WASHINGTON — The Republican chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee plans a hearing in a week on President Donald Trump's unfounded claims of voting irregularities, even as some other senior GOP lawmakers say the election will be settled by then.
Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, a top ally of President Donald Trump in Congress, said the public deserves to know "to what extent is there fraud and could it actually overturn the election?"
"I need more information, the American people need more information," he told reporters Wednesday. "I'm not ready to just close and slam the book on this thing."
Most Republicans in Congress have not yet acknowledged President-elect Joe Biden's victory in the Nov. 3 election even though none of the attempts by Trump or his allies to overturn the result in the courts or in state legislatures has been successful. Trump has refused to concede despite Biden's clear victory with 306 Electoral College votes.
That slowly may be changing as some in the GOP are referring to Dec. 14 — the date that electors from all 50 states cast their votes — as the point at which Biden will be recognized as the winner. All of the states Biden won have already certified their presidential election results and appointed electors.
Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, the chamber's No. 2 Republican, told reporters that the election will be "over" as far as he's concerned once the Electoral College votes Dec. 14.
"The Electoral College obviously brings some finality to this," said Thune.
Retiring Sen. Lamar Alexander, a Tennessee Republican, also said he hoped Trump would acknowledge Biden as the president-elect if he wins the Electoral College vote. And South Carolina GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham, another Trump ally, said when asked whether the president should concede, "I'll talk to you December the 14th."
Other Republicans, however, are continuing to press Trump's case.
Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas lamented that the Supreme Court declined to take up a case involving Pennsylvania's electors, which he had offered to argue.
"I was disappointed that the court declined to take the case," Cruz told reporters. "There is enormous division in the country and the court owes it to the American people to ensure the election complies with the Constitution."
Two other Republican senators, David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler of Georgia, both of whom face runoff elections in January, backed a Texas lawsuit Tuesday night against their own state and several other states that voted for Biden.
On Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Sen. Roy Blunt and House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday blocked a resolution recognizing Biden's win on a panel planning inauguration ceremonies.
