Republican Ohio Sen. Rob Portman said Monday that he will not object during Congress’s counting of the Electoral College vote on Jan. 6, something at least a dozen GOP senators have said they will do.
“The Constitution created a system for electing the President through the Electoral College that ensures the people and the states hold the power, not Congress. I cannot support allowing Congress to thwart the will of the voters,” Portman said in a statement.
“The only time this was attempted in the past 70 years was in 2005 when Democrats objected to the electors from my home state of Ohio, hoping to give the presidency to John Kerry instead of George W. Bush. I stood in opposition to Democrats then, saying Congress should not ‘obstruct the will of the American people.’ I was concerned then that Democrats were establishing a dangerous precedent where Congress would inappropriately assert itself to try to reverse the will of the voters,” Portman continued.
“I cannot now support Republicans doing the same thing. Over the course of my public service career I have taken the same oath on numerous occasions, swearing to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States. I plan on honoring that oath by supporting the state certifications and the will of the people. I will vote to certify in accordance with my duty under the Constitution,” he concluded.
Republican Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton also said he will not challenge the electors during the upcoming Jan. 6 meeting of Congress to count states’ electoral votes and finalize President-elect Joe Biden’s victory over President Donald Trump
There are now at least a dozen Senators who will object during Congress’s counting of the Electoral College vote. Republican Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley was the first Senator to make the announcement on Thursday, citing big-tech platforms’ alleged interference in the election in support of Biden and claiming election laws were broken in Pennsylvania.
Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, takes off a mask during a Senate Finance Committee hearing on COVID-19/Unemployment Insurance on Capitol Hill in Washington on Tuesday, June 9, 2020. (Pool photo by Caroline Brehman-Pool/Getty Images)
Eleven Republican senators, led by Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, announced Saturday that they would also object to the certification of states’ Electoral College votes when Congress meets on Jan. 6. (RELATED: 11 Republican Senators – Led By Ted Cruz – Will Object To Electoral College Certification)
Along with Hawley and Cruz, Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson, Oklahoma Sen. James Lankford, Montana Sen. Steve Daines, Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy, Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn and Indiana Sen. Mike Braun, all released a joint statement Saturday explaining why they would object. (RELATED: Tom Cotton Breaks With Group Of GOP Senators — Will Not Oppose Electoral Vote Count On January 6)
Wyoming’s Cynthia Lummis, Kansas’s Roger Marshall, Tennessee’s Bill Haggerty and Alabama’s Tommy Tuberville, all signed on before being sworn in Sunday as Senators.