Republican South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott said Tuesday that he will not object during Congress’s counting of the Electoral College vote on Jan. 6 and will vote to certify President-elect Joe Biden’s win against President Donald Trump.
“As I read the Constitution, there is no constitutionally viable means for the Congress to overturn an election wherein the states have certified and sent their Electors,” Scott said in a draft copy of his statement obtained first by Axios.
“Some of my colleagues believe they have found a path, and while our opinions differ, I do not doubt their good intentions to take steps towards stamping out voter fraud. Importantly, I disagree with their method both in principle and in practice,” he continued.
Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) (C) speaks during a campaign event for U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R) (R-GA) at El Rey Del Taco restaurant on October 28, 2020 in Doraville, Georgia. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
“For their theory to work, Nancy Pelosi and House Democrats would have to elect Donald Trump president rather than Joe Biden. That it is not going to happen, not today or any other day,” Scott concluded.
Republican Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton and Republican Ohio Sen. Rob Portman have also said he will not challenge the electors on Wednesday. (RELATED: Sen. Rob Portman Says He Will Not Oppose Electoral Vote Count On January 6)
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.
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.
Vice President Mike Pence, who will oversee the Jan. 6 meeting of Congress, will “follow the law. He will act tomorrow with fidelity to the law and the Constitution,” according to Fox News reporter John Roberts.