Voted No to the Transfer of Power
In the early hours of January 7th, 2021, House Congressional Republicans supported an objection against certifying the electoral college results. They voted no to following the rule of law and ceremonially ratifying the transfer of executive power to the incoming president.
This was the first time in over 240 years of the American experiment that the House of Representatives failed to unanimously endorse the electoral college results and acknowledge the new president.
It is notable that the US Capitol was stormed by violent rioters for over three hours only the day before, in an attempt to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power from outgoing President Donald Trump, who famously declined to summon law enforcement or a military response during these riots and instead watched the rioters attack Capitol police and invade the facilities with fascination.
Just hours after this historic assault, these 121 Representatives chose to disrespect the established laws and protocols of our nation, and honored the wishes of the violent mob when they cast their votes. Numerous legal scholars have called their votes an act of insurrection. Here are their names and states-- every one a registered Republican.
Aderholt, (R) Ala.;
Allen, (R) Ga.;
Arrington, (R) Texas;
Babin, (R) Texas;
Baird, (R) Ind.;
Banks, (R) Ind.;
Bergman, (R) Mich.;
Bice, (R) Okla.;
Biggs, (R) Ariz.;
Bishop, (R) N.C.;
Boebert, (R) Colo.;
Bost, (R) III.;
Brooks, (R) Ala.;
Budd, (R) N.C.;
Burchett, (R) Tenn.;
Burgess, (R) Texas;
Calvert, (R) Calif.;
Cammack, (R) Fla.;
Carl, (R) Ala.;
Carter, (R) Ga.;
Carter, (R) Texas;
Cawthorn, (R) N.C.;
Cline, (R) Va.;
Cloud, (R) Texas;
Clyde, (R) Ga.;
Cole, (R) Okla.;
Crawford, (R) Ark.;
Davidson, (R) Ohio;
DesJarlais, (R) Tenn.;
Diaz-Balart, (R) Fla.;
Donalds, (R) Fla.;
Duncan, (R) S.C.;
Dunn, (R) Fla.;
Estes, (R) Kan.;
Fallon, (R) Texas;
Fischbach, (R) Minn.;
Fitzgerald, (R) Wis.;
Fleischmann, (R) Tenn.;
Franklin, C. Scott, (R) Fla.;
Fulcher, (R) Idaho;
Gaetz, (R) Fla.;
Garcia, (R) Calif.;
Gibbs, (R) Ohio;
Gimenez, (R) Fla.;
Gohmert, (R) Texas;
Good, (R) Va.;
Gooden, (R) Texas;
Gosar, (R) Ariz.;
Graves, (R) Mo.;
Green, (R) Tenn.;
Greene, (R) Ga.;
Griffith, (R) Va.;
Guest, (R) Miss.;
Hagedorn, (R) Minn.;
Harris, (R) Md.;
Harshbarger, (R) Tenn.;
Hartzler, (R) Mo.;
Hern, (R) Okla.;
Herrell, (R) N.M.;
Hice, (R) Ga.;
Higgins, (R) La.;
Hudson, (R) N.C.;
Issa, (R) Calif.;
Jackson, (R) Texas;
Jacobs, (R) N.Y.;
Johnson, (R), La.;
Johnson, (R) Ohio;
Jordan, (R) Ohio;
Joyce, (R) Pa.;
Kelly, (R) Miss.;
Kelly, (R) Pa.;
LaMalfa, (R) Calif.;
Lamborn, (R) Colo.;
LaTurner, (R) Kan.;
Lesko, (R) Ariz.;
Long, (R) Mo.;
Loudermilk, (R) Ga.;
Lucas, (R) Okla.;
McCarthy, (R) Calif.;
McClain, (R) Mich.;
Miller, (R) III.;
Miller, (R) W. Va.;
Moore, (R) Ala.;
Mullin, (R) Okla.;
Nehls, (R) Texas;
Norman, (R) S.C.;
Nunes, (R) Calif.;
Obernolte, (R) Calif.;
Palazzo, (R) Miss.;
Palmer, (R) Ala.;
Perry, (R) Pa.;
Pfluger, (R) Texas;
Posey, (R) Fla.;
Reschenthaler, (R) Pa.;
Rice, (R), S.C.;
Rogers, (R) Ala.;
Rogers, (R) Ky.;
Rose, (R) Tenn.;
Rosendale, (R) Mont.;
Rouzer, (R) N.C.;
Rutherford, (R) Fla.;
Scalise, (R) La.;
Sessions, (R) Texas;
Smith, (R) Mo.;
Smith, (R) Neb.;
Steube, (R) Fla.;
Tiffany, (R) Wis.;
Timmons, (R) S.C.;
Van Drew, (R) N.J.;
Walberg, (R) Mich.;
Walorski, (R) Ind.;
Weber, (R) Texas;
Webster, (R) Fla.;
Williams (R), Texas;
Wilson, (R) S.C.;
Wright, (R) Texas;
Luetkemeyer, (R) Mo.;
Malliotakis, (R) N.Y.;
Zeldin, (R) N.Y.;
Mann, (R) Kan.;
Mast, (R) Fla.
Regarding the Senate, this objection was created and brought to the floor by Josh Hawley (R) of Missouri. He was photographed hours earlier outside the Capitol complex pumping his fist in the air and for all appearances encouraging the violent mob; he was one of 6 Senators who voted against following the rule of law.
Here are the other five Senators, all Republicans, who voted in favor of disregarding the electoral college results:
- Ted Cruz (Texas)
- Cindy Hyde-Smith (Miss.)
- Roger Marshall (Kan.)
- Tommy Tuberville (Ala.)
- John Kennedy (La.)
Outcome
Many of the congresspeople who voted against transferring power on January 6th and 7th are still in office.
This is due to the refusal of Attorney General Merrick Garland to arrest and prosecute sitting members of Congress with insurrection and sedition. Garland stated publicly that doing so (fulfiling his job duties as the nation's chief law enforcement officer) would be needlessly political. He spent two years refusing to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate theft of classified documents by the former President, and roundly failed to protect the institutions and citizens of the USA.
AP News provides a trenchant example of this AG's professional ethos with the quote “We must understand that there is a difference between what we can do — and what we should do”.
Garland has faced no professional nor personal penalties for his actions or lack thereof. The President who appointed him, and who was the target of the congressional objection described above, defended him numerous times and is believed to have operated under diminished mental faculties for his entire term of office.
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