18 House Republicans ask Supreme Court to throw out elections they won

On Friday, 126 House Republicans filed a revised amicus brief, asking the Supreme Court to overturn the 2020 election results in four swing states. The list includes 19 lawmakers whose own constituents would be disenfranchised by such a move.

The brief — originally filed Thursday by Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) on behalf of 105 colleagues — endorses a nonsensical lawsuit by Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

Citing no specific evidence of fraud, Paxton urged the Supreme Court to throw out last month’s presidential election results in Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin and order new elections based on concerns about the fact that different states have different election rules. President-elect Joe Biden won all four states after they had voted for Donald Trump in the 2016 election.

Legal experts say the suit is likely going nowhere, just like the dozens of other lawsuits seeking to have the election results overturned. Pennsylvania’s attorney general, Josh Shaprio, dismissed it as a “seditious abuse of the judicial process” based on a “surreal alternate reality.”

Still, nearly two-thirds of the House Republican minority caucus — including its leaders — put their names on the brief.

Some 19 of those lawmakers who signed actually represent districts in those states, meaning they want to throw out the votes from their own constituents. They are Reps. Rick Allen, Austin Scott, Buddy Carter, Doug Collins, Drew Ferguson, Jody Hice, and Barry Loudermilk of Georgia; Jack Bergman, Bill Huizenga, John Moolenaar, and Tim Walberg of Michigan; John Joyce, Fred Keller, Mike Kelly, Dan Meuser, Scott Perry, Guy Reschenthaler, and Glenn “GT” Thompson of Pennsylvania; and Tom Tiffany of Wisconsin.

With the exception of Collins, who unsuccessfully sought a Senate seat, every one of these lawmakers won reelection last month — in the very same elections they now seek to have thrown out.

Several of them released excited statements about their victories, suggesting they believed them to be totally legitimate.

“Thank you GA-11 for your overwhelming support! I will continue to represent everyone in the district and work hard to ensure a nation that is free, safe, and full of opportunity,” tweeted Loudermilk on election night.

“THANK YOU #Mi01 for your incredible support and our largest win margin yet,” celebrated Bergman after being declared the winner. “I’m so grateful that Michigan’s First District once again entrusted me to be your Representative in Washington. Our work is just getting started!”

“Representing the people of #GA08 is one of the highest privileges of my life,” wrote Scott, citing the AP projection of his win. “Vivien, the kids, & I are humbled that you’ve continued to put your faith in us by giving us the responsibility to represent you in Washington. God Bless the great state of GA, & God Bless the USA.”

“Thank you to all the voters of the Fourth Congressional District,” wrote Moolenaar, who gave an acceptance speech the day after the election. “I am humbled and grateful for your overwhelming support, and I look forward to continuing to serve you in Congress!”

“Thank you western Pennsylvania! I am honored that you have chosen me to be your voice in our nation’s capital,” Kelly tweeted. “Together, we will keep fighting for freedom, our values, a brighter economic future for our families, and a stronger, more prosperous America.”

Kelly has been filing his own unsuccessful lawsuits in Pennsylvania to have Trump declared the winner.

The top two House Republican leaders also made a big deal out of these and other House victories in these states — but also signed onto the brief suggesting those elections were invalid.

Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who signed the amicus brief, chest-thumped about not having lost a single member of his caucus who sought reelection. “Here’s a group photo of me with all the House Republicans who lost races this year,” he tweeted on Tuesday, with a photo of himself walking unaccompanied.

“Pundits doubted us. Polls were stacked against us. Political so-called experts proclaimed we would lose. But Republicans have grown our party in the House and now, we will hold the line in Washington,” he bragged on Nov. 12.

Minority Whip Steve Scalise, who also signed the brief, sent congratulatory messages about Republican winners from those states. “The people in MI-06 have spoken,” he tweeted, “and I’m excited to congratulate my friend and colleague [Fred Upton] on a tough-won victory.”

By signing onto the amicus brief, McCarthy and Scalise are now casting doubt on the legitimacy of these and numerous other apparent Republican victors in the four states.

On Friday, one veteran lawmaker accused his GOP colleagues of illegally attacking American democracy. Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-NJ) wrote to Speaker Nancy Pelosi urging her to refuse to seat the Republicans who signed the letter when the next session begins in January.

“Stated simply, men and women who would act to tear the United States government apart cannot serve as Members of the Congress,” he wrote. “These lawsuits seeking to obliterate public trust in our democratic system by invalidating the clear results of the 2020 presidential election undoubted attack the text and spirit of the Constitution, which each Member swears to support and defend.”

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.