[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 192 (Tuesday, November 10, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6628-S6629]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, on another matter, I don't think many of 
us expected President Trump to leave the Office of the Presidency with 
grace--a quality he has not once demonstrated during his long career in 
business or his very short career in public life. But the extent to 
which the Republican

[[Page S6629]]

Party is legitimizing the President's assault on our democracy is 
infuriating and deeply, deeply wrong.
  The President is not merely bringing forward well-founded legal 
challenges. He is not simply taking advantage of the ability to request 
a recount in States where one is possible. He is declaring himself to 
be the winner of an election that he lost. He is claiming to win States 
that he lost. His legal team is filing scores of frivolous, 
unsubstantiated lawsuits. He is undermining faith in our elections and 
poisoning our democracy during one of the most delicate moments in our 
constitutional system, something we treasure: the peaceful transfer of 
power.
  The President has fired the Secretary of Defense, threatening the 
continuity of our national security policy because he is having a 
temper tantrum. Not only does this put at risk a smooth transition in 
one of the most sensitive and critical areas of our government, it 
creates an opening for our adversaries to take advantage of instability 
and inexperience.
  The current Attorney General of the United States has made a show of 
authorizing Federal probes into supposed election fraud, lending a 
veneer of false credence to the President's delusions. It violates the 
longstanding tradition of avoiding even the appearance of law 
enforcement interference in our elections. Almost immediately, Attorney 
General Barr's decision prompted the Chief of the Justice Department's 
elections branch to resign in protest.
  The Government Services Administrator, GSA, has still not signed the 
paperwork necessary for the Biden transition team to begin its work. 
And here in the Senate, the Republican leader and several Republican 
Members are trying to give their President air cover.
  Yesterday, in the same breath that Leader McConnell celebrated the 
reelection of certain Republican Senators, he declined to congratulate 
the winner of the Presidential election because the election results 
have not been officially certified. The political right seems eager to 
celebrate the results it approves of while delaying judgment and 
casting doubt on the results it doesn't. Indeed, the Republican leader 
could not even mention two words, ``Joe Biden,'' who, regardless of 
what Republican Senators may think, will be the next President of the 
United States.
  Two Republican Members of this Chamber have called on their own 
secretary of state--a fellow Republican--to resign for no other 
apparent reason than the fact that President Trump did not win their 
State. They allege the secretary of state did not deliver honest and 
transparent elections. That is really a stunning charge in the United 
States of America. That is the kind of thing you hear about in banana 
republics and dishonest elections. Surely, U.S. Senators would have 
some evidence that in the world's premier--premier--democracy an entire 
State's election was not conducted ``honestly,'' as they say. Surely, 
you must think that those Senators have incredible, substantial, and 
weighty proof of such a scandalous and alarming allegation, but you 
would wrong. Those two Senators provided no evidence--not even a 
shred--to back up their claims.
  Three lonely Republican Senators--three in total--have congratulated 
the next President and Vice President of the United States on their 
victory and called on the Nation to come together. The rest have been 
silent or outright sympathetic toward the President's completely 
unsubstantiated claims of election fraud.
  So look, here is where we are. Every major media outlet, including 
FOX News, has projected that Joe Biden will be the next President of 
the United States, and Kamala Harris will be the next Vice President of 
the United States--not because the media declared them to be but 
because more than 76 million Americans voted them into office. There 
has been no evidence of widespread voter fraud or any indication that 
results might flip in not one but several States.
  The country is ready to move on from 4 years of tumultuous and 
incompetent administration. The institutions of our government will 
ensure it on January 20, no matter what the current President claims. 
But they cannot ensure faith in our democracy in the hearts and minds 
of the American people. That is a project for both parties to confer 
legitimacy on an election in which, yes, half the country will be 
disappointed but after which the entire country must pull together.
  Every day that goes by without the Republican Party acknowledging and 
accepting the results of the election is another day Americans' faith 
in our democracy declines

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