Romney: ‘Madness’ for Republicans to challenge Electoral College vote

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) dismissed a push from fellow Republicans in the House who are mulling the idea of challenging the Electoral College vote in an effort to keep President Trump in office another four years. 

“Madness,” Romney told reporters on Tuesday. “This is madness. We have a process. Recounts are appropriate. Going to the court is appropriate. Pursuing every legal avenue is appropriate. But trying to get electors not to do what the people voted to do is madness.” 

Last week, Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) said he planned to challenge the Electoral College vote when Congress meets to officially certify the election results after the first of the year. 

“I’m doing this because in my judgment this is the worst election theft in the history of the United States. And if there was a way to determine the Electoral College outcome using only lawful votes cast by eligible American citizens, then Donald Trump won the Electoral College,” Brooks said. 

Romney said on Tuesday that he is confident any effort by House Republicans to overturn or invalidate state electors for the presidency would fail in the Senate. 

Since President-elect Joe Biden was projected the winner in November’s election, Trump and his allies have alleged without evidence that widespread voter fraud led to a “rigged election” against him. 

Trump himself has reportedly pressured Republican election officials in at least one state, Georgia, to hold off on certifying election results, a request that ultimately went unheeded. 

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court blocked a Republican bid to overturn Biden’s win in Pennsylvania.  

Members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus also held a press conference late last week criticizing Attorney General William Barr for what they say is a failure on the part of the Justice Department to sufficiently investigate allegations of voter fraud that occurred in the election. 

“There is nothing more important for Attorney General Barr [and others in federal law enforcement] to eliminate false claims of fraud and verify the veracity of claims,” Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) said. “We are running out of clock. There is not much runway left to land the plane.”