What Happened This Week In Washington — And Georgia

I want to return to something Micah brought up earlier — this idea that if the GOP turns on Trump, it’ll happen all at once. Hawley most certainly has not backed down from his objection, whereas others — such as Loeffler, Lankford and Blackburn — have.

It’s notable that Hawley didn’t back down, and maybe Cruz and Johnson won’t either. But originally as many as 14 GOP senators were going to object, that number looks like it will be a lot smaller now. Is it possible that even if not every GOP member backs down, we’re still seeing a break with Trump and maybe Trumpism? Or is it still too soon to tell?

Hawley is rather … creatively … trying to spin his objection the Electoral College vote as an alternative to violence, saying that Congress is the right forum for it. It certainly doesn’t sound as though he’s likely to rescind his objections to Arizona, which is what’s being debated now. But he’s also talking about Pennsylvania, which maybe implies he won’t delay things further by also objecting to Pennsylvania later.

“For those who say this is just a formality, I can’t say I agree,” says Hawley. Seems as if he is not backing away from his objection as other Republican senators have done.