Staff and wire reports
Republican Indiana Sen. Mike Braun dropped his objections to Joe Biden’s Electoral College votes after a mob of President Donald Trump supporters stormed the Capitol building on Jan. 6.
Braun said that Wednesday’s violence “changed things drastically.”
Braun had announced over the weekend that he would join about a dozen Republican senators and dozens more House Republicans to challenge the Electoral College votes from some states Biden won in November’s election.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]“Though I will continue to push for a thorough investigation into the election irregularities many Hoosiers are concerned with as my objection was intended, I have withdrawn that objection and will vote to get this ugly day behind us,” Braun said in a Twitter statement.
Indiana’s other Republican senator, Todd Young, had announced before the joint session of Congress began Wednesday that he wouldn’t support the objections to Biden’s electoral votes, saying he would “uphold my constitutional duty and certify the will of the states as presented.”
Among Indiana’s House members, Republican Reps. Jim Banks, Jackie Walorski and Jim Baird voted against the Arizona and Pennsylvania electoral votes. Rep. Greg Pence, a brother of Vice President Mike Pence, split his votes, supporting only the Arizona results.
A rattled Congress worked through the night Wednesday and early morning hours Thursday, counting the Electoral College votes to certify Biden’s win, after abruptly going to recess when a mob of angry President Donald Trump supporters stormed the Capitol earlier in the afternoon.
Rep. Trey Hollingsworth, a Republican representing Indiana’s Ninth Congressional district, which includes Brown County, confirmed late Wednesday that he would certify the Electoral College votes, despite dozens of his Republican colleagues refusing to do so.
“One thing I know for sure, it’s that the Constitution is explicit about the role and responsibilities of Congress here, and that is to count the certifications of votes,” Hollingsworth said in an interview with the Daily Journal. “I do not believe it is consistent with our Republican ideals to take away the voices in votes of over 100 million Americans.”
Hollingsworth said he put his own personal beliefs aside for the good of the American people, adding that he voted for and supported Trump. It’s not Congress’s job to decide who is the next president, he said.
“Our founders were rightly skeptical of centralized controlled power, and I don’t believe 435 members of Congress should have control over the presidency,” Hollingsworth said.
He debated whether he would certify the votes, and came to this decision Tuesday, before the siege of the U.S. Capitol building Wednesday. That event reinforced the importance of his decision, and the fact that the country should be a “nation of laws,” which are determined by the Constitution, he said.
Hollingsworth was one of more than 100 members of Congress — five from Indiana — who called on the U.S. Supreme Court in December to hear a lawsuit from the state of Texas alleging that election practices in four battleground states where Trump lost were unconstitutional.
Hollingsworth would not explicitly say Wednesday if he believed claims of widespread voter fraud during the election, but said any claims of fraud, no matter what election it is, should be investigated, which these were. It is up to the courts to decide if any laws were broken, not Congress, he said.
“It’s not up to Congress to usurp its power because it believes others have usurped theirs,” Hollingsworth said.
Gov. Eric Holcomb’s office issued a statement Wednesday evening, calling the scene “both saddening and sickening to watch a mob devolve into thinking their rules would ever replace the rule of law.
“I unequivocally condemn the violence at the U.S. Capitol that we are now witnessing. Passion, patriotism and love for our nation should always and only be expressed in constructive ways that seek to honor the ideals on which our nation was founded,” he said. “Any means of violence runs counter to who we are and is never acceptable.”
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Sen. Todd Young (Republican, represents Brown County voters): Did not object to any Electoral College votes.
Sen. Mike Braun (Republican, represents Brown County voters): Did not vote to object to any Electoral College votes, after signing an objection document earlier in the day.
Rep. Frank Mrvan (Democrat, represents Indiana’s 1st Congressional District): Did not object to any Electoral College votes.
Rep. Jackie Walorski (Republican, represents Indiana’s 2nd Congressional District): Objected to Electoral College votes for Arizona and Pennsylvania.
Rep. Jim Banks (Republican, represents Indiana’s 3rd Congressional District): Objected to Electoral College votes for Arizona and Pennsylvania.
Rep. Jim Baird (Republican, represents Indiana’s 4th Congressional District): Objected to Electoral College votes for Arizona and Pennsylvania.
Rep. Victoria Spartz (Republican, represents Indiana’s 5th Congressional District): Did not object to any Electoral College votes.
Rep. Greg Pence (Republican, represents Indiana’s 6th Congressional District): Objected to Electoral College votes for Pennsylvania.
Rep. Andre Carson (Democrat, represents Indiana’s 7th Congressional District): Did not object to any Electoral College votes.
Rep. Larry Bucshon (Republican, represents Indiana’s 8th Congressional District): Did not object to any Electoral College votes.
Rep. Trey Hollingsworth (Republican, represents Indiana’s 9th Congressional District which includes Brown County): Did not object to any Electoral College votes.
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