INDIANAPOLIS — Multiple Republican senators have reversed course and now say they won’t object to congressional certification of President-elect Joe Biden’s victory.
Their change of heart came after a violent mob stormed the U.S. Capitol earlier Wednesday and interrupted their proceedings. One person was fatally shot.
Sens. Steve Daines of Montana, Mike Braun of Indiana and Kelly Loeffler of Georgia all said in light of the violence, they would stand down from planned objections to Biden’s win.
Lawmakers who gathered to certify the Electoral College votes from each state were forced to evacuate after an angry mob of Trump supporters descended on the Capitol. Loeffler said that the “violence, the lawlessness, and siege of the halls of Congress” were a “direct attack” on the “sanctity of the American democratic process.”
All three had previously signed on to Trump's false claims of widespread voter fraud to explain his defeat. Loeffler has just days left in her term. She lost her Senate race to Democrat Raphael Warnock earlier Wednesday.
Original version of this story
Indiana Senators Todd Young and Mike Braun were surrounded by President Trump supporters Wednesday, asking them not to certify the election results.
Sen. Young has said he would vote to certify the results. He then had a contentious back-and-forth with Trump supporters.
"My opinion doesn't matter and you know what? When it comes to the law, our opinions don't matter. The law matters," Young is heard telling protestors in the video clip. "I actually share your concerns. I share your conviction that President Trump should remain President ... But the law matters. I took an oath under God ... under God! I took an oath! Do we still take that seriously in this country?" Young asked the group. "I took an oath under God. Does that matter anymore?"
Young said he valued the protesters' opinions and said they are entitled to them, and he believes them. He then added that the law is above opinion, and he has to follow the law.
In a statement to 13News, Young said in part:
"Like so many of my patriotic constituents and colleagues, I too wish the results of this election were different. I strongly supported President Trump and his agenda the last four years. I campaigned hard for him. But upon assuming this office, I took a solemn, inviolable oath to support and defend our Constitution, just as I did as a United States Marine. I will not violate that oath."
Young also said he would support forming a bipartisan Election Integrity Committee charged to review the 2020 election and make recommendations to state legislatures to improve the security, integrity, and administration of federal elections.
Sen. Braun told the group he would object to the certification and support an emergency audit into irregularities in the 2020 election.