Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and other members of the Senate GOP leadership continued to suggest that the presidential election has not yet been decided and that there is a chance that President Trump could still be the winner, they said while speaking in a media availability after leadership elections concluded this morning.
“Until the electoral college votes, anyone who is running for office can exhaust concerns about counting in any court of appropriate jurisdiction. It’s not unusual. It should not be alarming. At some point here, we’ll find out, finally, who was certified in each of these states and the electoral college will determine the winner and that person will be sworn in on January 20th. No reason for alarm,” McConnell said.
“I don’t think anything that’s occurred so far interrupts an ordinary process of moving through the various steps that I’ve indicated and allowing if there is a new administration it to work through the transition. All of these steps will be taken at the appropriate time,” McConnell said, arguing that the transition process won’t be negatively impacted as Trump continues to not concede the election.
Republican Sen. Roy Blunt echoed that message, saying, “the President wasn’t defeated by huge numbers – in fact, he may not have been defeated at all.”
McConnell, who was re-elected as the top Senate Republican, acknowledged that it won’t be clear until January whether he will be Senate Majority Leader because the battle for Senate control is still up in the air.
“We’re ready to get going even though there’s some suspense about whether we’ll be in the majority or not, which will be answered in Georgia on January 5th,” McConnell said.
Republican Sen. Rick Scott of Florida, who will be the new chair of the GOP Senate campaign arm, called it a “real honor” to be elected and predicted that Republicans will win in the upcoming Georgia runoff elections that will determine the balance of power in the Senate. “We’re going to win in Georgia,” he said.