Remember Trump’s Accomplices

Americans must not forget the 147 members of Congress who advanced the former president’s lies, then ignored his culpability in inciting a coup.

First they hid behind obscure interpretations of the Constitution and false claims of voter fraud. Then, even after a violent mob came for them, they chose a pathological liar and would-be authoritarian over the rule of law.

Now that Donald Trump’s second impeachment has ended in acquittal, we can look to the objections lodged by 147 Republicans against certifying the presidential-election results on January 6 as an omen. This group was willing to delay democracy and obstruct the transfer of power to a duly elected president—and after their party’s leader incited a riot, they refused to hold him accountable and allowed an attack on their own branch of government to go unpunished.

Though the outrageous behavior of two freshman members of Congress has drawn immense attention, Americans should not be fooled: The majority of Republicans in Congress, as respectable as they may try to sound now, rejected democracy.

This cohort marched with Trump every step of the way, fueling the doubt and anger that led to a violent insurrection. They conflated symbolic Democratic protests meant to spotlight voter suppression in previous elections with an outlandish and despotic attempt to undo an election. They advanced lies about illegal voting and destroyed the very trust in the integrity of the election they supposedly sought to defend. These members of Congress doubled down on their objections even after the attack on the Capitol—often citing “irregularities” in voting as cover for their actions.

Certainly, it was an irregular voting year. In some states, the pandemic prompted more Americans to vote by mail than the total number who voted at all in 2016. But election officials in every single state have said repeatedly that, despite the many challenges 2020 brought, they saw no evidence of fraud that could have altered the outcome of the election.

And after votes were cast, when Congress attempted to use its best tool of self-defense, they let Trump go unpunished for his attempted power grab.

Americans ought to remember the names of those Republicans who objected to the outcome of a free and fair election, the representatives who stuck by Trump in the impeachment vote, and the senators who acquitted him after his trial.

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The Senate

TED CRUZ, Texas

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted to acquit Trump on impeachment

Cruz was the first senator to raise an objection during the joint session of Congress on January 6. He has repeatedly fueled Trump’s lies about widespread irregularities and fraud in the election, telling Fox News’s Sean Hannity the night before the Capitol riot that if members of Congress voted to certify the election, “what an awful lot of voters are going to hear from that is you don’t think voter fraud is real.” Cruz repeated Trump’s baseless claims of fraud in the Senate, lending legitimacy to the lie that Joe Biden wasn’t duly elected. He also objected to Pennsylvania’s votes after the violence, and still maintains that he did the “right thing.”

Josh Hawley, Missouri

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted to acquit Trump on impeachment

Hawley was the first senator to publicly state that he would object to the election results, saying he wanted to “highlight the failure of some states, including notably Pennsylvania, to follow their own election laws” (he is notably not an elected official in Pennsylvania)—and was pictured raising a fist in a seeming sign of solidarity with protesters before they breached the Capitol on January 6. He still objected to the count after Congress reconvened, but provided no evidence of fraud in either Arizona or Pennsylvania. Like Cruz, he says he has no regrets, insisting that his constituents’ concerns deserve to be heard.

Cindy Hyde-Smith, Mississippi

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted to acquit Trump on impeachment

Hyde-Smith twice objected to certifying the election results, blaming her constituents for her vote: “The people I represent do not believe the presidential election was constitutional and cannot accept the Electoral College decision,” she said. She then claimed to be “alarmed with the erosion of integrity of the electoral process”—erosion she contributed to by perpetuating claims of fraud.

John Kennedy, Louisiana

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Voted to acquit Trump on impeachment

Kennedy cited unproven allegations of “serious voter fraud” and invoked the Compromise of 1877 as precedent for overturning the will of voters. That compromise resulted in the end of Reconstruction and the decades-long oppression of Black Americans under Jim Crow laws—not the best justification for further disenfranchisement, but a good reminder of who needs a history lesson.

Cynthia Lummis, Wyoming

• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted to acquit Trump on impeachment

Lummis was the only member of her state’s delegation to object to certification and claims that her decision was not an attempt to overturn the election (though she functionally would have disenfranchised voters she doesn’t represent). But her “serious” concerns with how Pennsylvania conducted its election could just as easily apply to Wyoming: Some Republicans challenged the ability of secretaries of state to issue election guidance to local clerks, which happened in Wyoming and dozens of other states—and Lummis is not clamoring to undo her own election.

