Respond to prefers-color-scheme dark in app web views

Follow section front redirects in Spectrum

Enable NLP source in PCS for load testing

Switch off the News Alerts Survey Widget when we have enough responses

Poll to determine if new LUF updates are available

Allows the winning A/B test variant to be turned on without Spectrum deployment

Show infinite scrolling sections in Assembler MultiView

Show option for NLP article summaries in Action Bar

Show NLP summaries collection recirc on article pages

A general feature flag for Recipe Features that aren't yet released

Feature flag for media team features that aren't yet released

Use new Orca video player for preroll plugin in Spectrum

Show the snow tracker (instead of the heat tracker) on Spectrum

How Jim Jordan tried to connect the dots on Biden’s $8 million book deal

‘Never Trump?’ ‘Never Biden’ voters might loom larger.

Ukraine gamble pays off: Republicans face little backlash in primaries

She finished chemo then got a medical degree: ‘The dream is real now’

Puppy abandoned with heart-rending note is adopted, named Minerva

Man, 91, shocks tiny firehouse with $500K gift: ‘Nobody knew how much I’d saved’

Blue Origin to fly again as space tourism struggles to get off the ground

These ISIS news anchors are AI fakes. Their propaganda is real.

Boeing delays spaceflight again as it continues to struggle with leak

Book Tour: At home with Amor Towles

In photos: The scene in Houston after severe storms killed at least 7 people

Civilians flee new Russian attacks on Ukraine border

Biden’s false claim that inflation was 9 percent when he took office

Did Obamacare ‘massively’ increase the cost of health care?

Joey Gallo returns, but Nats endure another quiet offensive night

Bryce Harper, Joey Gallo and a bond forged by baseball since they were kids

A taco will always be a taco — no matter what we call it

Mexican taquería’s new Michelin star puts street eats on par with gourmet food

Police believe a U.S. rapist killed several women in Canada

With its energy network nearly destroyed, Ukraine already fears the winter

At campus protests, ‘DO NOT TALK TO THE MEDIA’!

Trump’s lawyer charges Michael Cohen lied to jury

CNN gets a presidential debate — and a much-needed win

Russia shows resilience. There is more to do for Ukraine.

Trump promises tax cuts and fewer rules. CEOs shouldn’t fall for it.

Tariffs against China hamstring the transition to a clean energy future

The world’s coolest hotels want to tell you a story

Cruise ships to return to Baltimore two months after bridge collapse 

Some cruise prices are about to get a little more clear

Carolyn Hax: Is it weird to ask other people to care about you?

Ask Amy: Can’t a single woman eat alone without interruption?

Miss Manners: Miss Manners: Gag gift falls flat

Trump

See more coverage in your recommendations

Get the weekly Campaign Moment newsletter

Set alerts for major election developments

Election 2024

The Campaign Moment newsletter

Politics alerts

Three Senate Republicans have publicly criticized President Trump’s <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-uses-power-of-presidency-to-try-to-overturn-the-election-and-stay-in-office/2020/11/19/bc89caa6-2a9f-11eb-8fa2-06e7cbb145c0_story.html">effort to overturn election results in states that he lost</a>. A couple more have acknowledged that President-elect Joe Biden is likely to be sworn in as the 46th president on Jan. 20, without addressing Trump’s actions.

The rest did what many Republicans have done for four years when faced with Trump’s brazen, sometimes outlandish actions: They said nothing, or tried to avoid the issue.

Their response, or lack of it, served to harden one of the party’s legacies of the Trump years: its complicit silence, which has not only made GOP lawmakers appear subservient to the president but has contributed to a notable shift in the party toward conspiracy theories and away from facts. Only this time, their collective refusal to speak up comes at an unusually perilous moment for American democracy — as a president takes the unprecedented step of wielding the powers of his office to try to subvert the will of the voters.

