Nancy Pelosi opened the Joint Session of Congress with the majesty and dignity the event demanded, by scolding the Republicans for standing too close together and not abiding by the rule that a maximum of 11 members of each party from each of the two houses be present. Having graced the chamber with her remarks, she turned the proceedings over to the President of the Senate, Mike Pence.
The electoral votes from Alabama and Alaska were counted, with much solemnity but no fanfare. When the votes from Arizona were counted, Congressman Paul Gosar of Arizona, on behalf of himself and 60 other Members of Congress, rose to object. A written objection, also signed by Senator Ted Cruz, was presented, stating that the votes were not “regularly given.”
The senators returned to their own chamber to debate the objection, presented by Cruz. The debate started with Cruz arguing that for his proposal to create an impartial body to examine the evidence presented by both sides, because unless the evidence is heard, the election would lack legitimacy and be doubted by a major section of the electorate. Two senators each from both parties (the Senate Majority and Minority leaders, Mitch McConnell and Chuck Schumer, Pennsylvania’s Pat Toomey and Minnesota’s Amy Klobuchar) then proceeded to express their horror at allowing a discussion of election fraud, with McConnell posing the issue as “whether the Congress should overrule the voters, and overturn a presidential election.”
