El Congreso está listo para confirmar la victoria electoral de Biden sobre Trump

Por LISA MASCARO y MARY CLARE JALONICK

WASHINGTON (AP) – El extraordinario esfuerzo del presidente Donald Trump para revertir las elecciones presidenciales se presenta al Congreso mientras los legisladores se reúnen para una sesión conjunta para confirmar la votación del Colegio Electoral que ganó Joe Biden.

El procedimiento típicamente rutinario del miércoles será cualquier cosa menos una confrontación política no vista desde las secuelas de la Guerra Civil mientras Trump realiza un esfuerzo desesperado por permanecer en el cargo. Los aliados republicanos del presidente en la Cámara y el Senado planean oponerse a los resultados de las elecciones , prestando atención a la súplica de los partidarios de “luchar por Trump” mientras organiza una manifestación frente a la Casa Blanca. Está destrozando la fiesta.

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El esfuerzo arriesgado es casi seguro que fracasará, derrotado por mayorías bipartidistas en el Congreso dispuestas a aceptar los resultados. Biden , quien ganó el Colegio Electoral 306-232, será inaugurado el 20 de enero.

“La parte más importante es que, al final, la democracia prevalecerá aquí”, dijo en una entrevista la senadora demócrata Amy Klobuchar de Minnesota, entre los que administran los procedimientos.

La sesión conjunta del Congreso, requerida por la ley, se reunirá a la 1 pm EST bajo una nación alerta e inquieta, meses después de las elecciones del 3 de noviembre, dos semanas antes de la tradicional transferencia pacífica del poder de la inauguración y en el contexto de un creciente COVID. -19 pandemia.

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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who warned his party off this challenge, is expected to deliver early remarks. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, set to gavel proceedings on her side of the Capitol, called it a day of “enormous historic significance.” It is about “guaranteeing trust in our democratic system,” she said in a letter to colleagues.

But it is Vice President Mike Pence who will be closely watched as he presides over the session.

Despite Trump’s repeated claims of voter fraud, election officials and his own former attorney general have said there were no problems on a scale that would change the outcome. All the states have certified their results as fair and accurate, by Republican and Democratic officials alike.

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Pence has a largely ceremonial role, opening the sealed envelopes from the states after they are carried in mahogany boxes used for the occasion, and reading the results aloud. But he is under growing pressure from Trump to tip it to the president’s favor, despite having no power to affect the outcome.

While other vice presidents, including Al Gore and Richard Nixon, also presided over their own defeats, Pence supports those Republican lawmakers mounting challenges to the 2020 outcome.

“I hope that our great vice president comes through for us,” Trump said at a rally in Georgia this week. “He’s a great guy. Of course, if he doesn’t come through, I won’t like him quite as much.”

It’s not the first time lawmakers have challenged results. Democrats did in 2017 and 2005. But the intensity of Trump’s challenge is like nothing in modern times, and an outpouring of current and elected GOP officials warn the showdown is sowing distrust in government and eroding Americans’ faith in democracy.

“There is no constitutionally viable means for the Congress to overturn an election,” said Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., announcing his refusal to join the effort on the eve of the session.

Still, more than a dozen Republican senators led by Josh Hawley of Missouri and Ted Cruz of Texas, along with as many as 100 House Republicans, are pressing ahead to raise objections to the state results of Biden’s win.

Under the rules of the joint session, any objection to a state’s electoral tally needs to be submitted in writing by at least one member of the House and one of the Senate to be considered. Each objection will force two hours of deliberations in the House and Senate, ensuring a long day.

House Republican lawmakers are signing on to objections to the electoral votes in six states — Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Arizona will likely be the first to be disputed as the state tallies are announced in alphabetical order, and Cruz has said he will join House Republicans in objecting to that state.

Hawley has said he will object to the election results from Pennsylvania, almost ensuring a second two-hour debate despite resistance from the state’s Republican senator, Pat Toomey, who said the tally of Biden’s win is accurate.

Sen. Kelly Loeffler may challenge the results in her state of Georgia. But it’s unclear if any of the other senators will object to any other state, as lawmakers were still devising a strategy.

Democrats have the majority in the House and the Republican-led Senate is divided over the issue. Bipartisan majorities in both chambers are expected to soundly reject the objections.

The group led by Cruz is vowing to object unless Congress agreed to form a commission to investigate the election, but that seems unlikely.

Those with Cruz are Sens. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, James Lankford of Oklahoma, Steve Daines of Montana, John Kennedy of Louisiana, Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, Mike Braun of Indiana, Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, Roger Marshall of Kansas, Bill Hagerty of Tennessee and Tommy Tuberville of Alabama.

Trump has vowed to “fight like hell” to stay in office. He said at a rally in Georgia the electors voting for Biden are “not gonna take this White House!”

Many of the Republicans challenging the results said they are trying to give voice to voters back home who don’t trust the outcome of the election and want to see the lawmakers fighting for Trump.

Hawley defended his role saying his constituents have been “loud and clear” about their distrust of the election. “It is my responsibility as a senator to raise their concerns,” he wrote to colleagues.

As criticism mounted, Cruz insisted his aim was “not to set aside the election” but to investigate the claims of voting problems. He has produced no new evidence.

Both Hawley and Cruz are potential 2024 presidential contenders, vying for Trump’s base of supporters.

Los funcionarios del Capitolio les dicen a los legisladores que lleguen temprano, debido a las precauciones de seguridad con los manifestantes en Washington. Los visitantes, que normalmente llenan las galerías para ver los procedimientos emblemáticos, no podrán acceder a las restricciones de COVID-19.

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Los escritores de Associated Press Kevin Freking en Dalton, Georgia, y Bill Barrow en Atlanta contribuyeron a este informe.

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