Roger Marshall, Kansas

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted to acquit Trump on impeachment

Marshall, a newly elected senator, used his first floor speech to try to disenfranchise voters in Arizona, claiming that “governors, secretaries of state, and activist courts” had “usurped” the power of state legislatures.

Rick Scott, Florida

• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted to acquit Trump on impeachment

Like Lummis, Scott still said that he would vote to overturn the will of the people of Pennsylvania after the mob’s attack. His main problem? How the state conducted mail-in voting was “absurd and cannot be tolerated.” Pennsylvania’s highest court and the U.S. Supreme Court had already dismissed that notion. The editorial board of the Tampa Bay Times, in Scott’s home state, excoriated him for “masquerading behind conscience in what was a naked attempt to steal the election.”

Tommy Tuberville, Alabama

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted to acquit Trump on impeachment

No great expert on voting rights, Tuberville said that he objected to the count because  “elections are too important to allow significant deviations from state law,” specifically in Arizona. Then he endorsed Congress’s usurping a state’s election.

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THE HOUSE

Adrian Smith, Nebraska

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

The only member of his state’s delegation to object, Smith has said that his vote was “an opportunity to say ‘we need to heighten our voter security’” and that dismissing concerns about fraud “turns so many of the American people off” from voting.

Alexander X. Mooney, West Virginia

• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

“I believe this debate is crucial to ensure the continuance of free and fair elections in America,” Mooney said, while trying to overturn a free and fair election.

Andrew Clyde, Georgia

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Clyde was one of several members of Georgia’s delegation to object to the counting of votes, saying without evidence that he felt Americans had been “cheated out of a fair election.”

Andy Biggs, Arizona

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

One of the alleged planners of the January 6 rally that led to the Capitol attack says Biggs helped extremists prepare for the event. Biggs has said he had no connection to the rally or riot. “The debate as to the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election has been suppressed by the left and its propagandists in the media,” he said before that same debate was interrupted by a pro-Trump mob.

Andy Harris, Maryland

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Did not vote on impeachment

Harris has defended his decision to object to the vote certification, saying he had “concerns about how the November election was conducted in certain states.”

August Pfluger, Texas

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Pfluger said Congress owed Americans a “full debate” about election and constitutional issues, then blamed Democrats for attacking the “legitimacy of our democracy.”

Barry Loudermilk, Georgia

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Loudermilk also planned to object to the counting of votes from his state, “due to the many unanswered and credible charges of potential fraud,” but without the support of anyone in the Senate, the vote never took place.

Barry Moore, Alabama

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Moore was transparent about the reason for objecting to the vote certification: “We’re going to try to win this election for our president. At least make it fair and free.”

Ben Cline, Virginia

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Cline objected to the vote certification because of an “unprecedented number of allegations of irregularities and improprieties”; he repeated claims made in a failed Supreme Court challenge from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

Beth Van Duyne, Texas

• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Van Duyne claims that “proactive courts changed the rules on the fly and didn’t follow constitutional procedure.”

Bill Johnson, Ohio

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Johnson has said the “election wasn’t fair,” and blamed the news media, “Big Tech’s big thumb,” and voter fraud for Trump’s loss.

Bill Posey, Florida

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Posey repeated debunked claims about “massive voting-irregularity accusations” and legally dubious arguments about how Pennsylvania should have conducted the election.

Billy Long, Missouri

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

In a statement co-authored by Missouri’s other congressional representatives, Long said the election results “don’t even pass the most basic eye test,” but could not provide any evidence of fraud.

Blaine Luetkemeyer, Missouri

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Luetkemeyer repeated false allegations that state election processes were “deliberately changed” and “clearly violated the Constitution.”

Bob Gibbs, Ohio

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Gibbs said that “fraudulent actions and illegal voting in one state dilutes the power and voice of voters in all states.” His solution was to drown out the voice of voters.

