(Axios) House Democrats railed against House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) for hedging on whether a GOP-controlled House would certify a Kamala Harris victory. But some of their senior members are playing a similar game.
Why it matters: Those Democrats are trapped between their deep distrust of Donald Trump and their vigorous denunciations of any election challenges in the years since the Jan. 6 attack.
- Democratic leaders, however, seem fully prepared to certify a Trump victory – making potential dissenters a small minority.
What they’re saying: Raskin, the House Oversight Committee ranking member and former Jan. 6 committee member who objected to Trump electors in 2017, told Axios in an interview that if Trump “won a free, fair and honest election, then we would obviously accept it.”
- Asked if he assumes a Trump victory would be free, fair and honest, however, Raskin said: “I definitely don’t assume that.”
- Trump “is doing whatever he can to try to interfere with the process, whether we’re talking about manipulating electoral college counts in Nebraska or manipulating the vote count in Georgia or imposing other kinds of impediments,” Raskin said.
Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), a senior chief deputy whip who voted to object to George W. Bush electors in 2005, said of Trump, “I don’t know what kind of shenanigans he is planning,” adding: “We would have to, in any election … make sure that all the rules have been followed.”
- Schakowsky later said in a statement that she was “proud to … join all my Democratic colleagues in certifying the 2020 election” and looks forward to “doing the same in January 2025.”
Zoom in: House Rules Committee Ranking Member Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), who also objected to Trump electors in 2017, said Democrats would certify a Trump victory “assuming everything goes the way we expect it to.”
- “We have to see how it all happens,” McGovern told Axios – though he added, “My expectation is that we would.”
Between the lines: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), who wields huge influence over his members, has signaled there is little chance of an organized effort to decertify electors.
- “House Democrats are going to do everything necessary to … ensure that the winner of the presidential election is certified on January 6th without drama or consequences,” Jeffries said at a September press conference.
- House Administration Committee Ranking Member Joe Morelle (D-N.Y.), Jeffries’ top deputy on election administration issues, has made similar statements.
Zoom out: The two parties have very different histories when it comes to election objections, with Democrats lodging doomed, symbolic challenges as part of largely uneventful proceedings.
