

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) speaks on stage during the Conservative Political Action Conference 2020 (CPAC) hosted by the American Conservative Union on February 28, 2020 in National Harbor, MD.
Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) announced Wednesday that he would object to certifying the electoral college vote on January 6, 2021.
Millions of voters concerned about election integrity deserve to be heard. I will object on January 6 on their behalf pic.twitter.com/kTaaPPJGHE
— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) December 30, 2020
Hawley justified his refusal in a statement declaring that “some states, particularly Pennsylvania, failed to follow their own election laws.” Hawley repeatedly expresses his concerns about “the integrity of this election” and encouraged Congress to investigate allegations of voter fraud and legislate in response.
The move will mean a floor debate followed by a vote in each chamber of Congress. Should enough senators follow Hawley’s lead, Vice President Mike Pence would become the tie-breaker. If Pence also refused to certify the results, the Democratic majority in the House of Representatives would then become the deciding body
Experts do not expect Hawley’s move to have impact on the election results in the long run beyond creating unnecessary delay.
So now we know the House & Senate will retreat into their separate chambers on Jan 6 and each hold 2 hours of debate over nonexistent “voting irregularities” before VP Pence has to officially name @JoeBiden the president-elect, 306-232. Watch this space https://t.co/YiDQSFGXJp
— Laurence Tribe (@tribelaw) December 30, 2020
Despite President Donald Trump’s refusal to accept President-elect Joe Biden‘s election win, a number of Senate Republicans have already publicly recognized Biden as the incoming 46th president. Accordingly, Hawley’s refusal to certify is unlikely to have any impact beyond aligning him with a narrow slice of the GOP determined —however ineffectively— to remain stalwart Trump allies. The move was immediately seen as an attempt by Hawley to boost his chances for higher office down the line.
Allow me to translate: “Hi, my name is Josh Hawley. I want to be the Republican nominee for President in 2024, so on January 6th, I will get down on my knees and lie for and pay homage to Donald Trump. Thank you.” https://t.co/nFVUb8NiZt
— Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) December 30, 2020
Ripped from the Ted Cruz/Defund Obamacare playbook.
It’s sad that Hawley is doing this. It’s scary that he’ll be rewarded for it. You can’t fix a country whose political incentive systems are so grossly out of whack. https://t.co/vz9bzoLWth
— Tim Alberta (@TimAlberta) December 30, 2020
It’s really useful that Hawley will have demonstrated his disdain for democracy before he runs in 2024, so we can remember how dangerous he is. https://t.co/jpKK41EIbT
— Dr. emptywheel (@emptywheel) December 30, 2020
If nothing else, @HawleyMO’s transparent (and misleading) effort to kowtow to 2024 primary voters ensures that every Senator will have to go on record as to whether or not they support disenfranchising the 81+ million Americans who voted for @JoeBiden. https://t.co/eG4Ty94yX7
— Steve Vladeck (@steve_vladeck) December 30, 2020
.@HawleyMO will never be President. Someone should tell him. https://t.co/cINST9aQYz
— Bakari Sellers (@Bakari_Sellers) December 30, 2020
The statement from Hawley appears to have had its intended effect on his target audience, however.
SO APPRECIATE @HawleyMO for STANDING UP AT THIS MOMENT!! Brilliant Man. BELIEVES IN SOMETHING. JOSH HAWLEY—this will not be Forgotten. Now—-looking to Senator Hawley’s colleagues to JOIN HIM IN COURAGE https://t.co/QvPKAvcpqs
— Greg Kelly (@gregkellyusa) December 30, 2020
HERO!
Thank you Senator Hawley for being our voice and standing for election integrity.🇺🇸 https://t.co/ZNxQ7lWKhm
— Amy Kremer (@AmyKremer) December 30, 2020
This is a very important development. Thank you Josh Hawley! https://t.co/QwmDyIjFCZ
— Dinesh D’Souza (@DineshDSouza) December 30, 2020
Game on. https://t.co/bgo1Gu0oKs
— Robert Barnes (@Barnes_Law) December 30, 2020
Welcome aboard, Senator. https://t.co/e9YTSBHa0x
— Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) December 30, 2020
We have a Senator!
Thank you for standing up for election integrity @HawleyMO!