Bob Good, Virginia

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Ahead of the vote, Good told The Washington Post that he had “significant unanswered questions about the constitutional integrity of the voting process.”

Brian Babin, Texas

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Babin said he would “stand for election integrity,” though he provided no evidence of fraud.

Brian Mast, Florida

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Mast called America’s free and fair elections a “farce” and demanded a congressional investigation into fraud.

Burgess Owens, Utah

• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Owens said he didn’t understand how Joe Biden won more votes than Barack Obama and has floated claims that 42,000 votes may have been counted twice in Nevada.

Byron Donalds, Florida

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Donalds has said that Americans should be confident that elections are a “transparent and lawful democratic process”—while undermining Americans’ confidence in their elections.

C. Scott Franklin, Florida

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Franklin said four states’ electors had been “elected illegally” but provided no evidence for his claim.

Carlos Giménez, Florida

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Giménez said before January 6 that he would follow his conscience, and that he believed some evidence of fraud hadn’t been presented to courts.

Carol Miller, West Virginia

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Miller said in an op-ed that she had concerns about “election fraud, whether intentional or incidental, individual or institutional.”

Chris Jacobs, New York

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Jacobs cited “valid concerns about the integrity” of the 2020 election when announcing his objection to certification.

Chris Stewart, Utah

• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Stewart falsely said there was “plenty of evidence” that Biden’s victory was not legitimate.

Chuck Fleischmann, Tennessee

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Fleischmann said ahead of the vote that he would object to certification in order to “voice concerns about irregularities” in the election.

Clay Higgins, Louisiana

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Higgins claimed that allegations of fraud had not been “properly reviewed.”

Cliff Bentz, Oregon

• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Bentz said he objected to Pennsylvania’s votes based on “principles” and that objecting to certification was “the right thing” to do.

Dan Bishop, North Carolina

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Bishop alleged a “highly coordinated, massively financed, nationwide campaign” by Democrats to undermine state control of mail-in-voting regulations.

Daniel Meuser, Pennsylvania

• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Meuser said his state’s election authorities had carried out “unlawful actions”—and therefore he supported throwing out his constituents’ votes.

Daniel Webster, Florida

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Did not vote on impeachment

Webster signed a statement with other Republicans who asserted fraud while admitting, “We have no express authority or ability to independently prove the many allegations of fraud in the subject states.”

Darrell Issa, California

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Issa said he objected to certification “in support of ballot integrity and the sacred right to vote,” citing changes to election procedures in Pennsylvania and Arizona.

David Kustoff, Tennessee

• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Kustoff cited “irregularities” in a tweeted statement announcing his decision to object to certification.

David Rouzer, North Carolina

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Rouzer told a local news outlet that he had “widespread and grave concerns” about election integrity, but didn’t elaborate.

David Schweikert, Arizona

• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Schweikert didn’t object to counting votes from his own state, but did oppose counting Pennsylvania’s.

Debbie Lesko, Arizona

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Lesko, a vocal Trump supporter, argued that Arizona and Pennsylvania had “violated state law.” A federal court did find Arizona’s extended deadline for voter registration illegal, but adjusted the new deadline and allowed new registrations to stand.

Devin Nunes, California

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Another active Trump enabler, Nunes remained silent after the riot at the Capitol. In November, Nunes indulged the Fox News host Maria Bartiromo’s assertions of voting irregularities.

Diana Harshbarger, Tennessee

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Harshbarger said she believed states had “failed to count all legal ballots.”

Doug LaMalfa, California

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

LaMalfa claimed that “courts at all levels have sidestepped their duty to the republic” in not believing voter-fraud allegations.

Doug Lamborn, Colorado

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Lamborn said he would object to states with “last-minute changes” in their election procedures.

Earl L. “Buddy" Carter, Georgia

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Carter also objected to counting his own state’s votes, but the point was moot after then-Senator Kelly Loeffler reversed course. (Loeffler, who lost her bid for reelection the night before the attack on the Capitol, said that after the violence, she could not “in good conscience” object to certification.)

Elise M. Stefanik, New York

• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Stefanik said she was concerned about “unconstitutional overreach” in Pennsylvania.