The Washington Post contacted all 53 Republican U.S. senators for comments on the president’s efforts to overturn the election results, including his <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-michigan-lawmakers-meeting/2020/11/20/ef30e2ba-2b43-11eb-8fa2-06e7cbb145c0_story.html">invitation to Michigan’s GOP legislative leaders to a meeting Friday</a> as he tries to block the state from certifying Biden’s victory with a margin of about 150,000 votes there.

Fewer than 10 senators’ offices responded. Of those, most declined to comment or referred to previous remarks — in some cases remarks that predated Trump’s actions this week, including his call to a county canvassing board member in Michigan.

Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Mitt Romney of Utah and Ben Sasse of Nebraska, each of whom has been critical of Trump in the past, were the only Republicans to tackle the president’s actions head-on.

“There is a right way and a wrong way for the incumbent President to pursue his rights to contest what he perceives as election irregularities,” Collins said in a statement. “The right way is to compile the evidence and mount legal challenges in our courts. The wrong way is to attempt to pressure state election officials.”

She added, “The states should proceed to certify their election results as scheduled.”

<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/11/20/mitt-romney-trump-undemocratic-republicans-election/">Romney, in comments late Thursday, was harsher</a>.

“Having failed to make even a plausible case of widespread fraud or conspiracy before any court of law, the President has now resorted to overt pressure on state and local officials to subvert the will of the people and overturn the election,” he said. “It is difficult to imagine a worse, more undemocratic action by a sitting American President.”

Trump, perhaps illustrating why Republicans fear his wrath, fired back in a tweet that Romney is a “RINO” — a Republican in name only — who got “slaughter[ed]” by Barack Obama.

Sasse said in a detailed statement that whenever Trump’s lawyers have had a chance to allege voter fraud in court, they have backed down “because there are legal consequences for lying to judges.” The senator singled out a Thursday news conference by Trump lawyer Rudolph W. Giuliani, calling it a farce that provided no evidence of electoral malfeasance.

“Wild news conferences erode public trust,” Sasse said. “So no, obviously Rudy and his buddies should not pressure electors to ignore their certification obligations under the statute. We are a nation of laws, not tweets.”


<i>
[
<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/rudy-giuliani-press-conference-trump-election/2020/11/19/9192f928-2a9d-11eb-92b7-6ef17b3fe3b4_story.html" title="www.washingtonpost.com">Giuliani’s meltdown starts to become literal]</a>
</i>


The Republicans’ silence underlines the extent to which Trump’s loyal supporters form a large and active part of the GOP base, making any criticism politically risky, especially given Trump’s willingness to lash out at detractors.

That has created a pattern throughout Trump’s presidency in which top Republicans stay quiet when he makes offensive statements or takes actions widely seen as objectionable. That includes telling lawmakers of color to “go back” to their ostensible foreign countries; a policy of separating children from their parents at the country’s southern border; and a conversation with the president of Ukraine in which Trump asked for a political “favor,” an episode that led to his impeachment.

Republicans became so used to refusing to comment on Trump’s startling tweets that then-House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (Wis.) joked, at an Alfred E. Smith dinner in 2017, that “every morning, I wake up in my office and scroll Twitter to see which tweets I will have to pretend that I didn’t see later.”

That pattern of willful unresponsiveness is continuing as Trump attempts to influence Republican officials in Michigan. House Republicans, like their Senate counterparts, have said little, though Rep. Fred Upton (Mich.) offered Biden congratulations and was the first House Republican to call him president-elect.

“I’ve not seen any evidence of fraud that would overturn 150,000 and some votes,” Upton said in an interview. He added, “I don’t see judges overturning the results of the certified elections. . . . No one has shown any evidence” of fraud.

In the Senate, some Republicans engaged on the matter only when asked about it during previously scheduled media appearances on other topics or happenstance run-ins with reporters in the Capitol.

Sen. Patrick J. Toomey (Pa.), whose aides initially pointed The Post to comments from Nov. 11, appeared on Bloomberg News on Friday to discuss the Treasury Department’s actions on an emergency loan program, but faced 30 seconds of discussion about Trump’s effort to contest the election.

