Republican Sen. John Thune, the majority whip, slammed House Republicans who met with President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence to discuss a plan to overturn the Electoral College in January, CNN reported on Tuesday.
"I think the thing they got to remember is it's not going anywhere. I mean, in the Senate, it would go down like a shot dog," Thune told CNN of the effort. "I just don't think it makes a lot of sense to put everybody through this when you know what the ultimate outcome is going to be."
Rep. Mo Brooks and several other conservative members of the House met with Trump and Pence on Monday to discuss the ultimately baseless claims that the election was stolen from Trump, CNN said. Attendees expressed confidence that on January 6, when the electoral votes confirming President-elect Joe Biden's victory are solidified, some members of the House and the Senate would debate the legitimacy of the votes.
"I believe we have multiple senators, and the question is not if but how many," Brooks told CNN.
Rep. Jody Hice, who also attended the meeting, tweeted: "I will lead an objection to Georgia's electors on Jan 6. The courts refuse to hear the President's legal case. We're going to make sure the People can!"
On January 6, Pence will preside over a joint session of Congress to finalize the results. If no member objects to the results, they will be certified. But if both a member of the House and a member of the Senate vote to challenge a state's electors, Congress would have to deliberate on whether to accept those electors.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has told senators not to join Trump's efforts to delegitimize the electoral votes, worrying that it could damage the campaigns of the Republicans in Senate runoff elections in Georgia.
CNN reported that while such efforts to challenge the results would likely be unsuccessful, a few senators, including Josh Hawley and Rand Paul, had not ruled it out just yet.