Frank Lucas, Oklahoma

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Lucas said he shared the “concerns of many of my fellow Oklahomans about irregularities.”

Fred Keller, Pennsylvania

• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Keller repeated misleading claims about Pennsylvania’s supreme court and officials changing “election code without the state legislature’s consent.”

Garret Graves, Louisiana

• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Graves said he’d reviewed hundreds of pages of court filings and legal opinions to conclude that Pennsylvania officials had “prevented a fair election.”

Gary Palmer, Alabama

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

In a press release before certification, Palmer said he would object to the vote in states where there had been a “clear constitutional violation.”

Glenn Thompson, Pennsylvania

• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Thompson called for “an investigation and audit” to prevent future “negligence.”

Greg Pence, Indiana

• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Pence objected to certification even after a horde of rioters forced their way into the Capitol demanding his brother’s death. He said his vote reflected his “support of the Constitution and the disenfranchised voters of the Sixth District.”

Greg Steube, Florida

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Steube alleged that there had been “clear irregularities, improprieties and Constitutional violations” on Election Day.

Gregory F. Murphy, North Carolina

• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Did not vote on impeachment

In a press release, Murphy called the actions of state election officials “seditious.”

Guy Reschenthaler, Pennsylvania

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Reschenthaler joined other Pennsylvania Republicans in signing a statement saying that state officials had taken “unlawful actions.”

Harold Rogers, Kentucky

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Rogers said he would object because of “allegations of election fraud and voting irregularities.”

Jack Bergman, Michigan

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

In a joint statement with Representative Tim Walberg, Bergman claimed that “poll challengers have raised valid concerns about election integrity across our Nation that brings into question the results of the 2020 election and puts faith in future elections in jeopardy.”

Jackie Walorski, Indiana

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Walorski said she shared “the concerns of many Hoosiers about irregularities” in the election.

Jacob LaTurner, Kansas

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

LaTurner opposed including both Arizona’s and Pennsylvania’s votes, but missed the vote for Pennsylvania after testing positive for the coronavirus.

Jason Smith, Missouri

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Smith objected because “we need to make sure [Biden is] the valid president.”

Jay Obernolte, California

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Obernolte said he would object to the vote in states where “election practices were changed without the consent of that state’s legislature.”

Jeff Duncan, South Carolina

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Duncan said he sought to “count every legal vote, throw out every illegal vote,” and investigate “irregularities.”

Jeff Van Drew, New Jersey

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Van Drew, the Democrat turned Trump fanatic, said his vote was “a rejection of the status quo and a no confidence vote in the politicians, corporate special interests, and legacy media establishment.”

Jerry Carl, Alabama

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Carl said he was objecting because “many voters feel they were robbed” of free and fair elections.

Jim Baird, Indiana

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Baird said that despite the violent attack on the Capitol, “concerns remain” about election integrity.

Jim Banks, Indiana

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Banks said he would object on the basis that the Constitution gives state legislatures the sole power to set rules for elections. (Courts have rejected this interpretation of the electors clause; some states, like Arizona, delegate that power to the secretary of state.)

Jim Hagedorn, Minnesota

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Hagedorn said the actions of some states “called into question the integrity of the 2020 presidential election.”

Jim Jordan, Ohio

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Jordan is another of Trump’s most vocal congressional enablers. After spending weeks questioning the election results and claiming that Democrats were trying to “steal the election,” he still refused to say that Biden’s win was fair.

Jodey Arrington, Texas

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Arrington said he would object because some states had set “a bad precedent.”

Jody Hice, Georgia

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Hice told Fox News he wanted to make sure “the ballot box is safe and fair” because “the allegations in this past election are enormous.”

Joe Wilson, South Carolina

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Wilson, repeating a slew of debunked claims, said he would object because he was “disgusted at the irregularities.”

John Joyce, Pennsylvania

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Joyce said he would object because he wanted “a meaningful investigation into the many legitimate accounts of election fraud and irregularities.”

John Rose, Tennessee

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Rose said he voted to reject both states’ votes “so that all Americans can have trust in the process that defines this nation.”

John Rutherford, Florida

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Rutherford tweeted that “serious allegations of election fraud exist” and he would object.

