a signing ceremony for H.R. 748, the CARES Act in the Oval Office of the White House on March 27, 2020 in Washington, DC. Earlier on Friday, the U.S. House of Representatives approved the $2 trillion stimulus bill that lawmakers hope will battle the the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by Erin Schaff-Pool/Getty Images)
Trump tweeted earlier in the day that carrying out the general election primarily via mail-in ballots opens the door to potential voter fraud and “will be a great embarrassment to the USA. Delay the Election until people can properly, securely and safely vote???”
With Universal Mail-In Voting (not Absentee Voting, which is good), 2020 will be the most INACCURATE & FRAUDULENT Election in history. It will be a great embarrassment to the USA. Delay the Election until people can properly, securely and safely vote???
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 30, 2020
McConnell confirmed to a local Kentucky reporter that the Nov. 3 election date is “set in stone.”
#BREAKING: @senatemajldr just told me over the phone that the election date is set in stone. He cited past crises taking place during an election. An exclusive interview with the Majority Leader tonight at 5 and 6 on @wnkytv @NBCNews @CBSNews pic.twitter.com/MwZnYHd9Rh
— Max Winitz (@MaxWinitz) July 30, 2020
“Never in the history of this country, through wars, depressions and the Civil War, have we ever not had a federally scheduled election on time,” he added. “We will find a way to do that again this November 3rd. We will cope with whatever the situation is and have the election on November 3rd as already scheduled.”
Senate Pro Tempore Chuck Grassley of Iowa offered a similar take.
“It doesn’t matter what an individual in this country says,” he told reporters in reference to Trump’s tweets. “We still are a country based on the rule of law, we must follow the law until either the Constitution is changed or until the law is changed.”
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said during his weekly press conference that “no way” should the election be delayed.
“I understand the president’s concern with mail-in voting, which is different than absentee voting,” he told reporters. “But never in the history of federal elections have we not held an election, and we should go forward with our election.”
Great news that is going under-reported → the Trump Administration already has contracts guaranteeing the production of millions of vials of potential successful vaccine candidates—some with a deadline as early as this year. https://t.co/otQ4cjI9bO
— Kevin McCarthy (@GOPLeader) July 30, 2020
Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz echoed McCarthy’s comments, telling reporters that he views election fraud as a “serious problem” but that he thinks the election should still be held on Nov. 3.
And Senator Cruz, on POTUS suggesting an election delay: “I think election fraud is a serious problem. But no, we should not delay.”
On Pompeo saying it should be up to DOJ to decide Election Day. “I didn’t hear that exchange, so I wasn’t in the hearing room.”— Kristin Wilson (@kristin__wilson) July 30, 2020
Illinois Republican Rep. Rodney Davis, the ranking member on the House committee responsible for all matters pertaining to federal elections, also flat-out rejected the president’s soft proposal.
There will be no delay in the #2020Election. Congress sets the election date, and it should not be changed. It will be held on November 3rd, as planned and required by law.
— US Rep Rodney Davis (@RodneyDavis) July 30, 2020
Trump’s suggestion was widely criticized by both Republicans and Democrats on the grounds that the Executive Branch has no control over when federal elections are held. The Constitution grants that power to Congress. (RELATED: As Pence Campaigns In Pennsylvania For The Third Time In Two Months, Another Poll Shows Trump Down In The State)
Hypothetically, members of Congress could delay the 2020 election like Trump suggested, but as noted by McCarthy, that has never been done.
House Majority Leader Representative Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) (2L), Senate Majority Leader Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) (C), US Vice President Mike Pence (2R), Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-WI) (R) and others listen while US President Donald Trump speaks about newly passed tax reform legislation during an event Dec. 20, 2017 in Washington, DC. Trump hailed a “historic” victory Wednesday as the US Congress passed a massive Republican tax cut plan, handing the president his first major legislative achievement since taking office nearly a year ago. (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
Trump is currently trailing former Vice President Joe Biden in both national and battleground election polls. Trump frequently discounts the accuracy of polling, citing the substantial margin by which he trailed former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton throughout the entire 2016 election.
He also told reporters in North Carolina that his reelection campaign’s internal polls show him leading Biden in key battleground states.
“Four years ago, I was losing everywhere. I had poll numbers where I wasn’t going to win any state, and I ended up winning every one of them,” he stated. “You know the swing states, I wasn’t going to win any of them and I won all of them.”
This is a developing story and will be updated with additional information as it becomes available.