CNN:
A GOP Senate source told CNN that the combination of Giuliani’s news conference, as well as the President meddling in the Michigan election process, has some GOP senators reconsidering their silence. This source says most had hoped that Trump’s tirade would have worked itself out by now, but his actions in the last 24 hours make that hope seem more and more distant.
According to the same source, a handful of GOP senators are talking about whether and how to interject in a way that will be most effective with the President. There is some talk of trying to speak to Trump and trying to implore him to go out on a high note by touting wins in the House, as well as helping win the two outstanding US Senate seats in Georgia and taking credit for the Covid-19 vaccine movement, among other accomplishments.
The source emphasized, however, that this is not a leadership position right now — more rank and file Republicans….
North Carolina Rep. Richard Hudson, who will serve on the House GOP’s leadership team in the next Congress, on Friday characterized the unsubstantiated allegations leveled by the Trump team as “breathtaking” and “serious enough that they need to be investigated.”
Hudson said “yes,” states should delay certifying the results until the allegations are “adequately investigated.”
Asked if he’d be OK if state legislatures named electors that differed from the outcome of the vote counts in their states, Hudson told CNN: “Yeah, that’s the constitutional process.”
“I mean, it’s breathtaking to think about,” Hudson said of the allegations. “And if it’s not true, then there needs to be a reckoning on our side.”
Federal law encourages states to resolve disputes over vote-counting by December 8, six days before electors meet in their state capitals to cast their ballots. If Biden’s win is certified by December 8, Congress must recognize the pro-Biden electors.
Under the long-shot theory, Republican-led legislatures could appoint pro-Trump slates of presidential electors, even if Biden carried the popular vote in their state, assuming a state has not certified the vote in time.A
sked on Thursday if his state should delay certifying the election, Arizona Rep. Paul Gosar told CNN: “I believe it should.” Gosar also said the “state has the ability” to name its own electors to the Electoral College if the results aren’t certified as part of the “system set up by our founders.” And when asked if he would support the state legislature naming its own electors, Gosar said: “I do.”