John R. Carter, Texas

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Carter cited “allegations of election irregularities” as his main reason to object.

Kat Cammack, Florida

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Cammack told Fox News that she would object because she believed a handful of states had too many voting irregularities.

Ken Calvert, California

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Calvert highlighted “serious concerns over the 2.1 million ballots counted in [Arizona’s] Maricopa County” in a press release announcing his votes.

Kevin Hern, Oklahoma

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes

• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes

• Voted against impeachment

Hern said the attack on the Capitol would not stop him from hearing “deep and legitimate concerns about the integrity of our election system.”

Kevin McCarthy, California

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes

• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes

• Voted against impeachment

The House minority leader, who has flip-flopped on blaming Trump for the Capitol attack, was a leading voice in rejecting Biden’s win. Though his official statement focused on the question of how states conduct elections and did not mention voter fraud, he gave the Republican effort to challenge the election his approval and has advanced fraud claims before.

Lance Gooden, Texas

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes

• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes

• Voted against impeachment

Gooden claimed on Twitter that the election was “RIGGED & STOLEN,” leaving Texans “disenfranchised.”

Lauren Boebert, Colorado

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Boebert, a QAnon sympathizer, has repeated false claims about the integrity of the 2020 election, claiming that “several states removed voter safeguards.”

Lee Zeldin, New York

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Zeldin said he would object because of “confirmed, evidence filled issues” regarding how states ran their elections.

Lisa McClain, Michigan

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

McClain told a local news outlet that she had “grave concerns” about “irregularities in the election process.”

Lloyd Smucker, Pennsylvania

• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Smucker said his objection was not about voter fraud, but about “unconstitutional measures” that his state’s officials and supreme court took.

Louie Gohmert, Texas

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Gohmert led a failed lawsuit to try to convince a federal court to allow Mike Pence to choose the next president. He also suggested street violence after that suit failed.

Madison Cawthorn, North Carolina

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

The conservative darling released a video filled with debunked claims and lies to explain his reasoning. Here is a sampling: “Voter fraud is common in America”; “mail-in ballots are wildly susceptible to fraud”; and “corrupted election technology, illegal counting practices, dead voters, and mathematically impossible vote irregularities” confirmed his belief that the “2020 election violated our Constitution.” He also repeated a misleading claim that people were voting by mail days after Election Day.

Mario Diaz-Balart, Florida

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Diaz-Balart cited “numerous reports of irregularities and last-minute changes” in his decision to object.

Marjorie Taylor Greene, Georgia

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

The unofficial chair of the QAnon caucus in Congress, Greene has repeatedly lied about the integrity of the election (Twitter even suspended her account for multiple violations). From conspiracy theories about Dominion voting machines to false claims about how Georgia’s election system works, Greene’s lies echo conspiracy theories passed around on 8kun and other dark corners of the web.

Mark E. Green, Tennessee

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Green blamed an “increase in mail-in balloting and last-minute changes to election laws” for “confusion, fraud and distrust.”

Markwayne Mullin, Oklahoma

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Mullin doubled down on his votes after the Capitol attack, saying that he had “a constitutional obligation to do what I’m doing.”

Mary Miller, Illinois

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Miller falsely claimed that “everyone acknowledges that fraud did take place in this election.”

Matt Gaetz, Florida

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Gaetz is one of Trump’s most vocal and most Orwellian supporters. He said on Twitter that he would “OBJECT to electors from states that didn’t run clean elections.” On the night of the Capitol attack, he claimed without evidence that members of the pro-Trump mob were Democrats “masquerading” as Trumpists.

Matt Rosendale, Montana

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Rosendale had previously claimed that “numerous, extensive, credible allegations of fraud” existed.

Michael Cloud, Texas

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Cloud said he objected because these states “usurped” power from legislatures in administering their elections. It was a change from his original claims of “widespread” fraud.

Michael Guest, Mississippi

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Guest, like others, claimed that these states violated the electors clause of the Constitution.

Michael C. Burgess, Texas

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Burgess asserted that there had been “unprecedented voting irregularities” but didn’t offer evidence.