This is officially a contested election. https://t.co/Pft0ZY1Tz6
— Lauren Boebert (@laurenboebert) December 30, 2020
In a statement to Law&Crime, election law expert and Professor at USC Gould School of Law Franita Tolson called Hawley’s maneuver “irresponsible.”
“He plans to file an objection based on arguments that have been extensively litigated and rejected by numerous courts since Election Day, especially the claims that Pennsylvania failed to follow its election laws and that there was potential voter fraud,” said Professor Tolson. “He is prolonging and politicizing the process even though the outcome–Joe Biden wins a majority of the electoral votes–is inevitable.”
Assistant Professor at Florida State University College of Law Michael Morley told Law&Crime that, “Under the Electoral Count Act, even if an objection is lodged to a state’s electoral votes during the upcoming joint session of Congress, there is no prospect that a state’s electoral votes will be rejected, or that an unofficial competing slate of electors will be counted instead.”
Edward B. Foley, a law professor at Ohio State University’s Moritz College of Law and the director of the school’s election law program, told Law&Crime that “Any such objection would be based on a misunderstanding of the limited role that Congress is supposed to undertake in the January 6 joint session.” Foley pointed to his Washington Post column on the subject.
“It is true that the objections that Democrats previously made, in 2005 and 2017, were also inappropriate given this limited congressional role. But it would be preferable for Congress to get back on track in terms of acting appropriately, rather than perpetuating the same mistake,” Foley added.
Tulane Law’s Ross Garber said Hawley’s tactic was “doomed to failure.”
“I’m aware of no basis to challenge any electoral votes. And, given the application of the Electoral College Act, such a move is symbolic and doomed to failure. But keep an eye on Vice President Pence,” Garber said in an email to Law&Crime. “In 1876, before passage of the Electoral Count Act, some advanced a tortured interpretation of the Constitution under which the president of the Senate – now Pence – could claim for himself the right to determine which electoral votes to count or reject.”
Earlier this week, Republican congressmen sued Mike Pence, putting forth the bizarre idea that an incumbent VP could unilaterally ignore and reject the will of the voters in the interest of his or her own re-election.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif) appears to be unfazed by Hawley’s announcement, stating that she has no doubt that Joe Biden will be confirmed as the next president.
.@SpeakerPelosi on Senator Hawley’s plan to object to Electoral College Certification: “I have no doubt that on next Wednesday, a week from today, that Joe Biden will be confirmed by the acceptance of the vote of the Electoral College as the 46th president of the United States.” pic.twitter.com/prFwzzoVB9
— CSPAN (@cspan) December 30, 2020
Legal Twitter’s reaction to Hawley’s reaction “pathetic” move was swift and merciless:
Millions of voters are concerned only because Trump and enablers like Hawley tell them to be concerned—not because of any actual evidence of fraud.
What a perversion of democracy. https://t.co/yAfTbkVJxz
— Josh Douglas (@JoshuaADouglas) December 30, 2020
Here's what Hawley's move will do: (1) draw out the formal certification of Biden as the winner, (2) enable a pathetic, democracy-undermining performative circus in Congress, and (3) force every member of Congress to go on record for or against this madness.
— Elie Honig (@eliehonig) December 30, 2020
This was the obvious, predictable ploy from the very beginning. Allow baseless conspiracy theories to take root among the Republican base and then use the fact that “many people” question the legitimacy of the election as a basis to undermine it. Cowardly, pathetic, and damaging. https://t.co/EXnhZzq7gn
— Susan Hennessey (@Susan_Hennessey) December 30, 2020
Good luck with this nonsense, Senator. https://t.co/rGmcOQpoIr
— Neal Katyal (@neal_katyal) December 30, 2020
One of the harshest rebukes came from Hawley’s former colleague at University of Missouri Law School:
My god, Josh. I’ve known pretty much what you are since you took office across hall at MU Law. But I had no idea how low you would be prepared to go in pursuit of power. You call yourself a “constitutional lawyer.” But you disgrace the profession & dishonor constitution daily. https://t.co/EwT9GRqlAj
— Frank Bowman (@FOBowman3) December 30, 2020
Editor’s note: story was updated post publication with comments from Morley, Foley and Garber.
[image via Samuel Corum/Getty Images]
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