Senators hamper Biden: Confirmation of presidential election might be delayed

Senators hamper Biden: Confirmation of presidential election might be delayed

Apparently, that may delay the official confirmation of the presidential election a bit, Deutsche Welle reports. The inauguration on January 20 is not in question.

On Wednesday, January 6, the American Congress should confirm the outcome of the presidential elections and the victory of Joseph Biden.

But this time it does not seem to be a formality - eleven Republican senators have announced that they will file objections to the outcome of the vote. They explain that with alleged election frauds and irregularities.

This group demands that the Congress form a special commission that would investigate the allegations in an urgent procedure - in just ten days. Because, the inauguration of the new head of state should take place on January 20. Without such a commission, these senators say, they will not give their blessing to the election results. The first violin of these Republican rebels is Senator Ted Cruz from Texas, a hard-line conservative politician loyal to outgoing President Donald Trump. Some other senators were not elected to the upper house of parliament until November.

President Trump still refuses to admit electoral defeat by Democratic challenger Biden. But so far, more than fifty lawsuits from his fraction have been dismissed by the courts, including the Supreme Court. Biden's victory was confirmed by electoral votes.

"Trump supporters" in the minority

By law, both houses of Congress meet in a joint session on January 6 after the election to officially read the results, count the votes and announce the outcome.

Senators led by Ted Cruz, as well as hundreds of Republican congressmen, can hardly prevent Biden's election, but they can delay the procedure. They could argue that the Senate and the House of Representatives must hold separate sessions. It's a "political ploy," said Derek Miller, a law professor at the University of Iowa. He told Reuters that the law from 1887 is not explicit, but that most experts and judges interpret it in such a way that the Congress has no right to check the election results. Even if he had that right, Miller added, it would require a majority in both houses.

However, Trump's intention to challenge the victory of the rival to the end does not have that many supporters. In mid-December, Mitch McConnell, the leader of the Republican majority in the Senate, already congratulated Biden on his victory and called on his party colleagues to confirm the outcome of the election.