Toomey reiterated his belief that Biden won his state and said administration officials should stop delaying the transition, though he stopped short of criticizing Trump.

“It’s not what I think should be happening — I think there should be a full, conventional transition underway,” Toomey said. Since it is “very likely” Biden will be the next president, he added, “why wouldn’t we go ahead and prepare for what certainly looks like the high-probability event?”

Sen. Josh Hawley (Mo.) received the inglorious task of overseeing an open-and-shut Senate session Friday, which placed him near reporters after the pro forma session concluded. He suggested he was unaware of the president’s actions, which have dominated the news.

“I haven’t followed it super closely. For instance, I know that Mayor Giuliani had a news conference yesterday. I’ve not seen it — I’ve heard about it,” Hawley told reporters, laughing a little.

Reporters described how Trump had summoned Michigan legislative leaders to a meeting and was trying to block the state from the normally perfunctory role of certifying its election results.

“I don’t have any concerns. I’m obviously not privy to the conversation, but I don’t really have concerns with him talking about the situation with elected officials,” Hawley said.

Hawley, who may run for president in 2024 as a Trump disciple, left open the idea there might be voter fraud as Trump claims, despite the lack of evidence. He even suggested Trump might end up getting a second term.

“Anything’s possible,” Hawley said.

Sen. Dan Sullivan (Alaska) also bumped into reporters Friday and suggested that if Trump’s legal team was asserting fraud it needed to present actual examples.

“The president has every right to see that every ballot’s counted, but they have a high bar to make,” Sullivan said. “And they’ve got to prove it in court.”

Asked whether the lawyers had cleared that high bar, Sullivan did not answer, joining the other four dozen Senate Republicans in silence.


<attribution>
<email>mike.debonis@washpost.com</email>
</attribution>



<attribution>
<email>paulina.firozi@washpost.com</email>
</attribution>



<attribution>
<email>rachael.bade@washpost.com</email>
</attribution>


Dirksen Award for Distinguished Reporting of Congress

University of Delaware, BA

Paul Kane is The Washington Post's senior congressional correspondent and columnist. His column about Congress, @PKCapitol, appears throughout the week and on Sundays. He joined The Post in 2007. 

Paul Kane

Georgetown University, AB in Russian, 2004

Mike DeBonis covered Congress for The Washington Post from 2015 to 2022. He previously covered D.C. politics and government from 2007 to 2015.

Mike DeBonis

Northwestern University, BS in Journalism

Paulina Firozi is the climate and weather news editor on the Climate and Environment team. She joined the department as an assistant editor in 2022. She began at The Washington Post in 2017 and was previously a national and breaking news reporter, and a researcher for PowerPost's The Health 202 and The Energy 202 newsletters.

Paulina Firozi

University of Dayton, BA

Rachael Bade was a Congress reporter for The Washington Post, primarily focusing on the House. Her coverage areas included House Democrats’ oversight of the Trump administration as well as policy clashes with the White House and the inner workings of the Democratic leadership team. She left The Post in December 2020. 

Rachael Bade

The Washington Post

Most Republicans silent on Trump's push to overturn the election

staff

Capitol Hill Coverage

Biden administration

The Fix

The Briefs

Polling

Democracy in America

Politics

iptc-media/politics/government/congress

iptc-media/economy_business_and_finance/economic_sector/financial_and_business_service

iptc-media/politics/government

iptc-media/politics

iptc-media/politics/political_process

iptc-media/crime_law_and_justice

iptc-media/crime_law_and_justice/law

iptc-media/economy_business_and_finance

iptc-media/crime_law_and_justice/judiciary

iptc-media/economy_business_and_finance/economic_sector/financial_and_business_service/legal_service