Michelle Fischbach, Minnesota

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Fischbach claimed that “this election was shrouded in allegations of irregularities and fraud too voluminous to ignore.”

Mike Bost, Illinois

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Bost signed a statement saying that certain states “clearly violated the Constitution.”

Mike Garcia, California

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Garcia defended his votes, saying they were appropriate “when threats of fraud arise regarding the results of the election.”

Mike Johnson, Louisiana

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Johnson said it was his constitutional duty to contest the results.

Mike Kelly, Pennsylvania

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Kelly called the conducting of the election by Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court, governor, and secretary of state “unlawful” actions “taken without the authority or consent of the Pennsylvania state legislature.”

Mike Rogers, Alabama

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Rogers cited “many instances of alleged voter fraud” in his announcement that he would object.

Mo Brooks, Alabama

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Brooks has been a key enabler of Trump’s election lies and repeatedly said the election was rife with fraud and stolen by Democrats. He fueled that lie on January 6, speaking at the Trump rally outside the White House that morphed into the Capitol attack. He refuses to admit that he’s done anything wrong.

Morgan Griffith, Virginia

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Griffith claimed that voter fraud existed without providing evidence.

Neal Dunn, Florida

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Dunn tweeted that he was objecting so that “EVERY American’s voice is heard & every legal vote is counted.”

Nicole Malliotakis, New York

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Malliotakis originally cited “serious concerns” about fraud and how states ran their elections. She has since backpedaled, arguing that she was not trying to overturn the election. She now says millions of Americans are concerned about the election’s integrity but doesn’t see a connection between her actions and that distrust.

Pat Fallon, Texas

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Fallon said he would object based on the electors clause. He said if he didn’t “push back,” then “we are no better than a banana republic.”

Paul Gosar, Arizona

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Along with Mo Brooks, Gosar was one of the House Republicans leading the effort to undo Biden’s election. His objection on January 6 kicked off the debate in the joint session of Congress, but he had been spouting lies about the election for weeks.

Pete Sessions, Texas

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Sessions said he believed there was “substantial evidence” to review and continues to stand by his decision.

Ralph Norman, South Carolina

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Norman said in December that he wanted investigations of “various reports of voting irregularities” and said the night before the riot that “we cannot have fraud in our election.”

Randy Weber, Texas

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Weber signed a letter with other Texas Republicans saying that he would object and called Trump to let him know: “We love you and we look forward to you going back for four more years.”

Richard Hudson, North Carolina

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Hudson said he planned to object because “millions of people do not trust the outcome of this presidential election because there is incontrovertible evidence of voter irregularity—if not outright fraud.”

Rick Allen, Georgia

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Allen signed on to a letter saying that state officials and courts had usurped power from state legislatures.

Rick Crawford, Arkansas

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Crawford was the only Republican from Arkansas to object, saying, “It’s not the electors that I question. It’s the method by which those electors were chosen.”

Robert B. Aderholt, Alabama

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Aderholt said there were “too many reports of serious fraud” to not debate the election results.

Robert J. Wittman, Virginia

• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Wittman said he objected to how Pennsylvania ran its election, but didn’t see the same “level of unconstitutionality” in Arizona to object to those electors.

Roger Williams, Texas

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Williams said Americans should be confident that “only lawful votes will be counted.”

Ron Estes, Kansas

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Estes claimed to see “serious allegations of voter fraud.”

Ron Wright, Texas

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Wright asserted that some states had broken laws in running their own elections and also claimed to see “a concerning amount of voter fraud.”

Ronny Jackson, Texas

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

The former White House doctor said on Twitter that he was challenging the results of the election because “the patriotic citizens I represent DESERVE to know if the Presidential election was a FRAUD.”

Russ Fulcher, Idaho

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

In a video released January 4, Fulcher cited concerns about the election results and claimed that state officials had “bypassed” their legislatures.

Sam Graves, Missouri

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

In a statement co-authored by Missouri’s other representatives, Graves said the election results “don’t even pass the most basic eye test,” without providing evidence of fraud.

Scott DesJarlais, Tennessee

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

On Twitter on the morning of January 6, DesJarlais cited “voting irregularities during the 2020 election.”

