Several Democrats have suggested they could challenge certification of a victory by former President Donald Trump in the upcoming presidential election.
Last month, Politico reported that some Democrats are concerned that, if Vice President Kamala Harris wins the election, a GOP-controlled House could obstruct the counting of electoral votes on Jan. 6, 2025, and possibly throw the election to the whole chamber under the constitutional provisions of the 12th Amendment.
Now, some Democrats are speaking cautiously when asked about a potential Trump win.
House Oversight Committee ranking member and former Jan. 6 committee member Jamie Raskin said he would accept the decision if Trump "won a free, fair and honest election"; however, he "definitely" doesn't assume that Trump would use free, fair, and honest means to secure a victory.
"[He] 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 told Axios.
Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., a senior chief deputy whip who voted to object to George W. Bush's electors in 2005, said a Trump win would need to be examined.
"I don't know what kind of shenanigans he is planning," she said, Axios reported. "We would have to, in any election ... make sure that all the rules have been followed."
Schakowsky later issued a statement saying she was "proud to ... join all my Democratic colleagues in certifying the 2020 election" and looks forward to "doing the same in January 2025."
House Rules Committee Ranking Member Jim McGovern, D-Mass., 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. "My expectation is that we would."
Raskin and McGovern objected to Trump electors in 2017.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., though, has indicated that he plans for the certification process to go forward without difficulty.
"House Democrats are going to do everything necessary to ... ensure that the winner of the presidential election is certified on Jan. 6 without drama or consequences," Jeffries said at a September press conference.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.