WASHINGTON (AP) — For the first time, a groundswell of leading Republicans said Monday that Democrat Joe Biden is the winner of the presidential election, essentially abandoning President Donald Trump’s assault on the outcome after the Electoral College certified the vote.
With states affirming the results, the Republicans faced a pivotal choice - to declare Biden the president-elect, as the tally showed, or keep standing silently by as Trump wages a potentially damaging campaign to overturn the election.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., was quiet on the issue Monday. But a number of senators said the time has come.
“At some point you have to face the music,” said Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, the second-ranking GOP leader. “Once the Electoral College settles the issue today, it’s time for everybody to move on.”
Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri, the chairman of the inaugural committee, said the panel will now “deal with Vice President Biden as the president-elect.”
Just last week, the Republicans on the inauguration committee had declined to publicly do so. He said Monday’s Electoral College vote “was significant.”
Texas GOP Sen. John Cornyn said barring further legal challenges it appears Biden will be president.
“That’s sort of the nature of these elections. You got to have a winner. You got to have a loser,” Cornyn said, adding that once Trump’s legal arguments are exhausted, “Joe Biden’s on a path to be president of the United States.”
The turnaround comes nearly six weeks after Election Day. Many Republicans have ridden out the time in silence, enabling Trump to wage an unprecedented challenge to the nation’s cherished system of voting.
Some GOP lawmakers have vowed to carry the fight to Jan. 6 when Congress votes to accept or reject the Electoral College results. Others have said Trump’s legal battles should continue toward resolution by inauguration day, Jan. 20.
“It’s a very, very narrow path for the president,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a top Trump ally. “But having said that, I think we’ll let those legal challenges play out.”
Historians and election officials have warned that Trump’s unfounded claims of voter fraud threaten to erode Americans’ faith in the election system, and that lawmakers have a responsibility under the oath of office to defend the Constitution.
“The campaign to overturn the outcome is a dangerous thing,” said Julian Zelizer, a professor of history and public policy at Princeton.
“This is a Republican operation, not a presidential operation,” Zelizer said. “Without their silence, he couldn’t do what he is doing.”
With states affirming the results, the Republicans faced a pivotal choice - to declare Biden the president-elect, as the tally showed, or keep standing silently by as Trump wages a potentially damaging campaign to overturn the election.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., was quiet on the issue Monday. But a number of senators said the time has come.
“At some point you have to face the music,” said Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, the second-ranking GOP leader. “Once the Electoral College settles the issue today, it’s time for everybody to move on.”
Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri, the chairman of the inaugural committee, said the panel will now “deal with Vice President Biden as the president-elect.”
Just last week, the Republicans on the inauguration committee had declined to publicly do so. He said Monday’s Electoral College vote “was significant.”
Texas GOP Sen. John Cornyn said barring further legal challenges it appears Biden will be president.
“That’s sort of the nature of these elections. You got to have a winner. You got to have a loser,” Cornyn said, adding that once Trump’s legal arguments are exhausted, “Joe Biden’s on a path to be president of the United States.”
The turnaround comes nearly six weeks after Election Day. Many Republicans have ridden out the time in silence, enabling Trump to wage an unprecedented challenge to the nation’s cherished system of voting.
Some GOP lawmakers have vowed to carry the fight to Jan. 6 when Congress votes to accept or reject the Electoral College results. Others have said Trump’s legal battles should continue toward resolution by inauguration day, Jan. 20.
“It’s a very, very narrow path for the president,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a top Trump ally. “But having said that, I think we’ll let those legal challenges play out.”
Historians and election officials have warned that Trump’s unfounded claims of voter fraud threaten to erode Americans’ faith in the election system, and that lawmakers have a responsibility under the oath of office to defend the Constitution.
“The campaign to overturn the outcome is a dangerous thing,” said Julian Zelizer, a professor of history and public policy at Princeton.
“This is a Republican operation, not a presidential operation,” Zelizer said. “Without their silence, he couldn’t do what he is doing.”