Scott Fitzgerald, Wisconsin

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

“The intention of this is to make sure that you don’t have an errant state that somehow could swing a presidential election,” Fitzgerald said in an interview.

Scott Perry, Pennsylvania

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Perry tweeted on January 5 that “when Members of our PA General Assembly have concerns, it’s my DUTY to have concerns, too.” He also defended his decision by saying there was a “constitutional crisis” that “called for debate” of “constitutional violations.”

Stephanie Bice, Oklahoma

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Bice claimed in a statement that “some states did not follow their own state election laws, jeopardizing their citizens’ confidence in our election process.”

Steve Chabot, Ohio

• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Chabot claimed that “in Pennsylvania, the courts, the Secretary of the Commonwealth, and even local election officials all usurped the power of the state legislature, and implemented election law changes unilaterally.”

Steve Scalise, Louisiana

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

“The Constitution requires that states carry out elections according to the rules established by state legislatures. In a number of states, that did not happen,” Scalise claimed in a statement on January 6.

Steven Palazzo, Mississippi

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Palazzo said he could not vote to certify results he did not “wholeheartedly trust.”

Ted Budd, North Carolina

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Budd cited “irregularities and Constitutional violations” in his justification for objecting even after the Capitol attack.

Tim Burchett, Tennessee

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

“This is not about President Trump, it is about the United States Constitution and upholding election integrity,” Burchett said in a January 7 statement.

Tim Walberg, Michigan

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

In a joint statement with Representative Jack Bergman, Walberg claimed that “poll challengers have raised valid concerns about election integrity across our Nation that brings into question the results of the 2020 election and puts faith in future elections in jeopardy,” and called for an emergency audit of the election results.

Tom Cole, Oklahoma

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

“I have been closely studying this issue and listening intently to what my constituents have to say,” Cole said in a statement on January 6.

Tom Rice, South Carolina

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes

“I share the frustrations of many of you on the apparent improprieties in some states in the presidential election,” Rice said. Now Rice is facing a backlash from his constituents for his outlier vote to impeach Trump.

Tom Tiffany, Wisconsin

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

“The election improprieties were significant in both of those states,” Tiffany said in an interview. In a statement, he also claimed that rule violations “affected some 200,000 ballots in Wisconsin … As a result, Wisconsin voters will never truly know who actually won our state in November.”

Tracey Mann, Kansas

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

Mann issued a joint statement with Representatives Ron Estes and Jake LaTurner that cited “serious allegations of voter fraud” but provided no evidence to prove it.

Trent Kelly, Mississippi

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

“You see what happens when you don’t enforce laws,” Kelly said, discussing his decision in a phone interview on January 6. “This is what we’ve got right now with them breaching the Capitol … And there’s no difference in our Constitution whether a state does it, an individual, or a community.”

Troy Nehls, Texas

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

“You sent me to Congress to fight for President Trump and election integrity and that’s exactly what I’m doing,” Nehls said on Twitter on January 5.

Vicky Hartzler, Missouri

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

In a statement, Hartzler cited “an unprecedented number of serious allegations of voter fraud and irregularities.”

Virginia Foxx, North Carolina

• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

“In the case of Pennsylvania, I could not vote in good conscience to certify electors from the state given the blatant contravention of state law that occurred,” Foxx claimed in a statement.

Warren Davidson, Ohio

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

“Millions of Americans have doubts about the integrity of the 2020 election and look to Congress to represent these concerns in accordance with the Constitution,” Davidson said in a statement.

William Timmons, South Carolina

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

In a statement, Timmons claimed that “in the months preceding the November election, a group of big money funded, special interest, liberal elites intentionally and systematically sought to use state and federal judges to manipulate the election laws in swing states.”

Yvette Herrell, New Mexico

• Objected to counting of Arizona’s electoral votes
• Objected to counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes
• Voted against impeachment

“As a representative of New Mexico, Pennsylvania’s unconstitutional actions disenfranchised my constituents and the constituents of my colleagues,” Herrell said in her speech objecting to the counting of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes.

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Isabel Fattal contributed to this report.

Photographs: Tommy Tuberville, Cynthia Lummis: Getty; all others: courtesy of U.S. House Office of Photography