iptc-media/politics/election

iptc-media/politics/election/voting

iptc-media/politics/government/heads_of_state

iptc-media/society

client-blocklists/Client List: Morgan Stanley KWs - INCLUDES ANY

client-blocklists/Client List: Becton Dickinson KWs - EXCLUDES ALL

client-blocklists/Boeing KWs 2021 - EXCLUDE ALL 

client-blocklists/CLIENT LIST: Nomura KWs 2021 - EXCLUDES ALL

client-blocklists/Client List: Microsoft KWs 2 - EXCLUDES ALL

client-blocklists/Client List: Exxon Mobil  - INCLUDES ANY

client-blocklists/GEICO KWs - INCLUDES ANY_4.26.21

client-blocklists/Client List: T. Rowe Price KWs - INCLUDES ANY

client-blocklists/T. Rowe Price KWs - INCLUDES ANY

client-blocklists/HBO KWs - INCLUDES ANY

client-blocklists/Ford/Lincoln KWs - INCLUDES ANY

client-blocklists/ExxonMobil 03312021 KWs - INCLUDES ALL

client-blocklists/Bank of America KWs - EXCLUDES ALL

client-blocklists/WaPo: Combined Disaster Keyword List - INCLUDES ANY

client-blocklists/Client List: Inpixon KWs - EXCLUDES ALL

client-blocklists/Client List: Navy Federal Credit Union NFCU KWs 2 - EXCLUDES ALL - 12.23.20

client-blocklists/Blockist: Capitol Building Mob

client-blocklists/Client List: Eli Lily KWs - INCLUDES ANY

client-blocklists/Client List: Purina KWs - EXCLUDES ALL

client-blocklists/Chase KWs - INCLUDES ANY

advertising/Racing and Nascar Enthusiasts

client-blocklists/BP KWs - INCLUDES ANY

client-blocklists/ CLIENT LIST: AT&T KWs 2021 - EXCLUDES ALL

advertising/B2_Politically Active - DO NOT REMOVE_legacyaux_lmp

advertising/B2_Politics_legacyaux_8f3

advertising/B2_Positive News_legacyaux_hlt

advertising/B2_Republicans_legacyaux_33h

client-blocklists/Client List: GEICO KWs

client-blocklists/Client List: KPMG KWs - EXCLUDES ALL

client-blocklists/Client List: Navy Federal Credit Union NFCU KWs - EXCLUDES ALL

client-blocklists/WaPo: Human Disaster

client-blocklists/Client List: Verizon KWs - EXCLUDES ALL

client-blocklists/Client List: Novo Nordisk KWs - EXCLUDES ALL

client-blocklists/Client List: Siemens KWs - EXCLUDES ALL

client-blocklists/Client List: Facebook KWs - EXCLUDES ALL

client-blocklists/Client List: Cisco KWs - EXCLUDES ALL

client-blocklists/Client List: Capital Concerts KWs - EXCLUDES ALL

client-blocklists/Client List: AT&T ALT KWs - EXCLUDES ALL

client-blocklists/Mercedes KWs - INCLUDES ANY

client-blocklists/FX Excludes All Disney

client-blocklists/Client List: Boeing KWs - EXCLUDES ALL

client-blocklists/Client List: Google KWs - INCLUDES ALL

client-blocklists/Philip Morris KWs - INCLUDES ANY 

client-blocklists/Dupixent neg kws - EXCLUDES ALL

client-blocklists/Capital One KWs 2 - INCLUDES ANY - 1.4.21

client-blocklists/Bank of America Merrill Lynch KWs - EXCLUDES ALL

client-blocklists/CME KWs - EXCLUDES ALL

client-blocklists/Google PG KWs - INCLUDES ANY

client-blocklists/Client List: Office Depot KWs - INCLUDES ANY

client-blocklists/Client List: ETrade KWs - EXCLUDES ALL

prism://prism.query/site-articles-only,/politics&limit=20

Post Politics from The Washington Post is the source for political news headlines, in-depth politics coverage and political opinion, plus breaking news on the biden administration and White House, Congress, the Supreme Court, elections and more.

prism://prism.query/site,/politics/the-fix&limit=6